Economic Operators of Other Tobacco Products (OTPs) – Traceability System for Tobacco Products
The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) regulates the manufacture, packaging and sale of tobacco products. According to the TPD (https://ec.europa.eu/health/select-language?destination=/node/43) of the EU Parliament and the EU Council of 3 April 2014, all economic operators who manufacture, import or sell tobacco products in Germany are obliged to link to the tobacco product traceability system (Track & Trace System).
In Germany, Bundesdruckerei assumes the role of the central issuing office of unique identifiers for the traceability of tobacco products. Manufacturers, importers or sellers of cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco were required to implement the link by 20 May 2019. As a manufacturer and importer, (wholesale) dealer or seller of Other Tobacco Products (OTPs), you are now obliged to link to the Track & Trace system by 20 May 2024.
Every point of sale, including a point of sale for direct consumption, must be registered. We recommend that you first contact your wholesale dealer as the first point of sale, as they can also register first points of sale on their behalf pursuant to third-party registration. Many wholesale dealers assist their partners with the linking process and handle the registration for you. If you register yourself, then you are obliged to communicate the registration data you received to further dealers.
Note: As a manufacturer, importer or private label producer, you can find detailed information on the identification features of the ID Issuer System under the FAQ link "Manufacturers and importers".
The following FAQ page answers general questions on various topics regarding registration with the Track & Trace system.
Registration
All economic operators (manufacturers and importers, (wholesale) dealers, sellers) who are in connection with OTPs are obliged to link to the Track & Trace system by 20 May 2024. To register, you must specify your role in the system.
- If you only sell OTPs, register under "Other".
This concerns retailers (kiosks, bars, petrol stations, etc.) and (wholesale) dealers.
- If you create or import OTPs, register under
"Producers and Importers".
- If you are already registered in another EU country and want to import and sell OTPs in Germany, register under "External Authorised Entities".
If you are a new customer and are not able / do not want to register via a wholesale dealer, then you must link to the Track & Trace system yourself. You can register via a GUI. The GUI supports the languages German and English. You can access the registration portal here.
You can use the test system (Public Demo) to familiarise yourself with the Track & Trace system and test the link and applications that are addressed via the API. Both the registration and ordering processes as well as the API can be tested in the system. New releases are published earlier in the Public Demo. This enables IT service providers and software manufacturers to familiarise themselves with changes in the production environment in good time. Many economic operators make use of the option of linking to the Track & Trace system via an IT service provider. We want to expressly point out that a separate registration with the production system is necessary to actually link to the Track & Trace system. Logging in to the test system does not automatically establish a link to the production system.
The first step is to register. Once you have finished registering, you will receive your access data for the test system of the self-management portal and the required TLS certificate by e-mail.
You can access the test system here
You can find step-by-step instructions for the test system here
You can find general information on the test system here
The following information is required to register:
- Company name
- Company address
- Valid e-mail address
- Accessible mobile phone number (once for sending the initial password via text message)
- VAT identification number
- Tax identification number
- Business form
Until the VAT/tax ID has been validated, upUIs (Unit Pack Unique Identifiers) and aUIs (Aggregated Unique Identifiers) cannot be ordered via the self-management portal. It usually takes a maximum of two working days to review this. You will be informed by e-mail once the review has been completed. All other functions of the self-management portal will be available to you during this period, however. To avoid technical problems, upUIs and aUIs should not be ordered via the application programming interface (API) until the review is completed.
The registration process involves 2 steps:
• The first step is onboarding. This is where the basic registration with company data takes place. The telephone number and e-mail address are also verified in this step.
• You will not receive the access data and the certificate for secure access to the self-management portal until the telephone number and e-mail address have been verified. There you can then enter your facilities (production site with or without machines, points of sale or warehouses, etc.) and change them again if necessary.
You can find step-by-step instructions here
In addition, you can also find a video tutorial here
The browser certificate ensures that communication between the ID-ISSUER system and the browser of the registered user is secure and only possible for authorised entities.
These instructions will guide you through the respective process of importing a TLS certificate into your browser. Please select the browser used:
After successful registration (onboarding), you will receive two text messages. One text message contains the password for the TLS client certificate. Be careful not to confuse the letters capital "I" or lowercase "l" or the letter capital "O" and the number "0". Please check the password for these characters and try different combinations.
Contact Support. Bundesdruckerei will then generate a new certificate.
If the mobile number you provided was correct, you should have received a text message. After successfully registering, you will receive three e-mails. The TLS client certificate is sent in the third e-mail.
This e-mail also contains the specified mobile phone number. If this mobile number is not correct, please register again.
Go to the start page of the production system and select "Forgot password". Then enter the data (user ID, economic operator ID (EOID), confirmation code) from the registration e-mail (from the initial registration).
Self-Management Portal
After successfully registering, you can log in to the self-management portal here
If the registration has been carried out by your wholesale dealer, please contact the wholesale dealer. If you have registered yourself, you will find your ID in the self-management portal under "Settings". Registration must be completed before the self-management portal can be used.
Registration must be completed before the self-management portal can be used. You can access the registration portal here. During the registration process, you will receive your access data and a TLS client certificate by e-mail. You must first set this up in your browser. You will then receive the corresponding passwords via text message.
After successfully completing registration, you can log in to the Self-management Portal login.
You can change your address data in the self-management portal under "Settings".
General Information on Identifiers
Each individual or aggregated package of tobacco products can be identified via the individual identifier. It is applied as a unique alphanumeric code to each individual or aggregated package of tobacco products.
The individual identifier on its physical carrier (tobacco tax stamp) is called a physical identifier. The individual identifier is applied to a physical carrier as a DataMatrix code.
- Date and place of manufacture
- Production details (machine used, time of manufacture)
- Product description
- Intended market
- Planned dispatch route
The individual identifier can be obtained in digital and physical form via the ordering portal or the API. The first step is to log in to the Registration Portal of the issuing office. You initiate orders either via the GUI or the via API of the issuing office.
Unit packet level unique identifiers (upUI) are applied to individual tobacco product units and can only be obtained from producers or importers for a fee. Moreover, there are also UIs at the aggregated level (aUI). These are applied to each aggregated form (multiple tobacco product units in a large package) and can be obtained free of charge by any registered economic operator. In addition, each economic operator is also free to generate aUIs itself as long as they comply with EU requirements.
Every product distributed in Germany needs a German UI.
Transitional periods are regulated in Article 30 TPD.