Shipping packaging (Versandverpackung)

Verified on 2026-09-01

The packaging the goods travel in to the end customer (carton, filler material, tape, mailing bag). In Germany the rule is: whoever fills the shipping packaging counts as its producer – so the party required to license it is regularly the seller, not the carton supplier. The ZSVR has confirmed this in its PPWR guidance for shipping and online commerce (the producer is whoever combines carton, tape and filler material into the packaging; shipping packaging is subject to system participation without exception); for edge cases, only a written clarification of roles is reliable.

Legal information, not legal advice. The official sources linked in the country guides prevail.