Documents required for eco-fees

What should you do if you place products on the market that generate widespread waste (WSW) after use?

Prepare all documents for acquisition/production of the products.
Provide the products to another person for a fee (primary accounting document) or free of charge (other document, e.g. contract).
To register with the register maintained by the Executive Environment Agency (ExEA) as a person who places on the market the relevant type of product.
Submit a monthly return in which you certify the type and quantity of products placed on the market and calculate the fee due.
Pay a product fee to the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities (EMEPA) or a fee to a recovery organisation (RO), or finance targets individually.
Submit to the ExEA by the 20th of the month following each quarter, data on the quantity of products placed on the market – individually or through the RO.
If you ship/export products for which you have paid fees before they are placed on the market in Bulgaria, you are entitled to a refund by submitting an application and documents certifying the shipment/export of the products and the value of the fees paid.
Keep the documents for 5 years from the date of their preparation and produce them on request from the competent authorities.

Product fee procedure for batteries and accumulators

Product fee calculation method

According to Art. 1 of the Ordinance on Determining the Procedure and Amount for Payment of Product Fee (hereinafter referred to as the Ordinance), product fee for batteries and accumulators (BA) shall be paid for:

each individual type of battery or accumulator according to Annex 5, including those incorporated in electrical and electronic equipment.

The amount of the product fee shall be determined by the person who places the product on the market in a monthly reference-declaration form for the respective type of product – Annexes to the Ordinance.

The principle of calculating the product fee is to multiply the quantity of products in kilograms by the unit amount of the product fee in the relevant formula annex:

P = Т x Е,

P is the amount of the product fee payable;

T is the quantity of products in kilograms (kg);

E is the unit amount of the fee in leva per kilogram (BGN/kg).

Product fee payment procedure

A product fee shall be paid by persons who place on the market of the Republic of Bulgaria products after the use of which WSW are formed.

Persons who do not pay a product fee are those participating in a collective system represented by a RO and those who individually perform obligations.

It is important to know that no fee is payable for products from their direct manufacturer when exported or sent to another EU Member State.

The product fee is payable once for the quantities of products placed on the market during the previous month.

The product fee shall be paid by the 15th of the current month to the account of the EMEPA.

Penalty cases of payment of product fee:

Failure to meet targets or submit a report of factual findings by a registered auditor – by the RO or the individual performing duties;
In the event of non-payment of the agreed remuneration and/or failure to provide information on the quantities of products placed on the market and/or in the event of reporting of smaller quantities of products than those actually placed on the market for the relevant reporting period – by the members of the RO.

In the above cases, the persons who have to pay a product fee shall be determined by order of the Minister of Environment and Water.

If the amounts due for product fee are not paid voluntarily after the entry into force of the order, they shall be compulsorily collected together with interest and costs by the NRA under the procedure of the Tax Inspection and Collection Code.

What documents are filled in?

The documents can be conventionally divided into 3 large groups:

Sample documents in electronic format on the maintenance of public registers and the provision of information through the National Waste Information System (NWIS) maintained by the ExEA;
Documents given as annexes in the Ordinance – differentiated according to the type of product to be placed on the market;
Documents that you need to have but are not given as samples in the Ordinance but are required under tax and customs legislation, e.g. primary accounting documents (invoices) for the purchase or sale of products, international bills of lading, payment orders.

Documents concerning registration and submission of information to the ExEA

Once you have acquired the status of a person who places on the market products after the use of which WSW are formed, you are obliged to register in the register kept by the ExEA.

The registration shall be carried out within one month from the start of the activity defined as the placing on the market of the product concerned – electronically on the ExEA website.

The information provided includes:

Name and UIC of the legal entity
Trademarks that the person uses in the country (if applicable)
Address for correspondence
Contact person with telephone, fax and email details
Type of product you are placing on the market
Manner of performance of obligations – individually or through the recovery organisation.

In order to register, you must have a qualified electronic signature. Within ten days after the submission of the registration documents, the ExEA shall provide a registration number.

In the event of changes in the data or termination of the activity, you are obliged to declare this within one month.

If you fail to comply with the above obligations within the specified time limits, you shall be subject to a pecuniary sanction in the amount of BGN 5,000 to BGN 10,000, and in the event of a repeated violation, a pecuniary sanction in the amount of BGN 10,000 to BGN 20,000 shall be imposed.

Persons paying a product fee to the EMEPA shall provide information to the Executive Director of the EMEPA on the quantity of products placed on the market and the amount exported and/or removed from the market.

The information shall be provided quarterly by the 20th day from the end of the respective period in the form of annexes to the regulations under Article 13 of the WMA.

For persons who are members of a RO, this information shall be provided by the relevant organisation.

Documents relating to the determination and payment of product fee

In order to determine the amount of the product fee, you must certify the type and quantity of the product you are placing on the market and calculate the fee due by completing the monthly return form in accordance with the Annexes to the Ordinance. For BA this is Annex 16.

The monthly reference-declaration shall be drawn up by the 15th of the current month and shall contain data on the products placed on the market during the previous month. Where no products have been placed on the market during the previous month, a monthly return shall be made out for zero.

