According to a report in the newspaper ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’, an American electric car producer in Germany is to pay a fine of over twelve million euros. According to information from the Sunday paper “Welt am Sonntag”, this is stated in the report on the third quarter of the financial year submitted to the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The report states that the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has imposed a fine of twelve million euros on the car producer’s subsidiary in Germany.
One of the reasons for the fine was the allegation that the producer had not complied with laws concerning the take-back obligations applicable to battery products.
Evidently the background to this is the German Batteries Act, which stipulates that producers of e-cars must take back the batteries they have sold or name a disposal partner. This regulation is alleged to have been violated by the car producer concerned.
Do you sell batteries in Germany? If so, then act quickly right now.
The new German Batteries Act will take effect as of 1 January 2021.
In the opinion of the EAR Foundation (German WEEE registration board), there is already a need for action for all distributors of batteries in Germany (also for batteries contained in devices) in order to minimise the risk of being excluded from the 1-year transitional regulation and therefore becoming immediately subject to mandatory registration with the EAR Foundation, and to minimise official sanctions or admonitions. If you are already registered, under certain conditions the 1-year transition period enables you to re-register your batteries with the EAR Foundation in the course of 2021.
If you are not registered yet but manufacture batteries or import them into Germany for the first time, take-e-way will be pleased to assist you in registering your device, industrial or vehicle batteries.
If you have any questions concerning the Batteries Act, please do not hesitate to contact the take-e-way consultancy team by phone on +49/40/750687-0 or send an e-mail message to beratung@take-e-way.de.
