Fulfilment service providers in the EU will face a new liability risk as of December 2026. This is based on the new EU Product Liability Directive 2024/2853. It modernizes existing regulations and takes greater account of online commerce and goods that come directly from third countries into the EU.
For logistics providers, one change is particularly important: If the manufacturer of a defective product is based outside the EU and there is neither a liable importer nor an authorized representative of the manufacturer within the EU, the fulfilment service provider can instead be brought into the liability chain.
This can be relevant, for example, in e-commerce models where a merchant from China or another third country delivers its products directly to a European fulfilment warehouse and individual customer orders are dispatched from there.
However, the rule does not automatically apply to every freight forwarder.
The EU defines a fulfilment service provider as a company that offers at least two of the following services: storage, packaging, addressing, and shipping. The company must not be the owner of the goods. Pure postal services, parcel services, and pure freight transport services are explicitly excluded.
This is an important distinction for practice. Those who merely organize truck transport or ocean freight shipments do not automatically fall under this new liability rule. The situation can be different in classic e-commerce fulfilment, where goods are stored, picked, packed, addressed, and shipped.
Product liability is moreover independent of fault. Put simply, it is not just about whether the logistics provider made an error themselves. What can be decisive is whether, under the new rules, they can be held responsible as a responsible economic operator for the defective product.
The new requirements apply to products placed on the market or put into service after December 8, 2026. EU member states must transpose the directive into national law. In Germany, implementation was still in the parliamentary process as of early August 2026 according to VerkehrsRundschau.