New obligations for sending goods to Germany: from July 1, 2022, registration in the central packaging register is required for all
All e-shops that send their goods to Germany are waiting from 1. 7. 2022 new duties. On this day, legislative changes come into effect that will affect everyone who sends packaged goods to the country. In other words, it is practically every e-shop. The Packaging Act (originally Verpackungsgesetz) came into effect in 2019. The subject of the act was the establishment of a central packaging register (Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister – LUCID). Its intention was to increase the supervision of packaging and to be more successful in recycling. 3 years later, its validity extends to all packaging.
From July 1, 2022, goods whose packaging is not kept in the register cannot be sold in Germany. This obligation also applies to transport and wholesale packaging. This actually means the packaging in which the goods from the e-shop go to the German customer.
The rules also apply to marketplaces
The amendment to the law did not forget the increasingly popular internet marketplaces either. Companies like Amazon, eBay or ExportPilots, who solve this agenda for e-shops.
You can read about the detailed functioning of the entire dual system in English directly on the official website . As part of the registration, the seller must provide information on the types of packaging he imports to Germany (cardboard, plastic, paper, glass, etc.) and pay a fee at the selected provider. "We recommend stating and paying a lower estimate to begin with and possibly paying the difference at the subsequent annual summary. If you pay for too much waste and actually send less, the provider cannot return the money," adds Strítecky.
As is customary in Germany, it may not pay to not comply with the applicable regulations. Fines tend to be high. Its maximum amount is set up to 200 thousand euros.
