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Packaging, hiring and online sales in 2027: what to check in your business while the laws are still drafts

Published · Prepared with AI

Three changes that affect small businesses in Estonia are already set out in draft legislation. For 2027, the state proposes scrapping the packaging excise and allowing employers to bring in foreign workers on top of the usual quota, three times as many in total as before. Meanwhile, the EU is preparing a Digital Fairness Act aimed at manipulative online marketing. None of these changes has become law yet, and it is tempting to put news like this aside until the day a law is passed. But packaging reporting, a hiring plan and the way a subscription works cannot be rebuilt overnight, so it pays to look at them now. Below we look at who each change will affect - those who sell goods, hire staff or sell through social media and subscriptions - and what to check today.

If the packaging excise is scrapped, will there be less work?

The excise may go, but there will be more reporting. As ERR reports, in the new version of the draft packaging act the state proposes scrapping the packaging excise next year, in 2027, describing it as an outdated tax. The law has not been passed yet; it is still a draft.

According to the same ERR report, the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce supports the abolition. But the draft contains a part the chamber criticises: businesses will have to report on the composition of their packaging in more detail.

So for those who sell goods, the conversation shifts from the amount of tax to data. A detailed report on packaging composition means knowing what your boxes, film and bottles are made of. If you do not have this information, you will need to ask your suppliers for it, and it is far less stressful to start that correspondence before any deadlines appear.

Three times as many foreign workers above the quota: will businesses find enough staff?

That is what the state is counting on, while the trade unions see a risk. As ERR reports, under the new plan employers will be able in 2027 to bring foreign workers to Estonia on top of the usual immigration quota - two more quotas' worth. In total that is three times as many as before, and the aim of the plan is to close the shortage of skilled workers.

The unions read the same news differently: the salary threshold for workers above the quota is lower, and in their view this will open the door to cheap labour. There is one more figure worth setting beside it. At the beginning of November 2026, Estonia had almost 38 000 registered unemployed according to the employment agency, ERR reports.

In other words, a shortage of workers and unemployment exist in the country at the same time. For an employer, this is a fork in the road: the expanded quota gives more hiring options for 2027. But before deciding to hire from abroad, it helps to understand which positions you genuinely cannot fill in Estonia and why - because of skills, because of the salary level, or simply because nobody sees the vacancy.

What will the Digital Fairness Act change in social media marketing and subscription sales?

Nothing yet: it is an EU proposal and has not become law. But the direction is already clear. As ERR reports, the Digital Fairness Act is intended to restrict manipulative online marketing techniques and unfair personalisation of offers to consumers.

Two things from the everyday work of small businesses fall within its scope. The first is influencer advertising (bloggers who promote goods and services on their social media). The second is subscriptions that customers find hard to cancel or manage.

So if you run social media for clients or sell subscriptions, it is worth looking at your processes through a customer's eyes now. Is it clear from the first words that a blogger's post about your product is an advertisement? How many steps stand between a customer and cancelling a subscription, and how many did it take to sign up? Both questions relate directly to what the EU named in its proposal.

What should you check in your business now?

Each item concerns your own data and processes, so you can deal with it before the laws are passed:

  • Products: draw up a list of the packaging you sell your goods in and mark which items you know the materials for and which require information from the supplier.
  • Suppliers: ask whether they will be able to provide information on packaging composition if reporting becomes more detailed.
  • Hiring: write down the positions for 2027 that you cannot fill and the reason for each - skills, salary or no applications.
  • Salaries: if you are considering workers from abroad, work out how much you will pay them and how that compares with what your current team earns.
  • Advertising: open bloggers' posts about your product and check whether readers can see from the first words that it is an advertisement.
  • Subscriptions: go through cancelling your own subscription yourself, as a customer would, and count the steps.

Where will this checklist fall short, and what then?

The list has three weak spots, and each has a workaround.

First: all three changes are still drafts, and the details may change. What to do: treat the data you collect as a foundation and, once the laws are passed, check it against the final text. Packaging information and a clear picture of your vacancies will still be useful then.

Second: the figures on staff shortages and unemployment are national, and the picture for your position and in your town may be different. What to do: look at your own vacancy - how many applications from candidates in Estonia it attracted over the last month and why they were not suitable.

Third: there are no final rules for the Digital Fairness Act yet; only the area it targets is known. What to do: start with what the proposal names directly - clear labelling of influencer advertising and easy subscription cancellation.

In short: scrapping the packaging excise may remove a tax from sellers while adding to their reporting; the expanded quota gives employers more hiring options along with a dispute over wages; and the Digital Fairness Act targets influencer advertising and subscriptions that are hard to leave. One step for this week: choose the area from the checklist that affects you most - products, hiring or online sales - and complete its items by Friday. If your question goes beyond the list and concerns how to restructure your sales or your team, work through it with MOST experts.

Sources

Questions and answers

Will Estonia abolish the excise on packaging?
There is such a proposal: under the new version of the draft packaging act, the excise would be abolished in 2027 as an outdated tax, ERR reports. The law has not been passed yet, so until it is, this remains a draft.
What will change for those who sell packaged goods?
If the draft is passed in its current form, the excise will go but reporting will become more detailed: you will have to describe the composition of your packaging more thoroughly. The Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce criticises this part, although it supports abolishing the excise itself.
How many more foreign workers will employers be able to hire in 2027?
Three times as many as before: two more quotas' worth is added on top of the usual immigration quota. The state wants to close the shortage of skilled workers this way, while trade unions warn of a lower salary threshold for these workers.
Why expand the quota if Estonia has almost 38 000 unemployed?
The state is talking about a shortage of skilled workers, meaning people with specific skills. Almost 38 000 registered unemployed is a national figure as of early November 2026, according to the employment agency. The unions believe that the low salary threshold for workers above the quota will open the door to cheap labour.
What is the Digital Fairness Act and does it affect small businesses?
It is an EU proposal for an act on digital fairness. It is meant to restrict manipulative online marketing techniques and unfair personalisation of offers, and its scope covers influencer advertising and subscriptions that are hard to cancel. If you work with bloggers or sell subscriptions, it concerns you. The law has not been passed yet, and the final rules will come with it.
What should a small business do right now if the laws have not been passed yet?
Check what all three drafts touch on: what your packaging is made of and whether your suppliers have that data, which 2027 vacancies are not being filled and why, whether influencer advertising is labelled, and how easy it is to cancel your subscription. These are your own data and processes, and you can put them in order ahead of any decisions.

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