Column: Being right
Delivering packaging is not the same as packing goods
The new German Packaging Act (VerpackG) came into force on January 1. This replaces the previous Packaging Ordinance (VerpackV) and is intended to promote waste avoidance and recycling (Section 1 VerpackG).
The Packaging Act also includes an obligation for certain companies to register (Section 9 VerpackG). This obligation applies to all companies that produce packaging or place it on the market.
Obligation to register due to the delivery of packaging?
As an additional service, many service providers in the transport, forwarding and logistics sector also provide their customers with packaging suitable for shipping. Does this mean that the service provider is placing packaging on the market and must therefore register with the competent authority? Or are there exceptions? Registration as a manufacturer should generally be ruled out, as the packaging is usually produced by specialized companies. At first glance, however, a registration obligation due to the placing of the packaging on the market may be considered.
No registration obligation for pure provision
As a rule, there is no such obligation for the logistics service provider. This is because the concept of placing packaging on the market is defined separately by the legislator. Packaging subject to system participation is sales and secondary packaging filled with goods that typically accumulates as waste with private end consumers after use (Section 3 (8) VerpackG).
This means that it is not sufficient to simply pass on the packaging. According to the legislator, an act requiring registration should only take place when the packaging is filled by an entrepreneur for dispatch or handover to the end consumer. This typically involves sales or shipping packaging. The filling of the packaging is therefore a further requirement for placing the packaging on the market and - as a result - an obligation to register. If packaging material is merely supplied to third parties and filled by them, the logistics service provider is therefore not obliged to register.
No obligation to register when filling
However, even if the service provider takes on further work steps on behalf of its customer, such as packaging the goods, this does not necessarily lead to a registration obligation. This is because in such a case, the work is usually commissioned and the customer appears to the outside world as the sender and therefore as the person responsible for filling.
About the author: Lawyer Carsten Vyvers (40) is a qualified forwarding agent. The specialist lawyer for transport and forwarding law works at the law firm Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB in Frankfurt am Main. He advises companies in the transportation, forwarding and logistics sector.
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