(1)

In line with Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, the Commission put in place the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling (EPREL) system to establish a product database. The EPREL system consists of two parts: a public system providing free access to public information on product models placed on the Union market, and a compliance system where suppliers provide both the public and the technical information on those product models, and that can be accessed by Member State market surveillance authorities.

(2)

The EPREL system provides information about energy-related products covered by delegated Regulations adopted under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, under Directive 2010/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) and, about tyres, under Regulation (EU) 2020/740 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).

(3)

To guarantee the authenticity of information and ensure it comes from bona fide sources, a system to verify identity and entitlement to register products models in EPREL has to be put in place. Because of the thousands of suppliers in different Member States registering product models in EPREL, the verification of their identity in accordance with relevant EU legislation and international standards should be done electronically. As defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, suppliers must be established in the Union. Evidence of the establishment of the supplier within the Union should be provided electronically as well. Only suppliers that have successfully completed the verification process in EPREL, proving their identity and their country of establishment, should be able to register new product models, modify existing registrations or perform any other action on models registered by them.

(4)

Practices, standards and legislation exist to electronically verify the identity of legal persons and of natural persons. Moreover, proof of the establishment of suppliers within the Union should be provided by evidence from a Member State’s business or trade register, in accordance with Article 16 of Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) (‘business register’). Proof of establishment should also be verified by a qualified trust services provider (QTSP) via a certificate in line with Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) (eIDAS) .

(5)

The condition of a supplier being either a natural person or a legal person should be understood in line with national legislation. Suppliers should carry out the electronic verification process with a view to providing evidence of their identity and establishment in the Union in order to register the relevant models before placing any unit of those product models on the Union market.

(6)

Natural persons should be considered suppliers in EPREL only if they provide evidence of the exercise of an economic activity compatible with placing products on the Union market and if they prove their establishment in the Union. Qualified electronic signatures in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, for natural persons acting as suppliers, may be accepted as a way to successfully complete the electronic supplier verification process. However, as qualified electronic signatures do not provide evidence of establishment of a natural person in a Member State, natural persons should anyhow provide such evidence of their establishment within the Union, for their professional activity. This should be done via their registration in a Member State’s business or trade register or in a professional association register that enables them to exercise a profession and which can be confirmed by a competent authority or a qualified trust service provider.

(7)

A qualified electronic signature from a natural person acting as the legal representative of a legal person should not be acceptable for the verification of that legal person to act as supplier, as it does not provide proof of establishment in the Union of that legal person. EN 319 412-1 standard includes syntax and semantics for the qualified electronic seals and qualified signatures as set out in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

(8)

Qualified trust service providers should have a reasonable time, from the date of application of this Regulation, to adapt, if necessary, their procedures and software to generate qualified certificates for electronic seals that include the information necessary to verify both the identity of suppliers and their establishment within the EU. After such a time, only qualified certificates for electronic seals including proof of establishment in the Union should be accepted for the EPREL verification process. If the legal person is in the scope of Directive (EU) 2017/1132, the registration number and the register identifier should correspond to the European unique identifier (EUID) in the context of the system of interconnection of registers referred to in that Directive, also known as the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS) (6).

(9)

An additional and later deadline should be set to allow legal persons that had already completed the verification, including voluntarily before the date of application of this Regulation, with a qualified electronical seal not containing the registration number in a national business register, to provide a new qualified electronic seal supported by a qualified certificate for electronic seal containing it. After the additional deadline has passed, suppliers not having provided evidence of establishment within the Union should become ‘unverified suppliers’.

(10)

For security and reliability of the information made available by EPREL, any product model registered by a person that is still unverified after the deadline foreseen in this Regulation, or becomes unverified on the basis of the provisions of this Regulation, should not be listed in search results on the EPREL public website. When scanning a QR code on a label related to such a model, a message indicating this situation should be displayed. The model should remain visible in the compliance part, where the supplier status is also visible to Member State market surveillance authorities.

(11)

EPREL should process a limited amount of personal data for suppliers registering models, representing the bare minimum guaranteeing that models information entered into the database by third parties is from a bona fide source (authenticity) and that it is possible to identify an economic operator established in the Union against which enforcement can be ensured. Any personal data entered in the database should be processed exclusively in line with the objective of the Commission to carry out its tasks of maintenance of the database and to provide support to market surveillance authorities in the performance of their tasks. Personal data required for the user profiles should not duplicate those created or provided to have access to any Commission electronic data resource.

(12)

To strengthen the functioning of EPREL, national market surveillance authorities may need to have direct contact with suppliers to ask for additional technical information or to remedy cases of non-compliance. Suppliers should therefore provide a specific contact point in the compliance part of EPREL for every product model.

(13)

In order to ensure an adequate level of protection of end users in the Union, suppliers should indicate a contact point for the public offering customer support. A different contact point for any region, country or linguistic area may be provided.

