A reporting undertaking may not ask a value chain undertaking with no more than 1,000 employees for information beyond the voluntary standards, and it must tell that undertaking which requested items exceed the standards and that it may decline.
The requirement, in our words
A reporting undertaking may rely on a value chain undertaking's self-declaration that it has no an average headcount above 1 000 and need not verify it, unless it knows or should reasonably know the declaration is plainly wrong. Such protected undertakings may refuse requests for sustainability reporting data that go beyond the voluntary standards under Article 29ca. The reporting undertaking must not require more than the voluntary standards in contracts or other arrangements made to meet its reporting duties (any such clause is not binding, the rest of the contract stands), and whenever it asks for more it must tell the protected undertaking which items exceed the voluntary standards and that it has a statutory right to decline. Reporting value chain information without exceeding the voluntary standards for protected undertakings counts as compliance. Requests made for other purposes, such as due diligence duties, are unaffected, and no value chain undertaking is obliged to provide data.
Why it matters
The cap is the most operationally important change in the rule. It turns the value chain from an open-ended data request into a bounded one. The protection is not automatic: the reporting undertaking has to know the counterparty's status, which it may take from a self-declaration, and it has to mark the request. A contract clause that demands more is not binding.
What changed
The old Article 19a(3) required value chain information and allowed estimates where information was unavailable. The replacement adds the protected undertaking definition, the self-declaration route, the right to decline, the contract rule and the deemed compliance for a request kept within the voluntary standards.
What to do
- Ask each value chain counterparty for a self-declaration of average headcount and record the date received.
- Mark every request item that exceeds the voluntary standards and state the right to decline in the request itself.
- Remove contract clauses that require more than the voluntary standards, and record why the remaining clauses are within the cap.
Evidence to have ready
| Category | Artefact |
|---|---|
| Value chain data collection | Supplier data request template that marks every item exceeding the voluntary standards and states the right to decline |
| Value chain data collection | File of supplier self-declarations on average headcount with the date received |
| Value chain data collection | Contract clause review log showing removal of data obligations beyond the voluntary standards for protected suppliers |
Common failures
- Supplier questionnaires that demand ESRS-level data from small suppliers without the required notice
- Self-declaration accepted although the reporting undertaking's own records show the supplier is larger
Dates
Applies with the amended Article 19a(3) to financial years starting on or after 1 January 2027. The voluntary standards were due by 19 July 2026.
The question to test
Does the request tell the supplier which items exceed the voluntary standards and that it may decline, or does it just send a questionnaire?
Cross-references
A2-5 Value chain transition · A2-9 Group value chain cap · A2-16 Limited assurance
Source
Article 2(4)(b)(i), amending Article 19a(3) of Directive 2013/34/EU; 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.