Avoid Relying on Distributors for Compliance

Manufacturers who sell products through distributors in Europe can increase sales flexibility and reduce business risk by taking advantage of new rules in the recently revised Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2012/19/EU. The WEEE Directive is implemented through EU Member State regulations and requires the producer to register in each country, report the quantity of products that they import and sell, and finance the collection and recycling of waste products.

Article 17 of the revised WEEE Directive enables a manufacturer to appoint an Authorised Representative who can manage WEEE compliance for all product sales by all distributors in a Member State. This increases sales flexibility for the manufacturer who can now partner with any distributor in that country – the manufacturer is no longer limited to choosing distributors who agree to manage WEEE compliance for products they import and sell.

Furthermore, many EU Member States are revising their regulations to implement the EU Batteries Directive 2006/66/EU and EU Packaging Directive 94/62/EC (as amended) so that the manufacturer no longer needs to have a sales office in an EU Member State to be classed as a Batteries or Packaging producer in that Member State. This provides new options for overseas manufacturers to take on Batteries and Packaging compliance arrangements, in addition to WEEE, on behalf of their distributors in many EU Member States.

Sphera EC4P can help your company protect product sales across Europe by removing the need to rely on distributors for WEEE, Batteries and Packaging compliance across Europe. We can recommend and actually manage the registrations and appointments and guarantee your company’s compliance to WEEE, Batteries and Packaging regulations across Europe through our compliance portal.