On 13 September 2022, take-e-way reported that an amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) means that a longer transitional period for the newly introduced inspection obligation for operators of electronic marketplaces and fulfilment service providers is planned. This is the obligation to check whether manufacturers/sellers have properly registered their electrical and electronic equipment with the EAR Foundation (German WEEE and battery registration board).
As the German parliament now informs, the Committee for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection supports the longer transitional period for the inspection obligation under the ElektroG sought by the Federal Government. A corresponding legislative bill (20/3821) was approved by the MPs in an amended version.
The amendments, which the committee adopted with a coalition majority at the request of the SPD, Bündnis 90/The Greens and FDP parliamentary groups, affect not only the ElektroG but also the Ordinance on Specialist Waste Management Companies and the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Accordingly, the title of the Federal Government’s legislative bill has changed. It now reads as follows: “Entwurf eines Ersten Gesetzes zur Änderung des Elektro- und Elektronikgerätegesetzes, der Entsorgungsfachbetriebeverordnung und des Bundesnaturschutzgesetzes” (Draft of a First Act amending the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, the Ordinance on Specialist Waste Management Companies and the Federal Nature Conservation Act).
However, the aim of the amendment is still to extend the transitional period for the inspection obligation for online marketplaces and fulfilment service providers, which will apply under the ElektroG from 1 January 2023, by six months until 1 June 2023.
Independently of this, “Amazon_News” affirmed the following in the Amazon services seller forums on 11 October 2022:
„If you sell Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in Germany, you can now submit your registration number(s) (WEEE-Reg.-Nr.) for Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regarding Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Otherwise, on January 1, 2023, Amazon will be legally obliged to suspend your non-compliant listings.“
The take-e-way consultancy team will be pleased to assist you. Please call +49/40/750687-0 or send an e-mail to beratung@take-e-way.de for any questions you may have on the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act and the EPR rules and will help you with the registration.
