A single-use plastic tax (Single-Use Plastics Fund Act or “EWKFondsG”) was enacted in Germany on 11 May 2023 and will apply as from 1 January 2024 (although the first payments of the special levy will not be due until 2025). The introduction of the plastic tax also transposes the EU single use plastics directive into German law. Despite there being just under 18 months before the first assessment under the EWKFondsG, affected companies should begin now to prepare. By the beginning of 2024, companies must identify the extent to which they are subject to the tax—which will be administered by the German Federal Environment Agency (FEA) and the FEA will establish the conditions for fulfilling the future reporting obligations, if necessary.
Source: BDO
