How to fulfil your obligations as a seller or producer in
AUSTRIA
Packaging
To comply with your obligations, sellers and producers have 3 main duties:
- Appoint an Authorized Representative:
It’s mandatory for a seller or producer, who is not based in Austria, to appoint an Authorized Representative as of January 1st, 2023.The Authorized Representative Agreement needs to be certified by a notary or by some equivalent institution if allowed in the respective country of the seller/producer.
The Authorized Representative becomes liable with regards to the sellers/producers extended producer responsibilities and is allowed to sign a contract with a PRO in the name of the seller/producer, see point 2.
The Austrian Authority accepts Authorized Representative registrations quarterly, the first time as of October 1st, 2022.
- Join a PRO:
Sellers and producers must join a PRO in order to legally take care of their packaging.
With our EASyShop flat fee solution, we offer a reliable and legally secure one-stop shop for packaging compliance.
The flat fee solution includes 1,500 kg of household packaging and 1,500 kg of industrial packaging per calendar year. There is no quantity report needed.
- Reporting:
If the seller or producer places more than 1,500 kg of household packaging or more than 1,500 kg of industrial packaging per calendar year onto the market, they must submit a quantity report.
1. Do you need an Authorized Representative for Austria?
Through our EASyShop for Austria, you can quickly, conveniently, and easily purchase a complete package – including AR + notary service!
If you are already an EASyShop customer in Germany, you can expand your existing contract through your DE account by clicking on „Austria“ in the header for either:
a) a contract including AR or
b) a complete package (contract including AR + notary service)
If you need the power of attorney (AR), you can add this through our Click & Comply Shop.
WEEE
To comply with your WEEE obligations, sellers have 5 duties:
- Registration:
Your electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) must be registered with the public register EAR (per category and per brand.)Please be aware that foreign companies can only register via an appointed Authorized Representative (see point 2).
- Appoint an Authorized Representative (AR) in Austria:
For EEE manufacturers/dealers without a subsidiary in Austria - Join a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO):
Landbell in this case – to ensure collection and recycling of WEEE.
- Report to the Registry:
You report to Landbell and we will provide this to the registry - Fulfilment of other obligations:
For example, takeback (1:1 and others) is provided as (paid) services by Landbell Group as well.
Licence your WEEE in just a few clicks with Click & Comply!
Batteries
To comply with your battery obligations, sellers have 3 duties:
- Registration:
The registration of your batteries must show up on this register (stiftung elektro-altgeräte register). Your batteries must be registered with the EAR (per category and per brand). This is a service we can do for you.
- Join the battery takeback scheme of Landbell Group:
Membership must be approved by Landbell during the registration process
- Report:
The quantities of batteries placed on the Austrian market. If you join Landbell Group’s scheme, please report to them and submit to the authority.
Licence your Batteries in just a few clicks with Click & Comply!
Single-Use Plastics (SUP)
To comply with your SUP obligations, seller have 3 duties:
- Appoint an Authorized Representative:
It’s mandatory for a marketplace seller, who is not based in Austria, to appoint an Authorized Representative.
The Authorized Representative Agreement needs to be certified by a notary or by some equivalent institution if allowed in the respective country of the seller/producer.
The Authorized Representative becomes liable with regards to the sellers/producers extended producer responsibilities and is allowed to sign a contract with a PRO in the name of the seller/producer, see point 2.
- Join a PRO:
The seller/producer must join a PRO in order to legally take care of its single-use plastics
- Reporting:
The seller/producer is obliged to report the quantities of single-use plastics put on the Austrian market.
Licence your single-use plastics in just a few clicks with Click & Comply!
Definitions
Packaging
Household packaging is packaging with the following size:
- surface area up to and including 1.5 m²; or
- in the case of hollow bodies, a nominal filling volume up to and including 5 litres, or
- in the case of packaging made of expanded polystyrene (EPS – e.g. Styropor), a mass of up to and including up to 0.15 kg per sales unit
and usually occurs:
- in private households or
- in places comparable to households with regard to the packaging generated
Furthermore, service packaging, carrier bags and knotted bags shall in any case be deemed to be household packaging, irrespective of their size.
Packaging made of paper, cardboard, paperboard and corrugated cardboard packaging that meets the definition of sales packaging shall, irrespective of its size, be deemed to be household packaging, provided that point 2 applies.
Industrial packaging is:
- packaging that is not household packaging,
- paper packaging that meets the definition of transport packaging,
- pallets and strapping and adhesive tapes, and
- the proportion of packaging which in principle meets the definition of household packaging but which, by the packaging classification ordinance, is considered to be transport packaging
Sales packaging or primary packaging is offered to the end consumer as a sales unit.
Outer packaging or secondary packaging – insofar as they do not fall under sales packaging or transport packaging – is packaging which:
- contains one or more sales units which are sold together to the final consumer or serve only to stock the sales shelves, and
- can be removed without affecting the characteristics of the goods
Transport packaging or tertiary packaging is:
Packaging designed to facilitate the handling and transport of multiple sales units or outer packaging in order to avoid their direct contact or damage in transit.
Containers for road, rail, ship and air transport are not included in the definition of transport packaging.
Shipping packaging for online sales is:
Used to deliver goods to the end users (e.g. the shipping cartons, filling materials like bubble foil, etc.).
Shipping packaging is always subject to registration and membership of a PRO.
For shipping packaging, there are always direct obligations for marketplace sellers/online sellers selling to Austria.
Please remember: In Austria, you must fulfil the obligation for all packaging put on the Austrian market. Therefore, the obligation is valid for all sales channels.
WEEE
Devices which are exposed to an alternating voltage of maximally 1,000 V or a direct current voltage of maximally 1,500 V during operations and:
- which are dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields for proper operation, or
- which serve for the generation, conduction and measurement of electric currents and electromagnetic fields.
If you offer an EEE product containing a battery, you must register for both EEE and Batteries
Batteries
The battery law differentiates between three battery types:
- “portable batteries” are batteries, which are sealed and can be hand-carried. Industrial and automotive batteries are not portable batteries.
- “industrial batteries” are all batteries for exclusively industrial, commercial or agricultural purposes.
- “automotive battery” means any battery used for automotive starter, lighting or ignition power.
The manufacturer of all battery types has to register these batteries with the correct brand and battery type with the authority EAR before placing them on the market. Landbell Group can do this for you.
Manufacturers of portable batteries are obliged to take back the waste portable batteries, at no charge and nationwide, which are collected at distributors or local collection points.
In order to fulfil this takeback obligation, the producer has to participate in a takeback scheme approved by §7 of the battery law.
The takeback scheme implements takeback and recycling of waste batteries and reaches the legally demanded collection rate of at least 50% from reporting year 2021 onwards.
Manufacturers of industrial batteries and automotive batteries are obliged to take back waste batteries. They have to offer a reasonably convenient takeback solution at no cost and recycle the batteries according to §14.
Single-Use Plastics
Single-use plastic (SUP) items are made of plastic and generally intended to be used only once or for a short period of time before being disposed of. Reporting obligations exist for:
- beverage cups
- food packaging like take-away boxes
- bags and wrappers made of flexible material which contain food
- beverage containers, classified as PET beverage bottles, other beverage bottles and other beverage containers
- wet wipes
- balloons
- tobacco products
- fishing gear that contains plastic
