As a result of the amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) as of 1 January 2023 published in the Federal Law Gazette, the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt/UBA) has revised the presentation of the prosecution and punishment of administrative offences under the ElektroG on its website in German and English.
Accordingly, the Federal Environment Agency is responsible for prosecuting and punishing administrative offences under section 45 (1) Nos. 1 to 5, 7, 10, 13 and 15 of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act. The punishment of the remaining offences is the responsibility of the individual federal states. The offences to be prosecuted by the Federal Environment Agency under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act concern the following (excerpt):
- failure to register in due time as a manufacturer or authorised representative of a manufacturer or authorised representative of a manufacturer (No. 1),
- placing electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the market without being duly registered as a manufacturer (i.e. with the relevant brand and type of equipment), either by itself or through an authorised representative (No. 3),
- offering for sale of electrical and electronic equipment by distributors without proper (own or authorised) registration of the manufacturers of such electrical and electronic equipment (No. 4),
- allowing electrical and electronic equipment, the manufacturers of which are not duly registered themselves or through an authorised representative,to be offered or made available through electronic marketplaces (point 4a),
- the non-disclosure of its registration number as manufacturer on offers and invoices (No. 5),
- non-appointment of an authorised representative by the manufacturer (No. 7),
- failure to collect or to do so in good time, a container provided by the public waste management authority for collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) contrary to the order of the EAR Foundation (German WEEE and battery registration board) (No. 10),
- failure to notify the EAR Foundation, or failure to notify it correctly, completely or in good time, of regular statistical data on quantities, e.g. on the placing on the market of electrical and electronic equipment or on the take-back of WEEE (No. 15).
“Manufacturers” as contemplated by the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act comprise, in particular, manufacturers and importers who must be duly registered – i.e. with the applicable brand and type of equipment – by the EAR Foundation before they are allowed to place their self-produced or imported electrical equipment on the market in Germany. Failure to register or improper registration of a manufacturer (or its authorised representative) constitutes a – sometimes significant – unjustified competitive advantage for the manufacturer in question. Although the manufacturer is prohibited by law from participating in the market, it is not only evading its manufacturer responsibility for its own electrical appliances; the latter must also be disposed of cost-effectively by the registered manufacturers at the end of their useful equipment life. Accordingly, violations of the registration obligation can be punished with a fine of up to 100,000 euros and the economic advantage gained through the violation is also regularly skimmed off. Further particulars are available on the webite of the Federal Environment Agency.
Please note: As take-e-way already reported, a fine is in principle not limited to the maximum amount but can turn out a great deal higher if the profit was very much higher, too.
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; the take-e-way team will help you with the registration.
For solutions on the subject of EU product labelling or packaging and, in particular, disposal labelling , the trade-e-bility consulting team is at your disposal via beratung@trade-e-bility.de or +49/40/75068730-0.
