Cut-off date
Also known as: 31 December 2020
31 December 2020 — the date after which deforestation (and, for wood only, forest degradation) disqualifies relevant products as deforestation-free.
What it means
The cut-off is the fixed line in time for the deforestation-free test. Production on land converted after that date fails for the commodities in scope.
In the regulation
Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 fixes 31 December 2020. For every relevant commodity, land deforested after that date cannot supply deforestation-free goods. For wood there is an additional condition: forest degradation after the cut-off also fails the test.
How ERWAY treats it
Plot risk layers are aligned to that regulatory cut-off so a “clear” plot means clear relative to 31 December 2020 — and for timber, against the degradation limb as well.
Related terms
- Regulation & scope
Deforestation
Conversion of forest to agricultural use after the cut-off — one of three conditions a product must meet (with legality and a due diligence statement).
- Regulation & scope
Forest degradation
A wood-only EUDR test: structural conversion of primary or naturally regenerating forest into plantation forest, planted forest, or other wooded land — not general canopy thinning.
- ERWAY approach
Plot risk check
ERWAY’s name for the satellite-backed review of one plot against the cut-off and its geolocation — an input to Article 10 assessment, not a substitute for the operator’s legal duty.
Keep reading
Regulation & scopeEUDR in plain terms: what Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 actually requires
The EUDR's scope, the three conditions every product must meet, the 31 December 2020 cut-off, and what due diligence actually consists of.
6 min read
Commodity guidesWood and timber under the EUDR
What EUDR covers for wood, why a FLEGT licence no longer discharges due diligence, and how the degradation limb differs from deforestation.
12 min read