Failure to comply with the obligation Amendments and additions are made as follows:
- In the exercise of its powers regarding the monitoring of projects and programmes financed from the Environmental Fund, the Fund Administration may collaborate with administrative-territorial units or administrative-territorial subdivisions of municipalities, through multi-annual delegation contracts concluded with them, with a view to the joint implementation of environmental protection projects and programmes whose final beneficiaries are individuals.
The Fund Administration is the project implementing agency/implementing structure for investment objectives under the components of Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan on behalf of the beneficiaries.
- According to OUG 125/2022, article 9, paragraph (1), letters d), q) and v) are modified, so that the revenues of the Environmental Fund are constituted from: (…)
- d) a contribution of 2 lei/kg, payable for the difference between the quantities of packaging waste corresponding to the minimum targets for recovery or incineration in incineration plants with energy recovery and recovery through recycling and the quantities of packaging waste actually recovered or incinerated in incineration plants with energy recovery and recovered through recycling, by:
- economic operators placing packaged products on the national market
- economic operators importing/purchasing intra-Community packaged products for their own use/consumption
- economic operators who overpackage individually packaged products for resale/distribution
- economic operators who place on the national market sales packaging
- economic operators who rent out packaging in any form, on a professional basis;
(….)
- q) eco-tax, amounting to 0,15 lei/piece, applied to all carrier bags, except those made of materials complying with the requirements of SR EN 13432:2002; the eco-tax shall be collected from economic operators placing such sales packaging on the national market and shall be clearly indicated on the sales documents, and its amount shall be displayed in a visible place at the point of sale/dispatch, in order to inform final consumers.
Household bags placed on the national market by economic operators are exempted from the payment of the eco-tax, as they are obliged to label them individually with the phrase<<household bag>>.
It is forbidden to sell household bags as packaging at the point of sale. (….)
- v) a contribution of 2 lei/kg, payable by:
– economic operators authorized for the implementation of extended producer responsibility in the field of packaging and packaging waste, payment being made for the difference between the quantities of waste corresponding to the annual targets and the quantities actually recovered, within the limit of the guarantee provided by Law no. 249/2015 on the management of packaging and packaging waste, as amended and supplemented
– legally constituted legal entities, authorized by the National Commission for Material Recycling of the Ministry of Economy to take responsibility for the management of used tyre waste, payment being made for the difference between the quantities corresponding to the annual targets for the management of used tyre waste and the quantities actually managed.
The provisions of this paragraph will enter into force from 1 January 2023.
- The contributions referred to in Article 9 paragraph (1) letter (d)(i), (v), (w) to (y) shall be paid only in the event of failure to achieve the objectives laid down by the legislation in force, for:
a) the quantities of packaging waste corresponding to the packaging which the economic operators referred to in point 2 letter (d) have not contracted with authorised economic operators for the implementation of extended producer responsibility obligations;
b) the quantities of packaging waste for which the economic operators referred to in point 2 letter d have concluded contracts with the economic operators authorised for the implementation of the extended producer responsibility obligations and for which the latter have not fulfilled the objectives provided for by law, after the execution of the guarantee provided for by Law no. 249/2015, as amended and supplemented;
c) the quantities of packaging waste corresponding to the packaging that economic operators authorised to implement the extended producer responsibility obligations referred to in point 2, letter v, have contracted;
d) the quantities of waste used tyres corresponding to new and/or used tyres, intended for reuse, for which legally constituted legal persons referred to in point 2 letter v have taken responsibility; The provisions of this paragraph will enter into force from 1 January 2023.
- The SIATD computer application is used by legally constituted legal entities, authorized by the National Commission for Material Recycling of the Ministry of Economy provided for in point 2 letter v, which manage packaging waste, by economic operators who carry out collection activities, recovery or disposal and reporting of waste for the taxpayers referred to in point 2 letter v and for economic operators authorised to take over the annual obligations for the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment, as well as by legal entities whose net costs and/or collection, recovery, sorting or reporting costs are financed by these legal entities.
The legal entities mentioned above must comply with the deadlines set out in the Instructions for the use of the SIATD computer application, in order to monitor and verify the correctness of transactions with waste packaging, tyres, electrical and electronic equipment, portable batteries and accumulators in the extended producer responsibility system, approved by order of the Minister of the Central Public Authority for Environmental Protection.
