Lizenzero

The Packaging Act stipulates a total of three obligations for distributors of packaging in Germany. These include the registration requirement, the licensing requirement (also called the system participation requirement), and the data reporting requirement.

These three obligations must be met at different points:

1. The registration obligation is implemented via the Central Packaging Register control authority in the LUCID packaging register.
2. The licensing obligation denotes the fee-based participation of your packaging and must be carried out by you with a dual system such as Interseroh+ (e.g. via Lizenzero). Conversely, Interseroh+ takes over the disposal and recycling process of your packaging for you.
3. The catalogue of obligations is concluded by the data reporting obligation: Simply enter the name of your dual system and your licensed packaging quantities in LUCID.

Every commercial manufacturer and distributor of packaged goods in any form going to the private end user must licence them. There are no sales or quantity thresholds: The obligation already applies from the first filled and shipped package.

Without exception, all packaging that reaches the end consumer – regardless of the material – is subject to licensing.

Commercial manufacturers and distributors who put packaging into circulation have an extended manufacturer responsibility according to the Packaging Act. They are responsible for the proper disposal and recycling of packaging. Since it is not possible to take back packaging on a 1:1 basis in practice, responsibility is transferred to the dual systems by means of system participation (= licensing).

The dual systems organise the disposal and recycling process for packaging waste in Germany. The licence fee is charged for the fulfilment of this service.

The Packaging Act was amended in July 2021. One of the changes to the law affects operators of online marketplaces such as Kaufland.de: From July 2022, online marketplaces are required by law to provide an additional control mechanism; to check whether all sellers shipping to Germany via their platform comply with the requirements of the Packaging Act.

If sellers are unable to provide appropriate proof to online marketplaces such as Kaufland.de, they are legally obliged to ensure that no further sales are made by sellers without proof via the online marketplace. Violations of this are punishable by heavy fines for the marketplaces.

With the Packaging Act amendment as of 1^st July 2022, new responsibilities and an inspection obligation for fulfilment service providers also apply. If commissioning sellers cannot prove their system participation and LUCID registration to their fulfilment service provider, neither sales nor other activities (offering products, packaging, shipping etc.) may be provided to sellers. In addition, the commissioning seller is responsible for licensing the shipping packaging without exception, even if the shipping packaging is filled by the fulfilment service provider.

In dropshipping, the goods are packed directly by the dropshipper and shipped to the end customer. The sellers themselves therefore have no physical contact with the product or the packaging. However, in terms of the Packaging Act amendment, only the shippers of the goods are obliged to register and participate in a dual system, both for the primary sales packaging and for the shipping packaging.

Please note: As part of the amendment to the Packaging Act, online sellers who use online marketplaces to sell their products to German end consumers must be able to provide proof of their licensing and registration as of 1^st July 2022. However, this also results in a need for action for sellers who use dropshipping and who themselves have no licensing obligation. You must request the proof from your dropshipper. When saving proof with the online marketplace, sellers must take care not to state it as their own – instead, it must be clear that it is evidence from a third party.