The German statutory packaging law is a legally mandatory law that compels manufacturers or sellers to sell products containing packaging for the first time, including external packaging, final retail packaging, disposable containers/containers used in the catering industry, and shipping packaging materials. Registration and licenses are required. In the Packaging Law, it is mandatory for sellers to declare the packaging materials, types and weights to be sold.
Moreover, the new “Packaging Law” clearly stipulates that transport packaging is also packaging, so now online retailers must also register for packaging and pay licensing fees. This also means that online sellers will pass this fee on to consumers.
In addition, if the seller does not register the new German packaging law in accordance with the requirements of the regulations and recycles the outer packaging of its discarded products in accordance with the requirements. It will face penalties from relevant market supervision departments, including but not limited to customs seizure, product recall, goods destruction, and store restrictions on sales and other serious consequences.
Which products are covered by the new German packaging law?
The new German packaging law officially implemented in 2019 is mainly applicable to all manufacturers and/or retailers, including cross-border e-commerce/online retailers, who are obliged to register under the new packaging law. Cross-border e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Wish are also applicable to the new packaging law regulation.
What information need to be prepared before registration?
- Company name;
- Company address;
- Legal person information;
- German VAT number (must have);
- Code for business license;
- Email address, contact phone number, etc.
What is the registration process for the new German packaging law?
- Go to the website of Verpackungsregister.
- Click the LUCID button to enter the packaging law registration channel.
- Select the manufacturer’s registration channel and continue to the next step (Name is consistent with the company name translated by Amazon Admin, the language is English, and the company’s legal person information can be filled below).
- After filling in the company information, set the account email and password.
- Pass the non-robot test and proceed to the next step.
- Fill in the basic information of the company and the basic information of the contact person
- Add trademark or brand information.
- After the registration is successful, a registration number starting with DE will be issued. After the registration is completed, add the words “EINWEG” (one-time use) or “MEHRWEG” (multiple use) on Amazon’s listing.
What else should the seller pay attention to after registration?
After the registration is completed, the seller will receive an “Environmental Code”. After receiving the “Environmental Code”, the seller must electronically submit the complete statement and related audit reports to Zentralestelle before May 15th each year.
To increase the transparency of e-commerce sellers in fulfilling product responsibilities, the German central agency has been given an independent task. According to the relevant provisions of Article 26 of the Packaging Act, the central agency is responsible for the registration of manufacturers, receipts and verification data reports from manufacturers and systems. At the same time, the central agency needs to inform all sellers who have legal obligations about these obligations and ensure that they can fulfill these obligations with as little administrative effort as possible.
Is the registration of the new German packaging law per store or brand name?
The registration is not in accordance with the store or the brand. The EU importer should complete the registration before the product is shipped to Germany. For example, if the store sells multiple products and has multiple EU importers, then these EU importers are obliged to complete the packaging registration. Sellers who buy from the importer and sell to online and offline sellers in Germany do not need to register again.
If you want to know more about the requirements of the German packaging law and need assistance in registering and reporting in the field of German packaging compliance, welcome to contact us for consultation.
EU-REP-Service work with reliable German packaging register authorized system operator together to facilitate the German packaging compliance for non-EU manufacturers and distributors such as Amazon and Ebay sellers. Our price for German packaging registration and system recycling fee is very transparent and competitive in the market. If you want to know more about the latest policy information, cost, and procedure about the new German packaging law, welcome to contact us for consultation and quote estimate.
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