Shipping to Germany and Packaging Regulations

[digital*ghost]

From memory there are not too many sellers in the forum who ship regularly to Germany, but some new requirements were passed into law on the 1st of January and will come into full force on the 1st of March, which will  affect anyone who ships to Germany, even if it's just once a year.

The basic jist of it, is that Germany has introduced some regulations for anyone sending items there in packaging - sellers are required to register with a central packaging agency, pay an annual license fee, and supply information about projected volume of packages, as well as packaging type - the move is to encourage sellers to use recyclable packaging, and by the sounds of it, licensing fees will eventually be based on the sutainability or "eco-friendliness" of the packaging that has been registered.

Currently incoming packages seem to be unhindered by this new regulation, but in a couple of weeks, that may change, with warnings, cease and desist letters, packages being destroyed, and even fines up to 200k Euros become a possibility.

More information here: https://www.gruener-punkt.de/en/services/packaging/german-packaging-act.html?fbclid=IwAR22eaT6QVoiRP...

[digital*ghost]

I wish it was that cut and dry with online theft, lol.

I suspect a lot of sellers may follow suit, TBH, no idea if that would or could result in any counter-measures, though. It'll be interesting to see if any other countries bring in anything similar, too. 

[countessalmirena]

I hadn't heard of this change - but then it's family in Germany rather than customers for me.

I actually think this is a good initiative, if it can achieve what it sets out to achieve. There are some excellent packaging products available which are recyclable or compostable alternatives to non-recyclable/non-compostable packaging, but they've been slow to get a foothold with the average Australian seller.

Spoiler

A bit of a segue - but I hope that Australia can and will fund recycling plants Australia-wide so that we as a nation can product high-quality fabrics from recycled PET bottles and so on, as well as imitate what's being done in the UK with takeaway coffee cups. As it is, I have to negotiate with Chinese companies if I want to buy fabric made from recycled PET products... I know most of us will have read of the problems being faced within Australia as a result of China no longer taking our recycleable waste. This is an amazingly promising area that requires the funding, the technology, and the will to achieve it.

[davewil1964]

The general proposals for recycling now seem to rest on burning waste for energy.

I've yet to see an explanation of how this would be less environmentally damaging than burning coal, but I'm sure the proponents will have one. Or maybe not, otherwise they would have produced it.

As an aside, recently the main Canberra recyclable waste depot was shut down for a couple of weeks, due to significant safety issues. The waste built up until the depot overflowed, so they sent several hundred tonnes of it to landfill, by direction of the 'no waste by 2010' ACT Government.

This depot is privately run and has contracts with many other entities, public and private, in the region.

The joys of privatisation.

[digital*ghost]

As promised....

I sought clarification on these regulations, and my account manager at DHL told me quite simply that it applies to items that need a commercial clearance, which is not the same as postal clearance direct to a consumer from a retail seller (i.e. it affects business to business transactions).  

So, my apologies to anyone who reacted to what I now know is misinformation - with a particular nod to jellybirddesigns who prompted me to research further. 

[onekiwi0]

so it doesn't affect anyone who gets the irregular sale off ebay from germany. ?

[digital*ghost]

Apparently not - I basically asked him twice, as I wasn't too sure we were on the same page after my first enquiry, and sent a link to this page along with a couple of quotes ("If you are selling or otherwise putting into circulation goods via your online shop on the German market, you have to arrange for your sales packaging and secondary packaging to participate in a dual system." and "Any commercial retailer (also online retailer) is subject to the obligation to participate in a system.")

After which he replied "[This would] only kick in with items arriving on a commercial clearance; No bearing on Postal clearance; This applies only to items which have the intent to be resold within Germany  – Shipments to a private individual won’t have this applied."

I'm guessing maybe there has been confusion over the term "commercial retailer", where for many, anyone who sells can be deemed to be acting in a commercial capacity, but official use of the word "commercial" seems to have a different application. I know my packages aren't classified as commercial shipments, even though the customs declaration is for merchandise. Commercial retailer - I'm guessing - is a more official way of saying "wholesaler". 

If my manager was wrong, though, I'll soon find out, as I've now sent several packages to Germany. 

[bo_45111024]

If you're having issues with that, I'd recommend first of all of course to search on the internet and read: https://www.lizenzero.de/en/blog/german-packaging-act-on-etsy-what-do-online-retailers-have-to-consi...  - also applies to ebay. And second, you can also take help from Lizenzero, I've been with them now for a few months and they are a great help!

Kind Regards,
Kim

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

this thread pre-dates COVID.  International shipping has changed during this worldwide pandemic.

Members should keep this in mind when reading posts on this thread as the information, while correct at time of posting, may now be incorrect  

Maybe this thread needs