Operator vs. Trader vs. Downstream operator

Reg. (EU) 2025/2650 substantially simplified the downstream duties. What follows is the post-amendment picture. Pre-2025/2650 behaviour is documented in /legal/disclaimer for historical context.

The four roles

Role	Definition	DDS-filing duty	Notes
Operator	First to place a covered product on the EU market, or to export it from the EU.	Yes — files the DDS, runs the full Art. 8(2) due-diligence pipeline.	Principal duty-bearer.
Downstream operator	Operator further down the supply chain (re-sale, distribution, processing within EU after first-place-on-market).	No (post-2025/2650). Collects upstream DDS reference + retains it.	Limited registration + notification duties remain for non-SMEs.
Non-SME trader	Trader that is not a micro/small/medium enterprise.	No (post-2025/2650).	Collects upstream reference numbers; retains 5 years; notifies on substantiated concerns.
SME trader	Trader that is a micro/small/medium enterprise (per Art. 2(31) + Directive 2013/34/EU thresholds).	No.	Lightest regime — traceability records only (who I bought from, who I sold to).

What "first place on the market" means

A commodity or product is "placed on the EU market" the first time it is made available for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market (Art. 2(16)). The natural or legal person who does this is the operator and the principal duty-bearer.

Re-selling the product within the EU after that first placement is not "placing on the market". That's downstream distribution or trade. The upstream operator's DDS already covers it.

How the chain works in practice

Consider a chocolate supply chain:

Plantation in Côte d'Ivoire. Out of EU scope (production is in a third country). No EU duty.
Cocoa importer in Belgium. First-place-on-market operator for cocoa beans (HS 1801). Runs the full Art. 8(2) pipeline and files the DDS. Gets reference number 2026-1234-5678 + verification code A1B2C3 from TRACES.
Chocolate manufacturer in Germany. Buys cocoa beans from the importer. Since the importer already filed, the manufacturer is a downstream operator. They collect the reference + code, retain 5 years, and (if non-SME) register with TRACES. They do not file a new DDS.
Retailer in France. Buys chocolate bars from the manufacturer. Non-SME trader (large supermarket). No DDS, but it must register in the information system before making the products available (Art. 5(2)), collect and keep the supplier and customer details and the upstream DDS reference numbers (Art. 5(3)(a), 5(4)), and, on a substantiated concern, verify that due diligence was done before selling (Art. 5(6)).
Corner shop in Spain. Small business. SME trader: collects and keeps who it bought from and who it sold to, five years (Art. 5(3), 5(4)). No registration.

Whether the manufacturer in step 3 stays a downstream operator depends on its inputs, not on how much it transforms them. A downstream operator makes products from relevant products all of which are covered by a due diligence statement or a simplified declaration (Art. 2(15b)). If it adds a relevant product that is not covered (say soy lecithin bought outside the EU), it is an operator for that product (Art. 2(15)) and must exercise due diligence and file a DDS for it.

SME criteria

The SME categories are those of Directive 2013/34/EU (Art. 3), with the monetary thresholds as raised by Delegated Directive (EU) 2023/2775 for financial years from 1 January 2024. An undertaking is in a category when it does not exceed at least two of the three limits:

Category	Employees	Net turnover	Balance sheet total
Micro	10	€900 k	€450 k
Small	50	€15 M	€7.5 M
Medium	250	€50 M	€25 M

Anything above the medium thresholds is a non-SME (large enterprise) for EUDR purposes.

Common questions

Q. I'm a non-SME trader selling a covered product I bought inside the EU. Do I need a DDS? A. No, not post-2025/2650. You only collect the upstream reference + verification code.

Q. I'm a downstream operator and the upstream operator gives me a reference but no GeoJSON. What do I retain? A. The reference number + verification code. The underlying GeoJSON stays with the upstream operator and TRACES; you don't need a copy.

Q. My upstream operator is non-EU (e.g. A Brazilian co-op exporting directly). Who is the EU operator? A. The first EU-side natural or legal person who imports the product. That importer is the operator. If you buy from the importer, you're downstream.

Q. I'm an SME operator but I source from a low-risk country. What's my duty? A. You file a DDS, but you can use Art. 13 simplified due diligence. Skip Art. 10 risk assessment and Art. 11 mitigation, keep the Art. 9 information collection.

Q. Does the engine know which role I am? A. The scenario's operator.role field carries one of operator, downstream_operator, sme_trader, non_sme_trader. The engine uses this to drive the compile path and to render the correct duties in the printable report.