UAE: RoHS Draft Legislation Submitted to the Federal National Council

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been working on a new legislation for the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Three different draft versions have been discussed since last summer. Now, a finalized draft version has been submitted to the Federal National Council and is expected to be approved soon. According to the draft regulation, the final law shall enter into force one year after its publication in the UAE Official Gazette. Basically, the UAE RoHS draft regulation is based on EU RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU. As in the EU, the following substances are intended to be restricted, with identical thresholds: Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Hexavalent chromium, Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) as well as the four phtahaltes which were added in March 2015: Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Despite the similarities, there are differences with respect to transition periods and compliance requirements, as e.g. registration and certification duties. It is prohibited to display or sell any products in the UAE unless they are registered under ECAS or have a certificate or mark accepted by ESMA. For more information please contact us at info@1cc-consulting.com.

REACH: Reimbursement systems mandatory for Letter of Access (LoA)

Publishing the implementing regulation 2016/9 of January 5, the EU Commission has laid down strict rules on joint submission of data and cost-sharing in conjunction with REACH registration. REACH regulation requires the cost-sharing to be handled in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory way – these nonspecific requirements have often lead to misunderstanding and disputes in the past: costs have not been broken down into details, no reimbursement was planned although, at same time, charging of follow-up costs was established, deeper insight of Dossier was not allowed, and much more. As laid down in the new implementation regulation, all agreements within a SIEF (Substance Information Exchange Forum) have to incorporate the following rules:

• Detailed break down of jointly used data including individual data costs as well as details how data complies with requests for registration. (Data-costs)
• Detailed break down and justification for administrative costs
• Cost-sharing model including a reimbursement system

Existing agreements can be kept, however only if parties agree unanimously. A party, joining an existing agreement, e.g. for registration period 2018, can insist on the break down of costs as well as installation of a reimbursement system. In the past, LoA (Letter of Access) costs have often been calculated at a rough estimate, e.g. on basis of number of expected Co-registrants. Now, costs have to be disclosed and, following a yearly check, to be reimbursed in case. e.g more registrants join the Agreement. 1cc supports consortia and lead registrants breaking-down and surveilling the costs of a joint registration as well as handling and administration of letter of access and installation and handling of reimbursement systems.

Copyright levies in other countries – a look outside the box

In cooperation with industry association Bitkom, 1cc GmbH is offering a webinar series with respect to copyright levies legislation in Europe. Wolfram Kühn, Senior Consultant at 1cc GmbH, will provide an insight into the multifaceted and complex matter of copyright levies in selected countries. Dates and Time: • 22 March 2016, 10:30 CET Sign up at Bitkom Akademie: Copyright levies in other countries – a look outside the box These live online webinar series will be held in English. Participation is free. However, the number of participants in each webinar will be limited. Partially extreme high levies are claimed in most EU-Countries from manufacturers, importers and retailers for every computer, tablet, printer, hard disk, memory card and smartphone sold. The list of levied products is growing steadily. Obligations of manufacturers, importers and retailers are quite complex and different across countries. However, international companies have to be aware of their liabilities wherever they do business. They have to meet formal obligations, consider correct amount of levies within their pricing and adjust their marketing. Cross-border trade makes one thing compulsory: Information, preferably independently checked, comprehensive, up-to-date and reliable. The live online webinar from BITKOM and 1cc is meant to discuss the following topics for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom: • Legal requirements for liability • Process to determine levies • Concerned products, amount of levies, development of tariffs • Liability for direct cross-border trade (distance selling) • Current developments

1cc Webinar: PV Modules – 2 Years under WEEE – 1 Month under the ElektroG

The EU Member States had to transpose the revised WEEE Directive by February 14, 2014. As it happens so often, not all Member States did that in time. Now, 2 years later, all Member States have implemented the new requirements. Among them is the inclusion of photovoltaic modules into the producer collection and recycling obligations under WEEE. We want to take the opportunity and take a look at how Member States implemented this requirement with a focus on Germany and a few other bigger markets. This webinar will be presented by Arne Campen, Senior Consultant at 1cc GmbH. Title: PV Modules – 2 Years under WEEE – 1 Month under the ElektroG Language: English Date: Fri, Feb. 26, 2016, 10:00 AM CET Speaker: Arne Campen, Senior Consultant at 1cc GmbH Sign up: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6070045628248380930 PS: Participation in this 1cc Webinar is free. However, the number of participants in the webinar will be limited to 20 attendees.

