The Decision no. 1214/2022 for the amendment and supplementing of Government Decision no. 1.074/2021 on the establishment of the Guarantee-return System for the not reusable primary packaging

On 7 October was published, in the Official Gazette no. 979 the Decision no. 1214/2022 for the amendment and supplementing of Government Decision no. 1074/2021 for establishing the guarantee-return system (“GRS”) for not-reusable primary packaging.

Among the most important amendments and supplementing to the Government Decision, we mention the following:

• postponement of the entry into force of the GRS, this will be functional starting from 30 November  2023;
  
  
• it will be possible to extend the date of entry into force of the GRS, by decision of the Government, at the reasoned request of the GRS administrator, addressed to the central public authority for environmental protection, no later than 60 days before the end of the term of entry into force of the GRS;
  
  
• the obligations of the producers related to their extended responsibility regarding the collection and recycling of waste from GRS packaging will be fulfilled exclusively within the GRS;
  
  
• a part of the obligations of the producers and traders who introduce products packed in GRS packaging on the national market is modified, namely:
  • ­registration in the GRS will take place at least 150 days before 30 November 2023;
    
    
  • ­after registration they will send to the GRS administrator a notification in digital format with a simple or qualified electronic signature;
    
    
  • traders will not be able to sell products packed in GRS packaging that are not properly marked, namely: the bar code applied to the GRS packaging or on the product label will provide the necessary, sufficient and verifiable information so as to allow at least the establishment of the belonging of the packaging to GRS, the weight and volume of the packaging, as well as the identity of the producer. The information related to the date of manufacture, the batch number from the barcode have been removed;
    
    
  • ­the existing stocks of packaged products wich are not GRS marked will be able to be introduced on the national market, respectively sold, at the latest until 31 December 2024, after which their introduction to the national market, respectively their sale is prohibited.
• there are also changes for the GRS administrator, namely:
  • will be able to request to the central public authority for environmental protection to change the value of the guarantee, including differentiated by type of packaging, respectively by type of material, a change that will be approved by a decision of the Government;
    
    
  • ­the GRS administrator whose administrator status has been withdrawn will have the obligation to continue his activity until another administrator is appointed;
    
    
  • within 30 days of the appointment of the new administrator, the formerly GRS administrator will transfer to the new GRS administrator all the assets and liabilities of the company based on a report drawn up by an authorized independent assessor.

For more details, please consult the Official Gazette no. 979 published on 7 October 2022. 

The EY team is available to further assist and provide you details on the above.