(14)

Provision by suppliers of contact points, should not involve the provision of personal data, as the individual performing this particular task for the supplier may change over time. Generic contact details, such as a functional mailbox and telephone number of the service, should be provided to ensure continuity over time of the contact points in EPREL and to limit the processing of personal data.

(15)

Because of the potential sensitivity of non-public data and documentation associated with recorded models, user accounts of market surveillance authorities should allow the identification of the individual administering these accounts. After the person does not perform this professional task anymore, any personal data should be deleted except where retention is necessary to ensure traceability under Article 12(8) point (e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369. Similarly, personal data associated to suppliers’ user accounts should be deleted by the supplier or by the Commission at the latest one year after the account has been blocked, provided that it is still possible to legally identify the supplier and the user has not performed operations to be logged.

(16)

Entities that did not pass the verification before the deadline foreseen in this Regulation should be able to transfer their registered product models to a verified supplier which is to take over the responsibilities related to those models. That transfer may be also possible for any verified supplier in case of organisational changes such as merging, splitting or sale of all or parts of the supplier, cessation of activities or other circumstances.

(17)

Technical information may possibly contain confidential data and the content may be covered by intellectual property rights. National authorities should therefore limit access to this information on a need-to-know basis.

(18)

An individual, acting on behalf of the supplier he or she is working for, should register as an ‘EPREL supplier’ and manage the full verification process before any model can be registered. For legal persons, that same individual should also be allowed to manage the user profile creation and access rights for additional individuals for the same supplier.

(19)

The Commission should be entitled to review the situation of suppliers, in particular for modifications resulting from their registration in national public registers and should be entitled to solicit an update of any relevant change if not spontaneously communicated by the means of a renewed certificate.

(20)

Non-responsive suppliers, possibly having closed their business or gone into bankruptcy or in analogous situations, should be considered as unverified. The date of end of placing on the market of all their registered models should be set by the EPREL system, and should be marked as set by the system.

(21)

It is appropriate to facilitate consumer choice by ensuring correct identification and differentiation of the products in EPREL, including in view of public procurement under Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7). This should be done by offering suppliers the possibility to voluntarily enter the values of relevant parameters, not included in the product information sheet, such as the Global Trade Item Number, the Member State(s) in which they place units of a product model on the market, or smart readiness related information. In duly justified cases, parameters necessary to distinguish between different models with a different intended use could be added. Those additional parameters should be included in EPREL after consulting the relevant stakeholders. Those parameters should not increase the burden on the supplier and on the market surveillance activity and should be not part of the compliance assessment and compliance verification.

(22)

When registering a model, the supplier does not need to already indicate an end date of placing it on the market. However, in accordance with Article 4(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, suppliers should indicate in the database when they no longer place on the market units of a model. The registration of the model should therefore be updated with that information within a reasonable time once the supplier has taken the decision to no longer place units of that model on the market. The end date for placing them on the market is also a possible reference for the obligations on availability of spare parts, software, firmware updates and any similar obligation set out in the Regulation for that product group adopted under Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (8). The dates of the placing and of the end of placing on the market should be publicly accessible in EPREL.

(23)

Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 requires dealers to visibly display the supplier’s label, including for online distance selling, and to make the product information sheet available to customers. Specific requirements in relation to the information to be provided in visual advertisements, in technical promotional material, in distance selling and in telemarketing, including distance selling through the internet, are also set on a product group specific basis. To facilitate compliance with these obligations, suppliers should communicate to dealers or to distributors the EPREL registration number necessary to electronically retrieve the correct label and the product information sheet, which is available in all official languages in EPREL.

(24)

When dealers display the supplier’s label, particularly if not displaying the label provided in the box, but a copy of it, they should ensure that the QR code, where present, is visible and readable, so that consumers can retrieve the relevant information in EPREL and make use of mobile applications to perform comparisons.

(25)

Suppliers may use automated systems for bulk upload of many model registrations at once, using a specific data structure and semantics, called ‘data exchange model’, provided by the Commission. A change in the data exchange model by the Commission may involve a software development and testing activity by the supplier or by its service provider, for which reasonable notice should be provided.

(26)

It is appropriate to provide suppliers and market surveillance authorities with technical support to use EPREL. Therefore, in addition to guidelines and instructions to be made available via the online portal, a helpdesk service should be available during Commission working days, at least between 9:00 and 17:00 Central European Time (CET) or Central European Summer Time (CEST), as relevant. Suppliers should be provided with clear and correct information on helpdesk service availability days.

(27)

The information relevant for end users and dealers should be made publicly available in the public part of EPREL as open data, to facilitate comparison tools for end users. Easy direct access to the public part of EPREL should be facilitated by tools enabling software components to communicate with each other, using a set of definitions and protocols, such as Application Programming Interfaces (API).

