Dejan Jasnic · Co-founder & Compliance Lead, Trusty · 20+ years anti-fraud & compliance · ACFE Swiss Chapter Board
The December 2025 amendment to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) introduced a new category: the micro or small primary operator, or MSPO. Since then, one message keeps appearing in webinars and supplier emails: small producers are exempt from due diligence.
They are not. MSPOs are released from submitting Due Diligence Statements (DDS). They are not released from exercising due diligence. The difference matters, because the responsibility for every product they place on the EU market stays with them.
an MSPO?
Not sure the simplified regime applies to you? EUDR Passport checks whether you qualify as an MSPO and shows which due diligence obligations remain.
Who is an MSPO?
Under Article 2(15a) EUDR, an MSPO is an operator who meets all three conditions:
- Size: a natural person, or a micro or small undertaking under the EU Accounting Directive. In
practice, not exceeding two of these three limits: EUR 5 million balance sheet total, EUR 10
million net turnover, 50 employees.
- Location: established in a country classified as low risk.
- Own production: places on the market or exports products it has grown, harvested or raised
itself in that country.
Think of a family farm in Slovenia selling timber from its own forest, or a small Austrian cattle farm selling cattle from its own herd.
What Article 4a actually removes
Article 4a(1) switches off exactly three provisions for MSPOs, and nothing more:
- Article 4(2): the obligation to submit a Due Diligence Statement before placing on the market or export. It is replaced by a one-time Simplified Declaration (Article 4a(2)), which the company may update after major changes.
- Article 4(3), second sentence: the obligation to keep records of DDS for five years, since there are no DDS.
- Article 4(4)(c): the ban on placing products on the market when the operator could not complete its DDS obligations.
That is the full list. Everything else in Article 4 still applies.
What stays: Article 4(1) and everything behind it
Due diligence remains mandatory. Article 4(1) requires operators to exercise due diligence under Article 8 before placing relevant products on the market, to prove that they comply with Article 3. Article 4a does not touch this provision.
Responsibility is taken on at submission. Under Article 4(3), by submitting the Simplified Declaration, the MSPO assumes responsibility for the product’s compliance with Article 3.
Its products must therefore be:
- deforestation-free (no deforestation after 31 December 2020),
- produced in line with the relevant legislation of the country of production,
- covered by a valid declaration.
The information requirements of Article 9 still apply. MSPOs must collect, organise and keep for five years:
- product description and quantity,
- country of production,
- geolocation of all plots, which MSPOs may replace with a postal address under Article 4a(5),
- adequately conclusive and verifiable information that the products are deforestation-free,
- the same kind of information that they were produced legally, including the right to use the
land.
The core prohibitions remain. Under Article 4(4)(a) and (b), products may not be placed on the market if they are non-compliant, or if due diligence has revealed a non-negligible risk. Ongoing duties continue.
The MSPO must:
- inform competent authorities and customers of relevant new information (Article 4(5)),
- cooperate with checks (Article 4(6)),
- pass the declaration identifier down the supply chain (Article 4(7)).
Authorities will look behind the declaration. Article 18(1)(b) lists checks on MSPOs explicitly: authorities examine the Simplified Declaration and the documentation showing that a specific product complies.
not skipped
Swap the DDS for a Simplified Declaration without dropping due diligence. EUDR Passport runs plot-level deforestation and legality checks and builds your due diligence file alongside the declaration.
What EUDR due diligence looks like for an MSPO
For most MSPOs, due diligence is simplified.
Because they are based in a low-risk country, Article 13(1) releases them from the risk assessment and risk mitigation steps of Articles 10 and 11. Their supply chain is their own land, so the complexity and mixing assessment that Article 13(1) requires is usually quick to complete and document.
In practice, MSPO due diligence comes down to five steps:
- Know your plots: geolocation of every plot the product comes from.
- Evidence of deforestation-free status: for example a satellite check of those plots against the
31 December 2020 cut-off. - Evidence of legality: land title, lease or right-of-use documentation, plus compliance with local
environmental, labour and tax rules. - Keep it for five years, ready for an authority check.
- Watch for red flags: if relevant information points to a risk, Article 13(2) requires the full risk
assessment and mitigation of Articles 10 and 11, and immediate communication to the
competent authority.
Why the distinction matters
A Simplified Declaration is not a formality. It is a statement that the operator has taken responsibility for compliance. An MSPO who submits one without having done the underlying due diligence has no file to show when the competent authority asks.
The simplification replaces repeated due diligence statements with a one-time declaration. It does not reduce the evidence behind the product.
When the obligations start
The start date depends on when the MSPO was established (Article 38):
- Established by 31 December 2024: the EUDR obligations apply from 30 June 2027.
- Established after 31 December 2024: they apply from 30 December 2026, the same date as for
large and medium operators.
Products previously covered by the EU Timber Regulation: 30 December 2026 applies regardless of company size or date of establishment.
For newly founded producers, that leaves only a few months to set up the evidence properly.
How EUDR Passport helps
EUDR Passport checks whether a company can qualify as an MSPO. It runs the plot-level
deforestation and legality checks, documents the simplified due diligence, and offers the Simplified
Declaration instead of a DDS where the conditions are met. The due diligence file is built alongside
the declaration, not after it.
Looking for EUDR software? EUDR Passport collects your supplier data, runs the risk assessment and files unlimited due diligence statements, from €90 per product profile per year.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Source: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, consolidated version of 18 September 2026.
30 DECEMBER 2026
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