The monthly reference-declaration shall be kept by the persons who place the products concerned on the market for a period of 5 years from the date of its establishment and shall be presented on request by the competent authorities.

The payment of the product fee shall be made by the 15th of the current month by filling in a payment order for transfer of the due fee to the bank account of the EMEPA: BG30 BNBG 9661 3100 1390 01 at BNB-CU, BNB BIC code: BNBGBGSD.

The payment document for the product fee shall state:

For which product, quantity and period the product fee is paid
The code for batteries and accumulators in Annex 5.

If you provide the products to a distributor, you shall certify the payment of the product fee to the EMEPA by means of a declaration in Annex 9 and enclose a copy of the payment document upon his request.

Documents concerning product fee refund

Persons who are not producers and send from the territory of the country to the territory of another EU Member State and/or export products with already paid product fee to the EMEPA or paid remuneration to the RO, are entitled to a refund of the paid fee or remuneration on the basis of documents certifying the export and/or shipment.

The procedure is regulated in Article 24 of the Ordinance, and such clauses are also included in the contract concluded with the RO.

Within 3 months after the export and/or shipment, the persons shall submit to the EMEPA at least the following documents for reimbursement of the fee paid for the respective products:

A copy of the primary accounting document for the products acquired with the product fee included
A copy of the payment document proving the payment of the product fee for the respective products to the bank account of the EMEPA
A copy of the invoice, pro forma invoice or other equivalent document proving the dispatch from the territory of the country to the territory of an EU Member State or the export of the products concerned
Application form in accordance with Annex 19
A declaration certifying payment of the product fee for the products concerned in accordance with Annex 9 to Article 6
International Bill of Lading.

After establishing the validity of the request, EMEPA shall reimburse the amount to the account of the persons within 30 days from the submission of the documents.

Procedure for payment of remuneration to the RO

Remuneration – eco-fee

In order to pay a remuneration to the RO instead of a product fee to the EMEPA, you have to become a member of the collective system of the organisation, for this purpose you sign a contract.

It is important to note that you cannot participate in more than one organisation for the same waste at the same time.

You may, however, change the RO through which you perform your obligations by terminating your contract in accordance with its terms.

If you enter into a new contract with another organisation, you must provide them with a copy of your termination notice with the previous RO.

To become a member of RO, you should contact the person who represents it or the Commercial Manager, who will clarify any questions.

RO are required to maintain a website from which you can learn about its authorization and activities.

The amount, terms and conditions for payment of remuneration to the RO shall be agreed and regulated in the provisions of the concluded contract.

The specific amount of the eco-fee is determined by the RO based on the inherent costs of its activities and other relevant indicators, and is usually a percentage of the product fee.

For example: if you market 1000 kg of lead-acid batteries, the product fee is 0.60 BGN/kg, or 600 BGN in total, and the remuneration to the RO is a percentage of this amount. We apply a 40% discount, which makes 0.36 BGN/kg, or a total of 360 BGN.

Documents relating to the determination and payment of the eco-fee

Contract and general conditions to it – the templates shall be approved by the Minister of Environment and Water. Once you sign a contract with RO, you become a member and the remuneration you owe to it is paid in the amount and within the terms set out in the contract.
An RO employee then creates your account in their electronic system by filling in your credentials and providing you with a username and password to access the system. You can change your password at any time.
Monthly reference-declaration with data on the type and quantity of products placed on the market and calculation of the eco-fee due
Pro form invoice.

The documents referred to in points 2 and 3 shall be completed electronically by the 15th of the month following the month in which you placed products on the market in the electronic system of the RO.

Even if you have not placed any products on the market in the past month, you must generate a zero monthly return – otherwise you will be a non-filer and reportable to the MOEW.

The RO generates 2 other documents in the system:

An electronic invoice for the remuneration due to her, which she sends to the email address you provide – you are obliged to pay the eco-fee by bank transfer within 5 days of receipt of the invoice.
A certificate in the form of Annex 20 to Art. 25, para. 1 of the Ordinance.

The above system is used with minor differences by various RO.

Documents relating to eco-fees refund

You generate a monthly refund declaration in the system, on the basis of which you receive a credit note and send by email copies of the invoice, customs declaration or other document certifying the exportation of the products.

Your membership of the RO does not exempt you from the obligation to register in the relevant register maintained by the ExEA as a person placing products on the market.

The advantages of membership in the RO

The contract entered into with the RO transfers your obligations to meet targets for the relevant type of WSW;
You pay a remuneration to the RO that is at a lower rate than the product fee;
The documents you need to complete are generated in an electronic system;
If necessary, you get the option of deferred payment;
You will be reimbursed for exported products in a simplified manner and within a short period of time;
The RO submits the quarterly reports to the ExEA for you;
Get expert help to meet other obligations under environmental legislation;
You can also negotiate other privileges – such as waste collection, etc;
With a correct attitude to the RO you avoid the imposition of penalties or forced collection of amounts due by the NRA under the procedure of the Tax Code;
If you fail to meet the targets, you do not pay a product fee as you have paid a fee to the RO and she has assumed your obligations.