Published on : Monday, December 23, 2013
The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which came into force on 3rd March 2013, makes it an offence to place illegal timber or timber products such as wooden furniture on the EU market and places obligations on those who first place such products on the market. The EUTR also requires those who buy or sell products already placed on the market to maintain records to enable supply chain traceability.
In this respect, the Regulation affects the entire furniture supply chain and remains a source of concern for many businesses.
OPERATORS – The EUTR defines organisations ‘first placing’ timber and products such as wooden furniture onto the European market as Operators.
TRADERS – On the other hand, the Regulation defines Traders as those that buy or sell timber or timber products already placed on the internal market for commercial purposes.
Given the complex nature of the furniture supply chain there may be complications in defining your organisation as either an Operator or Trader.
It is important to remember that certain organisations may be classified as both an Operator and a Trader dependent on the source of their timber products. Typically, the determination of an organisation’s obligations is likely to be made according to legal ownership of the timber product in question.
Tags: EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), furniture supply chain, illegal timber or timber products, Operator or Trader, wooden furniture
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