UK WEEE: important changes for non-UK sellers

November 11th, 2024

New guidance from the UK’s Environment Agencies

Following new guidance from the UK’s Environment Agencies, overseas companies that are not established in the UK, placing EEE on the UK market via indirect selling only, will no longer be obliged to register as EEE producers from the 2025 compliance year.

Any EEE sold indirectly should now be reported by the first UK-based entity to place it on the market: for example, the importer, distributor or retailer.

Previously, some non-UK companies selling EEE products indirectly to the UK market could register as EEE producers in place of the local UK-based importers and/or distributors.

This change has been made to align policy with the producer definitions set out in the UK WEEE regulations.

What do I need to do if I am impacted by the changes above?

  • If you are a non-UK company selling indirectly to the UK market, you will need to de-register with your EEE producer compliance scheme, or the Environment Agency depending on your type of registration
  • If your non-UK company is selling both directly and indirectly, you should continue to register and report EEE that you sell directly to UK end-users, and
  • If you are based in the UK and have EEE which was previously declared by an indirect non-UK seller, you will now need to report these volumes. We encourage liaising with your compliance scheme and/or the Environment Agency to determine if any resubmissions are needed for past periods.

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