Changes to environmental product fee („green tax”) and other environmental legislation
Further changes to legislation to comply with the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive came into force this summer, and it is advisable to take these into account when designing business processes. New concepts and new environmental product fees have also been introduced.
With effect from 1 July 2021, the Environmental Product Fee Act (Act LXXXV of 2011) has been amended: 'plastic carrier bags' and 'biodegradable plastic' have been added as new terms. At the same time, the term 'plastic shopping bags' was removed from the Act and the definition of plastic was clarified. The changes in definitions have also resulted in changes to the relevant product fee rates: biodegradable plastic carrier bags are subject to a product fee rate of HUF 500/kg, while other plastic carrier bags are subject to a product fee rate of HUF 1,900/kg.
Along with the law amendment, a government decree banning placing on the market of lightweight plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness of 15 microns or more has entered into force. Such carrier bags can now only be placed on the market if they are made of biodegradable plastic. For this reason, two sub-categories of plastic carrier bags have been regulated in the Environmental Product Fee Act: lightweight plastic carrier bags (those with a wall thickness of less than 50 microns) and very lightweight plastic carrier bags (those with a wall thickness of less than 15 microns, used for hygiene purposes or for primary packaging of bulk foodstuffs).
The government decree also serves another important environmental objective: it bans the placing on the market of single-use plastic products (cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, etc.) and products made of oxidatively degradable plastic.
Regardless of the changes to the Environmental Product Fee Act, we continue to see that many businesses are still unaware that they may be affected by the environmental product fee, even though they may become liable for the product charge, for example, when they place packaging products on the domestic market for the first time or use them for their own purposes for the first time.
A thorough mapping of the range of products subject to product fees and of the transactions that give rise to product fees in the course of the economic activity of the business, as well as the proper design of business processes, will help businesses to pay only the amount of product fees that is strictly necessary and to avoid the legal consequences of official controls (product fee fines, late payment fee, default fines, seizure, confiscation).
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Should you have any further questions on environmental product fees, please contact our tax experts.
This newsletter provides general information and does not constitute tax advice.
