The amended regulations are also important for German companies and online retailers that ship goods across borders to Denmark, specifically changes to the Danish Environmental Protection Act and the Ordinance on Registration and Notification of Packaging. In future, companies that place packaging on the Danish market for the first time will be subject to extended producer responsibility (ERP). It obliges companies to bear the costs for the collection, sorting and recycling of packaging waste, which can be done individually or collectively by participating in a take-back system.
The Danish legislator is thus implementing EU legislation at national level that is already familiar to German companies from the amendment of the German Packaging Act: In Germany, companies that place packaging filled with goods (including shipping cartons, for example) on the market for the first time have been obliged since 2022 to register with the Central Packaging Register (www.verpackungsregister.org) or its LUCID system and report the quantities of packaging disposed of.
The same will also apply in Denmark in the future: affected companies are obliged to register in the Danish Producer Register (Dansk Producentansvar - DPA ) - this also includes German online retailers who "only" ship goods to Denmark! If the shipment is made by a German company (without a Danish branch or CVR number) directly to Danish end consumers, the shipping company must fulfil the ERP obligations (i.e. in particular registration with the DPA and reporting of packaging quantities) through an authorized Danish representative. The registration and reporting obligations already start on 01.04.2024!
Do you have questions about implementation? We will be happy to advise you! As a partner of the German-Danish Chamber of Commerce, we will also be happy to put you in touch with suitable contacts in Denmark.
By the way: In Germany, failure to register or improper registration in the packaging register can be penalized as a breach of competition law and, for example, warned by consumer protection institutions or competitors. To avoid this, we will also be happy to advise you on your obligations under packaging law.
Dr. Thomas Guttau, certified lawyer for intellectual property law