New obligations for the sale of electronic products come into force on 15th August
Clothing and furniture with electronic function will be subject to the ElektroG from 15 August 2018
Manufacturers and dealers must have registered their products with the responsible authority by the cut-off date in accordance with the new legal regulations.
On August 15th, the so-called Open Scope of application of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) comes into force, which means that further products fall under the Act. From this date, manufacturers, dealers and importers of furniture and clothing with electronic functions must have registered products such as electrically adjustable desks or flashing garments with the responsible Stiftung Elektro-Altgeräte Register (stiftung ear) in accordance with the new legal requirements in order to ensure environmentally compatible disposal of the products.
"Although the new specification for old electrical equipment has been known for months, it still hits many companies unprepared," says Anja Olsok, Managing Director of Bitkom Servicegesellschaft. "If you want to avoid possible fines of up to 100,000 euros and warnings from competitors, you should register your business immediately with the ear foundation.
The background to the forthcoming changes is the amendment of the ElektroG in 2015, the introduction of the open scope of application being one of the last implementations of the new ElektroG. Germany thus complies with the requirements of the European WEEE Directive. Other EU countries such as Austria and France have already implemented these legal requirements. Like Germany, the other EU countries still have to follow suit.
The weee full-service has compiled extensive information and short explanatory videos for affected companies and informs about the upcoming changes in free online seminars and information events with the Chambers of Industry and Commerce. The 45-minute online seminars provide participants with an overview of the requirements they must meet when selling their electronic products: for an overview and registration.
If companies want to know whether they are affected by the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, they can watch our video.