As of 1 January 2023, the SIATD computer application shall be used by legally constituted legal entities, authorised by the National Commission for Material Recycling of the Ministry of Economy provided for in point 2 letter v that manage used tyres and legal entities that manage portable batteries and accumulators, as well as electrical and electronic equipment.
From 1 January 2024, the SIATD IT application shall be used by legal entities managing municipal waste.
We mention that the SIATD IT application is also used by economic operators who transport waste across borders for recovery in Romania.
- The amounts coming from the eco-tax (mentioned in article 9, paragraph 1, letter q), in the amount of 0,15 lei/piece, are declared and paid quarterly by the legal entities carrying out the respective activities, until the 25th of the month following the quarter in which the activity was carried out. Legal entities shall declare quarterly the number of transport bags, each of their component materials, as well as the thickness of the wall of these bags.
In the case of economic operators who have concluded contracts with authorised operators referred to in Article 9 paragraph(1)letter (v), the amounts referred to in Article 9 paragraph (1) letter d shall be determined by decision issued by the Fund’s Administration, after execution of the guarantee and shall be paid according to the date of communication of the decision, as follows:
- if the date of notification is between 1-15 of the month, the payment deadline is up to and including the 5th of the following month;
- if the date of notification is between 16 and 31 of the month, the payment deadline is up to and including the 20th of the following month.
- The declaration shall be submitted to the Fund’s Administration by electronic means of remote transmission, and payment shall be made into a separate revenue account of the Environmental Fund budget, opened with the Treasury in its name.
- It is important to mention that as of 1 January 2023, quantities of packaging waste that are not recorded in the SIATD computer application will not be taken into account in the achievement of the minimum waste management targets.
- From 1 January 2024, the quantities of waste tyres, electrical and electronic equipment, portable batteries and accumulators that are not recorded in the SIATD computer application will not be taken into account in achieving the minimum waste management targets.
- Introduction of a new chapter called “Guarantees”:
The Fund’s administration manages a separate account at the State Treasury, in which the amounts collected from the producers of electrical and electronic equipment, respectively from the collective organizations, are collected from the execution of the guarantee constituted according to the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 5/2015 on waste electrical and electronic equipment, with subsequent amendments and additions.
The Fund’s administration verifies the correctness of the data reported by producers and collective organizations, as well as the calculation and constitution of the guarantee.
The methodology for the establishment and management of the financial guarantee for producers of electrical and electronic equipment and for collective organizations, as well as for its use by the Fund Administration, shall be established by order of the head of the central public authority for environmental protection, upon proposal of the Fund Administration.
The Fund administration executes the financial guarantee provided by the individual producer as follows:
a)if the producer ceases its activity before the end of the guarantee period, for the products placed on the national market and remaining unmanaged, for which it has constituted the guarantee;
b) if the producer, at the end of the guarantee period, does not fulfil his obligation to finance the collection, treatment, recycling, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment placed on the national market for which he has lodged the guarantee and which remains unmanaged;
c) in the event of failure to comply with the obligations to finance the collection, treatment, recycling, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment, for electrical and electronic equipment for which the producer has not fulfilled his obligations.
The Fund’s administration authorises the use of the sums received as a result of the execution of financial guarantees to finance projects for the collection, transport, treatment, recycling, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households.
The sums deriving from the execution of the guarantee shall constitute revenue for the budget of the Environment Fund.
- Insertion of new sanctions, which will enter into force from 01.01.2023:
Failure to use the SIATD IT application by the obliged legal entities constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine from 80,000 lei to 100,000 lei.
Failure to comply with the deadlines set out in the Instructions for the use of the SIATD computer application, in order to monitor and verify the correctness of waste transactions, constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine of 9,000 lei to 10,000 lei.
Failure to comply with the obligation to record the ecotax on the sales documents, provided for in Article 9 paragraph (1) letter q), constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine of 9,000 lei to 10,000 lei.
Failure to comply with the prohibition of marketing by economic operators, through points of sale/sale of household bags as packaging, constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine of 9,000 lei to 10,000 lei.
Failure to comply with the obligation of inscription or erroneous inscription of household bags by economic operators who place them on the national market, constitutes an infringement and is punishable by a fine of 20,000 lei to 25,000 lei.
The registration of carrier bags that do not fall into the category of household bags, with the phrase <<household bags>>, constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine of 40,000 lei to 50,000 lei.
Incorrectly calculating the security lodged constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine of 90,000 lei to 100,000 lei.
The reporting of false data through the SIATD computer application constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine of 200,000 lei to 250,000 lei.