6 June, 2017

Ecoembes demands the declaration of packaging of food supplements, do I have to do it?

Declaration of packaging of food supplements

The Declaration of Packaging of food supplements is one of the requirements for the provision of information to the Administration contained in article 15 of Royal Decree 782/1998, of April 30, which approves the Regulation for the Execution of Law 11/97 of April 24, Packaging and Packaging Waste. It is not a tax or fee, but a report that provides data on packaging.

Within the scope of a store or trade, the containers that are intended for the consumer and the commercial container must be differentiated. Regarding the latter, in which the merchandise is distributed and are not likely to reach the final consumer, the store or the store can be considered the final holder and will have to comply with the information obligations of the packaging.

Thus, Law 11/97 establishes the obligation to adhere to a comprehensive packaging management system to companies that, as a result of their activity:

– Market their own brand and/or distribution packaged products that can reach the final consumer.

– Pack or manufacture this type of products.

– Import products that can reach the final consumer. Therefore, companies dedicated to the distribution or importation of packaged products that are likely to reach the final consumer, must be adhered to the integrated management system (GIS).

Among others, the company that manages these management systems is ECOEMBES. And in order to do so first, the company has to formalize an adhesion contract with it with an adhesion fee that costs between € 600 or € 300 depending on whether the annual turnover is more than € 6,000,000 a year or less, respectively.

Once the company adheres, each year it is obliged to make the declaration of packaging of the food supplements that it has put on the market, which can be:

Ø Simplified declaration, for companies that sell less than 8 tons per year of containers, and it is quoted according to the section in terms of volume of weight of these containers. The amount payable in this case ranges from € 210 to € 1555 maximum.

Ø For the rest of the companies that sell more than 8 tons of packaging weight, an ordinary packaging declaration is made detailing the composition, weight and number of packaging units placed on the market, and is quoted according to this volume. 

 It is important to keep in mind that a company adhered to the comprehensive packaging management system and that makes its packaging declarations has to identify said containers with the ECOEMBES green dot symbol on its label in order to ensure that the company is complying with the Law of containers.

However, according to the First Additional Provision of Law 11/97, the company may decide not to benefit from a GIS. If this option is decided, the company must (i) notify the Administration and (ii) when the packages are considered waste, they must be delivered in suitable conditions of separation by materials to an economic agent for reuse, to an authorized recoverer, recycler or valuator.