For the in-depth assessment, a company may ask a business partner for information only where it is necessary, and from a partner with fewer than 5,000 employees only where the information cannot reasonably be obtained another way.
The requirement, in our words
For the in-depth assessment a company may seek data from business partners only when it needs it, and from partners employing under 5 000 people only when no other reasonable source exists. Where several partners could supply the same information it should, where reasonable, ask first those where the impact is most likely to occur, and where impacts are equally likely or severe in several areas it may prioritise those involving direct business partners.
Why it matters
The provision is the due diligence counterpart of the CSRD value chain cap. It limits the questionnaire arms race and pushes the company to use other sources first: independent reports, digital solutions, industry initiatives, the notification channel and the complaints route. It also asks the company to prioritise the partners closest to the most likely impacts.
What changed
Article 8 gains paragraph 2a. It did not exist in the old text, so a company that sent a broad questionnaire has to redesign the request and record the necessity test.
What to do
- Log each information request with the reason it is necessary.
- For a partner below 5,000 employees, record why other sources were insufficient.
- Prioritise requests to the partners where the impact is most likely, and record the choice.
Evidence to have ready
| Category | Artefact |
|---|---|
| Supplier engagement | Information request log stating the necessity of each request and, for partners under 5 000 employees, why other sources were insufficient |
| Supplier engagement | Supplier questionnaire design note showing the prioritisation of partners closest to the impact |
| Supplier engagement | Records of alternative sources consulted before writing to smaller partners |
Common failures
- Blanket questionnaires sent to every supplier regardless of necessity or size
- No record of why a smaller supplier had to be asked
Dates
Transposition by 26 July 2028; application from 26 July 2029.
The question to test
Does the file show why the request was necessary, or only that the questionnaire was sent?
Cross-references
A2-4 Value chain cap · A4-7 Scoping and in-depth assessment · A4-9 Prioritisation protection
Source
Article 4(6)(b), inserting Article 8(2a) of Directive (EU) 2024/1760; OJ L 2026/470, 26 February 2026; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026L0470. Our statement of the duty, read from the Official Journal text and the held control record, not the instrument verbatim.
Not legal advice; does not certify. A reading of the duty and the evidence commonly sampled, not a substitute for the Official Journal text, the national transposing measure or your auditor's judgement.