Spain’s EPR Regulations for Packaging: What You Need to Know
Spain implemented significant changes to its EPR regulations for packaging. Online marketplaces will check the compliance of their Sellers. If you are selling in the Spanish market, make sure you comply with the new obligations!
Spanish EPR for Packaging
Spain has recently changed its rules about packaging, and it affects both companies that make products and online sells through marketplaces like Amazon.
The change concerns what is known as the Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR regulations applicable to the product’s packaging. The main idea behind these rules is that companies selling in the Spanish market are responsible for what happens to the packaging after the product is sold. They need to make sure that the packaging gets recycled or managed in an eco-friendly way. This is to help the environment and promote sustainability. In practice, EPR obligations consist of a payment made to an authorized organization that manages waste.
Additionally, online marketplaces like Amazon now have a job to make sure the companies that sell on their websites follow these rules. They must check if their Sellers are registered and complying with these regulations.
Learn more about EPR obligations in other EU countries in our article What is EPR and How does It Work?
Who must comply with Spanish packaging EPR?
Producers must comply with Spanish EPR for packaging. You are a producer of packaged goods if you introduce new, packaged goods into the Spanish market for business purposes, for the first time. This includes manufacturers and importers.
Producers can be packing companies or economic operators importing or purchasing in other EU Member States packaged products for placing them on the Spanish market. However, when the producer is not identified, the distribution brands are liable to comply with Spanish EPR.
What are the Next Steps to comply with Spanish packaging EPR?
If you are liable as a producer in the Spanish market, Marosa can help you comply with all your Spanish packaging obligations. See below a three-step guide to comply with your Spanish EPR obligations:
- Choose your EPR service provider: If you are already registered for VAT in Spain, you need to appoint a Spanish representative for EPR purposes, and choose a producer responsibility organization (PRO). Marosa can act as representative and is engaged with a Spanish PRO for this purpose.
- Get your registration number: Your Spanish representative will apply for your packaging registration number. If you sell on a marketplace like Amazon, make sure you update your profile with your Spanish packaging registration number.
- Comply with the Spanish EPR on packaging: This includes paying eco-contributions on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis, as well as reporting obligations. You shall also prepare eco-design business plans and meet invoice and packaging information requirements.
Additionally, as a producer, you may also have to regularize past periods: report the packaging sold in 2021 and 2022. But you will only have to pay fees for sales from 2023 onwards.
In conclusion, it is vital for sellers and producers to stay informed and fulfill their EPR responsibilities. Online marketplaces like Amazon are now essential partners of the Spanish authorities in ensuring compliance with these regulations.