(28)

The Commission should be able to take the necessary action if it identifies fraudulent activity in EPREL, which may include inappropriate downloading of information.

(29)

The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) and delivered an opinion on 14 December 2023.

(30)

The Consultation Forum established pursuant to Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 was consulted.

(31)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in agreement with the opinion of the committee established by Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369,

(1)

‘EPREL’ or ‘European Product Registry for Energy Labelling’ means the product database established and maintained by the Commission in line with Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369;

(2)

‘verification process’ means the process by which a natural person or legal person provides evidence of identity and of establishment in the Union, entitling them to register products in EPREL;

(3)

‘Business Register Identifier’ or ‘Register ID’ means the alphanumerical code assigned by a Member State’s authority, or someone acting on its behalf, to the particular section or office of the business register assigning the business registration number to natural persons or legal persons performing a professional activity, such as business or trade. If the legal person is in the scope of Directive (EU) 2017/1132, such number shall be part of the unique identifier (EUID) referred to in Article 16(1) of the same Directive and in point 9 of the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1042 (10);

(4)

‘Business Registration Number’ means the alphanumerical code, attributed by a business register at national level to the legal person or to the natural person performing a professional activity and providing evidence of its identity and its establishment in the Member State where the register is established. If the person is in the scope of Directive (EU) 2017/1132, such number shall be part of the unique identifier (EUID) referred to in Article 16(1) of the same Directive and in point 9 of the Annex to the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1042;

(5)

‘verified supplier’ means an EPREL supplier that has successfully completed the supplier verification process in the EPREL compliance system according to Articles 4, 5 and 6;

(6)

‘unverified supplier’ means an EPREL supplier that has not yet successfully completed the supplier verification process in the EPREL compliance system, including those not having renewed the qualified electronic seal within the required deadline;

(7)

‘EPREL supplier’ means a natural person or legal person in its capacity to act as a supplier for registering product models in the product database;

(8)

‘data exchange model’ means an XML model used to define the data structure and semantics of the product data, by means of the XML markup language and which permits the data import of the product model’s parameter values from a supplier’s database to the product database;

(9)

‘EPREL compliance system’ means the database and the software for managing its content, accessible via the EPREL compliance website subject to user authentication, enabling suppliers to register both public and compliance data in the product database and also enabling Member State’s market surveillance authorities to perform their activities;

(10)

‘EPREL compliance website’ means the website providing access to the product database for compliance verification purposes, requiring user registration and authentication, where only Member State’s market surveillance authorities and Commission staff have access to any public and technical information of registered product models and to the EPREL supplier information;

(11)

‘EPREL public system’ means the database and the software for accessing its content, freely accessible via the EPREL public website, enabling visitors to consult the public data of any registered product model since its date of placing on the market;

(12)

‘EPREL public website’ means the freely accessible website enabling visitors to consult the public data of any registered product model since its date of placing on the market;

(13)

‘API’ or ‘Application Programming Interface’ means a set of definitions and protocols for building and integrating application software to share data;

(14)

‘business register’ or ‘trade register’ means a Member State’s national public sector body attributing business registration numbers to natural persons or legal persons performing a professional activity such as business or trade and providing evidence of their establishment in the Member State where the national public sector body is established;

(15)

‘GTIN’ or ‘Global Trade Item Number’ means a unique and internationally recognised identifier attributed by the GS1 international organization, used to identify trade items to facilitate accurate identification. GTINs can be encoded as barcode tags, affixed to products or to their packaging, or as Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tags;

(16)

‘date of placing on the market’ means the date of placing on the market of the first unit of a product model;

(17)

‘date of end of placing on the market’ means the date of placing on the market of the last unit of a product model;

(18)

‘registered model’ or ‘registered product model’ means a model of a product, whose parameter values have been entered into EPREL. The registered model may not necessarily be publicly visible;

(19)

‘EPREL compliance production system’ means a copy of the compliance system, where the latest software versions are installed by the Commission and where suppliers register the real product models before placing them on the market;

(20)

‘EPREL compliance acceptance system’ means a system where the latest software versions of the compliance production system are installed by the Commission and where the suppliers can register a dummy supplier and dummy product models for testing purposes. Any new software version is first made available on this system and only made available on the EPREL compliance production system after the relevant test and acceptance period has elapsed;

(21)

‘transfer protocol’ means the protocol for electronic communication over the internet to securely exchange information between the computer systems of the supplier and of the Commission;

(22)

‘online portal’ means the website giving access to the public part and to the compliance part of EPREL and containing the information set out in point 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 and other relevant information on energy efficiency of products (11);

(23)

‘NTR’ means the acronym for identification based on an identifier from a national trade register, as in paragraph 5.1.4 of EN 319 412-1.