circular economy
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AEO and obligations of importer of batteries
According to the European batteries framework, the importers has to place on the market a battery which is compliant with Articles 6 to 10 and Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the regulation. In particular, before placing a battery on the market, importers shall verify that: the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation referred to in Annex VIII (Conformity assessment procedures) have been drawn up and that the relevant conformity assessment procedure has been carried out by the manufacturer the battery bears the CE marking referred and is marked and labelled in accordance with Article 13; the battery is accompanied by the documents required pursuant to Articles 6 to…
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Compliance, importer and battery extended producer responsability
The new regulation on batteries lays down the definition of producer and extended responsability and provides with the following definitions: Producer is: any manufacturer, importer or distributor or other natural or legal person that, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance contracts, either: (a) is established in a Member State and manufactures batteries under its own name or trademark, or has batteries designed or manufactured and supplies them for the first time under its own name or trademark, including those incorporated in appliances, light means of transport or other vehicles, within the territory of that Member State; (b) is established in a Member State and resells…
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Due diligence, AEO and batteries compliance
The regulation of batteries imposes due diligence obligations on economic operators placing batteries on the market or putting them into service. It covers: all categories of batteries (portable batteries, starting, lighting and ignition batteries, SLI batteries, light means of transport batteries, LMT batteries, electric vehicle batteries and industrial batteries, regardless of their shape, volume, weight, design, material composition, chemistry, use or purpose. The batteries that are incorporated into or added to products or that are specifically designed to be incorporated into or added to products. The key principles are: sustainability, safety, labelling, marking and information to allow the placing on the market or putting into service of batteries within the…
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Due diligence batteries, critical raw materials and AEO
The draft of regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning batteries and waste batteries, amending Directive 2008/98/EC and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Directive 2006/66/EC will apply to: all categories of batteries placed on the market or put into service within the Union, regardless of whether they were produced in the Union or imported; regardless of whether a battery is incorporated into appliances, light means of transport or other vehicles or otherwise added to products or whether a battery is placed on the market or put into service within the Union on its own; regardless of whether a battery is specifically designed for a product or is…
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USA, trade policy and deforestation
On 31 May 2023 has been published the report to the President “Reducing international deforestation through US government international programming, assistance, finance, investment, trade and trade promotion”in response to E.O 14072 (Stopping International Deforestation). This document provides a picture of the US policies to block the deforestation/forest degradation. The preferential trade agreements (free trade agreement) play a key role in the enforcement of the commitment against the illegal deforestantion. Indeed, in the “section 2: trade agreements” “(ii) Address deforestation and land conversion risk in new relevant trade agreements and seek to address such risks, where possible, in the implementation of existing trade agreements” this report states that “…The U.S. has…
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CBAM Belgium
The competent autority for the enforcement of CBAM( carbon borders adjustment mechanism)/MACF (mécanisme d’ajustement carbone aux frontières) is the “Service public fédéral Santé Publique, Sécurité de la chaîne alimentaire et Environnement – Direc-tion générale de l’Environnement (service Changements Climatiques)” .
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CBAM and Malta
The Competent Authority for the management of CBAM (carbon borders adjustment mechanism) in Malta is the Malta Resources Authority (MRA). Therefore, importers and indirect customs representatives shall be notified, via the appropriate customs systems, of the reporting obligations due during the transitional period.
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The customs aspects of the batteries/waste of batteries regulation
The new regulation (batteries and waste of batteries) should be a good basis for the a new approach to customs; the key stones are: circular economy, trade compliance and sustainable development against environment destruction, deforestaion, climate crisis and pollution. Indeed, from a customs/customs compliance perspective, it is interesting to take into account that the protocol of origin of the free trade agreements (FTA) inked by the European Union usually lays down rules of origin which classify the waste/scramps (generated in the EU) as “originating material” of the European Union. Futhermore, the obligation to develop a reliable system of recycling of some materials contained by the batteries (cobaltum, lithium, nickel )…
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EU regulation on batteries and waste of batteries: a new way for circular economy
On 10 July 2023 the European Council adopted a new regulation (batteries and waste of batteries) that strengthens sustainability rules: for batteries; for waste batteries; This regulation covers all categories of batteries including: all waste portable batteries; electric vehicle batteries; industrial batteries; starting, lightning and ignition (SLI) batteries (used mostly for vehicles and machinery); batteries for light means of transport (e.g. electric bikes, e-mopeds, e-scooters). The regulation aims to: promote a circular economy by regulating batteries throughout their life cycle; sets targets for producers to collect waste; mandatoryminimum levels of recycled content; recycling efficiency target; from 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving…
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Excises, environmental taxation, power generation
The environmental taxation of electricity (power generation) and energy products has received another interesting contribution from the Court of Justice of the EU which, with its Section V in the judgment C-833/21 of 23 June 2023 stated that: “… national legislation providing for the taxation of coal used for the production of electricity satisfies the condition contained in that provision, according to which the tax must be introduced for reasons of environmental policy“, where there is a direct link between the use of the revenue of the taxation and its purpose or if such a tax, “…without pursuing a purely budgetary purpose, is designed, as regards its structure, in particular…