France – New copyright levies on cloud services

There have been long-lasting discussions to collect copyright levies on cloud storage. Now there is a draft amendment to the Copyright Act substantiating exactly this matter in France. For the first time not only physical products like smartphones, hard disks or blank CDs would be imposed with a levy, but also online services. To date, the scope of the products as well as the amount of the levy is determined by storage capacity and the actual usage. In practice, the usage appears to be shifting towards storing files remotely and not on the local hard drive, not to mention the copying on blank CDs. The more cloud services are used and the more files are stored online, the more questions about the suitability of the existing levy system arise. In France the future of private copying, i. e. the adaptation of this system is in discussion since years. Already in 2013, Pierre Lescure wrote a comprehensive report, commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture, and recommended to extend the levy system in the direction of online services («Contribution aux politiques culturelles à l’ère numérique»). According to the Lescure-Report the existing scope should be extended to devices providing access to the internet in a first step. The storage capacity is not foregrounded anymore. Game consoles, for instance, have been taken into consideration and are now dutiable in many countries. Pursuant to this, the extension to online services seems to be the logical consequence.  This arises in the current draft legislation which has been presented to the French senate.

1cc Webinar: Supply Chain Communication – Challenges for Companies Regarding RoHS, REACH and Conflict Minerals

Companies from various industries and different positions in the supply chain must handle and comply with the growing number of regulations. Information and compliance documents for REACH, RoHS as well as for conflict minerals are required by legislator and between companies. Which obligations apply and how can a company manage them when conducting due diligence? Nadiia Kaiun, Consultant at 1cc GmbH, gives an overview of the requirements for communication along the supply chain and possibilities of their implementation in the context of due diligence. Language: English Date: Thu, Feb. 18, 2016, 4:00 PM CET Speaker: Nadiia Kaiun, Consultant at 1cc GmbH Sign up: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2376767378519044354 PS: Participation in this 1cc Webinar is free. However, the number of participants in the webinar will be limited to 20 attendees.

Register for copyright levy obligations in Germany

A new register for companies who have to pay copyright levies for mobile phones, computer and storage media will be established in Germany. Yet it is going to be even more powerful as only compliant companies are listed in a so-called “white list”. Vice versa, not mentioned companies are pilloried for not paying copyright levies (appropriately). The responsible collecting society ZPÜ will publish (here) all names and addresses of companies fulfilling their obligations. For a long time collecting societies were accused for not covering the bulk of the market for recordable electronic products and storage media. Hence, many companies are not reporting sales figures and are not paying established tariffs. Apparently this is true. However, according to the tariff agreement for mobile phones and tablets from December 2015, collecting societies can now assert their claims (by contract) comprehensively. The “white list” is accompanied by well-directed research, e. g. in the manufacturer register for take-back obligations of WEEE. Other EU Member States like France and Poland approach in a similar vein. In Switzerland there is even a so-called “black list” in the environmental sector. We are happy to explain all regulation resulting from the new general agreements for copyright levies in Germany. Feel free to contact us: info@1cc-consulting.com

1cc at Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference

On 2 December 2015, the EU Commission published the updated version of its Circular Economy Package. The Dutch EU Council Presidency holds the stakeholder conference “Unwrapping the Package – Towards a Circular Economy in Europe” on 25-26 January 2016 in Rotterdam to assess the impact of the Package, to discuss challenges and opportunities for the circular economy and to identify opportunities for circular economy initiatives and policy instruments across Europe. The outcomes of the conference will be used to feed into discussions in the Council of Ministers on the Circular Economy Package. Arne Campen, Senior Consultant at 1cc has been invited to join the round table discussions on 25 January. Amongst the participants are stakeholders from business, civil society and public authorities.