시장 감시 당국의 점검 사항

From 18 Feb 2027, every LMT battery, every industrial battery above 2 kWh and every electric vehicle battery needs a battery passport (Art. 77(1)). For market surveillance, the passport is digital access to exactly the data used to check whether a battery complies. This article explains what authorities can see, what they can check, what happens if something is wrong and how to prepare.

What authorities see in the passport

• All public data under Annex XIII, point 1, such as manufacturer, model, chemistry, hazardous substances, critical raw materials, performance data and the EU declaration of conformity.
• The detailed model data under Annex XIII, point 2: materials of cathode, anode and electrolyte, spare parts, dismantling and safety measures. Market surveillance authorities have access to it (Art. 77(2)(b)).
• Authorities only, under Annex XIII, point 3: the results of test reports proving compliance. Only notified bodies, market surveillance authorities and the Commission can see them.

The data of the individual battery under Annex XIII, point 4, such as the state of health, is reserved for persons with a legitimate interest (Art. 77(2)(c)). Who they are is set by an implementing act that the Commission was due to adopt by 18 Aug 2026 (Art. 77(9)). Check EUR-Lex for the current status.

What can be checked in the passport

• Whether the passport exists and the QR code on the battery leads to it. For batteries that need a passport, the QR code must give access to it (Art. 13(6)) and be printed or engraved visibly, legibly and indelibly, or else placed on the packaging and accompanying documents (Art. 13(7)).
• Whether the information is accurate, complete and up to date. The economic operator placing the battery on the market is responsible for this (Art. 77(4)).
• Whether the data is based on open standards, interoperable, machine-readable, structured and searchable (Art. 77(5)).
• Whether the unique identifier of the battery has been uploaded to the registry under Art. 13(1) of the Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (Art. 77(10)).
• Whether the passport remains available even if the responsible economic operator ceases to exist or ceases its activity in the Union (Art. 78(e)).

Beyond the passport: the powers of authorities

The passport does not replace traditional checks. The Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 also applies to batteries. Under its Art. 14(4), authorities can among other things require documents, data and information on compliance in any form and wherever they are stored (point (a)), carry out unannounced on-site inspections (point (d)), buy samples, including under a cover identity, and reverse-engineer them (point (j)), and, where a serious risk cannot be eliminated by other means, require the removal of offers from online interfaces (point (k)). At import, customs suspend the release of a product, for example if documentation is missing or the marking is not in order (Art. 26(1)).

Manufacturers, importers and distributors must, on a reasoned request, provide the authority with all information and documentation needed to demonstrate conformity, in electronic form (Art. 38(10), Art. 41(8), Art. 42(6)). For ten years they must also be able to say who supplied them with a battery and to whom they supplied which models in what quantity (Art. 46).

What happens if something is wrong

1. Formal non-compliance, such as missing or incorrect CE marking, a missing or incorrect EU declaration of conformity or incomplete technical documentation: the authority requires you to put an end to it. Only if it persists does it restrict or prohibit making the battery available or order withdrawal or recall (Art. 83).
2. Sufficient reason to believe that the battery presents a risk to health, safety, property or the environment: the authority evaluates the battery against all relevant requirements. If it does not comply, you get a reasonable period to bring it into compliance, withdraw it or recall it (Art. 79(1)). The corrective action covers all affected batteries you have made available in the Union (Art. 79(3)).
3. If you do not act in time, the authority takes provisional measures itself, up to prohibition, withdrawal or recall, and informs the Commission and the other Member States (Art. 79(4)).

Every measure must state its grounds. Before it is taken, you get the opportunity to be heard within at least 10 working days, except in urgent cases (Art. 18 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020). If you find yourself that a battery does not comply, you must make sure it is brought into conformity, withdrawn or recalled, and inform the authority if it presents a risk (Art. 38(9), Art. 41(6), Art. 42(5)).

Competence and fines in Germany

Member States set the penalties, which must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive (Art. 93). In Germany this is done by the Battery Law Implementation Act (Batterierecht-Durchführungsgesetz, BattDG). It does not name a single market surveillance authority for batteries but refers to the Market Surveillance Act (§ 2(3) BattDG). Under that act, market surveillance lies with the authorities competent for the respective rules; for online offers, with the authority in whose district the product can be ordered and delivered; import controls are carried out by customs (§ 4 MüG). Notifications to the Commission go through the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, BAuA (§ 49 BattDG). Under § 60(2) BattDG it is an administrative offence, among other things, to intentionally or negligently:

• fail to ensure that the information in the battery passport is accurate, complete and up to date (no. 29, fine of up to EUR 10,000)
• as a manufacturer, fail to ensure, or as an importer or distributor, fail to verify that the battery is marked in accordance with Art. 13(4) to (7), which includes the QR code (nos. 6 and 11, up to EUR 10,000)
• fail to comply with an enforceable order under Art. 79(4) or Art. 83(2) (no. 30, up to EUR 100,000)

Where things are heading

At the German Market Surveillance Conference on 17 Sep 2025, Prof. Thomas Knothe (Fraunhofer IPK) described what authorities want to use the passport for: automated conformity checks based on machine-readable data, searching for products containing critical substances, and easier networking between authorities without having to hold the data themselves. He also showed that data standardisation does not yet offer a complete approach (standardisation under mandate M/579 was planned to finish in mid-2026) and that further legal acts are pending, for example on DPP service providers. At the time of the talk, these rules were still open.

How to be prepared

• Store the test reports for Annex XIII, point 3 in full and assign them clearly to the battery model.
• Maintain passport, label, EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation from the same data source so that no values contradict each other.
• Test the QR code on real batteries: does it scan, does it lead to the right passport, is the marking durable?
• Keep suppliers and customers per model retrievable for ten years (Art. 46).
• Update the passport when something changes and clarify how it stays available if your company or your service provider ceases to exist (Art. 78(e)).
• Authorise service providers in writing (Art. 77(4)). They may not sell, re-use or process the passport data beyond what is necessary for their service (Art. 78(d)).
• As a distributor, check before selling that the CE marking and the marking under Art. 13 are in place (Art. 42(2)).

Authorities intend to analyse passport data in an increasingly automated way. The best preparation is therefore complete, consistent and machine-readable data.