You have read the EUDR text and see that a product must be 'legally produced'. The question that follows: legal according to which law? The answer is that the regulation refers to the legislation of the country where the product was produced, not to a single uniform EU standard. Because national legislation differs from country to country, what you must be able to demonstrate also differs, depending on where your coffee, timber, cocoa or cattle come from.
That is a different mechanism from the risk classification of countries (low, standard or high), which determines how rigorous your due diligence must be. The legality requirement is separate from that: it concerns the content of what you must verify, not the intensity with which you do so. Both apply simultaneously in your file, and that makes the subject unclear for many SMEs.
What 'legally produced' actually means
The regulation lists a number of categories of legislation to which production must comply: land use rights, environmental protection, rules on forest management and timber harvesting, third-party rights, labour rights, human rights, the right to free, prior and informed consent of affected communities, tax legislation, anti-corruption legislation, and trade and customs regulations. For each of these categories, the standard is the law of the producing country itself. A concession in one country is typically regulated through a national forest management system, in another country through a local land use registration system, and in yet another through a permit issued by a provincial authority.
Why this varies by country
Countries differ in how they record ownership, usage rights and permits, and in how accessible that information is. In one country there is a central, digital cadastre where a parcel and the associated rights can be easily verified. In another country, land registration is handled by local or regional authorities, and documentation may only be available on paper or depend on customary law that is not uniformly recorded everywhere. Rules on forestry, working conditions and permits for land use also vary considerably between, for example, South America, West Africa and Southeast Asia. This does not mean that one system is better or worse, but it does mean that the question 'was this legally produced' is assessed against a different legal framework in each country.
What this means for your file
For you as an importer or trader, this has a practical consequence: the list of documents that proves a batch was legally produced looks different for each country of origin. For timber from a country with a concession system, for example, this might include a harvesting permit or forest management plan. For cocoa or coffee from small parcels, it is more about proof of land use rights and, where relevant, a permit or registration required under local law. This aligns with the broader conversation you are already having with your supplier about origin data, but the specific question you ask a supplier in Brazil is not automatically the same question you ask a supplier in Côte d'Ivoire or Indonesia.
Because this varies by country and by commodity, it is not realistic for an SME to know the legislation of every producing country. What does help is to record for each product stream which country of origin is involved, which documents are required there according to local regulations, and to keep those documents together with the geodata and supplier information in one file. This creates an overview that you can consult at any time, even if an inspection specifically asks for it.
How to approach this without becoming a lawyer yourself
The legal assessment of what counts as lawful in a specific country remains the responsibility of the market participant, and for situations with uncertainty, a lawyer or the competent authority is the right point of contact. What you can organize yourself is structure: per country of origin a fixed checklist of documents, linked to the plots and suppliers you are already mapping. In the knowledge base by topic you will find the location of the relevant provisions in the official text, so you can verify where an obligation comes from.
If you do not yet know exactly what role you have and what obligations go with it, that is the first thing you need to clarify before you start with country-specific documentation. That can become clear in a few questions. Curious how we build up the information per country and commodity and where it comes from? You can read that on the page about how it works. And if your question is not yet among them, check the frequently asked questions.
Do you want to know how these country-specific differences work out in practice for your own product streams? Take the free role check or browse through the topics in the knowledge base to see which documents and deadlines apply to your situation.