Packaging EPR reporting deadlines

The two windows

Packaging data is submitted through the Report Packaging Data service in two windows a year:

• 1 October for data covering January to June of that year.
• 1 April for data covering July to December of the previous year.

Deadlines, scope and the level of detail required have all moved since packaging EPR began, and they can move again. Treat the two dates above as the shape of the year and confirm the specifics for your organisation with PackUK and the current GOV.UK guidance before each round. BeautyPack does not submit on your behalf and does not track scheme announcements for you.

Which RAM version applies

The recyclability methodology follows the date the packaging was supplied, not the date you report it. RAM version 1.1 applies to packaging supplied in 2026. RAM 2027 applies to household packaging supplied between 1 January and 31 December 2027. That means a single calendar year of reporting activity can involve two methodologies, and a pack that was amber under one version should not be assumed to carry the same rating under the other.

BeautyPack encodes RAM 2027 only. Assessments for 2026 supply are out of scope of the encoding, which is stated plainly in our implementation status rather than buried.

What has to be ready before a window opens

The submission itself is short. Everything that makes it correct happens earlier. Before a window you need:

• A closed component list for every SKU supplied in the period, including the parts nobody thinks of: shrink bands, sealing discs, sachets in gift sets, leaflets, void fill.
• Confirmed gram weights with a source for each, not carried-forward estimates.
• Effective-dated revisions so that a pack change part-way through the period splits across the right months instead of applying to the whole window.
• Confirmed classifications: producer activity, packaging class, household or non-household, and nation where it is required.
• Volumes reconciled to the same period boundaries your finance or ERP data uses, including free samples, gift with purchase and press kits, which are easy to miss because they never carry a sales value.
• Approved RAM assessments for household packaging, with the evidence attached and any data gaps closed or consciously accepted.

A timeline built backwards

Absolute dates are unhelpful because the windows move relative to your own product calendar. Work in weeks before the window instead.

1. Sixteen weeks before. Freeze the SKU list for the period. Identify packs that changed, launched or were discontinued during it. Raise supplier data requests now, because this is the step with the longest and least controllable lead time.
2. Twelve weeks before. Chase the outstanding supplier responses. Weigh anything that has no credible specification rather than waiting indefinitely for one.
3. Eight weeks before. Publish revisions with correct effective dates. Run RAM assessments for household items and triage the results: reds worth challenging, ambers worth documenting, and items where a fact is simply missing.
4. Four weeks before. Reconcile volumes. Review the household and non-household split with whoever owns trade and retail channels. Get sign-off from the person who is accountable for the submission.
5. Two weeks before. Produce the export, check it against the current file specification for the service, and leave room for a resubmission.

One further rhythm is worth knowing: the confirmed fee rates for a year have historically followed the reporting round rather than preceding it. The Year 2 rates published in December 2025 were illustrative, with confirmed 2026/27 rates due after the 1 April 2026 reporting deadline. Budget on illustrative rates, and label them as such.

Checklist

• Put both windows in the team calendar with a sixteen-week lead task attached.
• Confirm current deadlines and scope with PackUK before each round.
• Know which RAM version applies to the supply you are reporting.
• Close the component list before you chase weights, not after.
• Keep the evidence with the data, so a query in month nine has an answer.

If you are starting from a spreadsheet, our EPR overview for beauty brands covers what the submission actually asks for.