Will the government turn the recycling fee into a pledge? "Cashier must match"

Perhaps this year, ordinary Kowalskis and small companies importing cars from abroad will not have to pay 500 zł for a car. The recycling fee is supposed to disappear, but the finance minister wants to replace it with a deposit fee.

You import a car from abroad, pay a recycling fee

For eight years now, for every car brought to our country from abroad, you have to pay a recycling fee. Private Kowalski or a company that imports less than a thousand cars a year must pay 500 zł for each imported car, whether it comes from another EU country or not. The money goes to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Resources. In principle, they should be aimed at supporting companies involved in the recycling and recycling of seized vehicles. 

See also: Waste disposal fee. It will be cheaper to import cars 

Enterprises importing more than a thousand cars a year, i.e. mainly Polish representative offices of automobile concerns, must meet other requirements. They must build or conclude an agreement with a network of workshops covering the territory of the country, in such a way that the owner can return the seized car to a collection point or a dismantling station at a distance of no more than 50 km in a straight line from the residence or location of the owner vehicle. In Poland, such a network of workshops should include more than a hundred points. 

European Commission against recycling fees

These matters are regulated by the End of Service Vehicle Recycling Act.

– Already at the time of its adoption, it was known that it did not comply with EU legislation. This was brought to the attention of the legal department. The biggest objection was to this PLN XNUMX recycling fee, says Adam Malyshko, President of the Car Recycling Forum Association. However, the act was passed. If you don't know what's going on, it's about money.

These are big. Since 2006, a small amount of PLN 3,5 billion has been transferred to the account of the Environmental Protection Fund in the form of fees for the importation of cars. In 2012 it amounted to PLN 350 million, and in the first three quarters of last year - PLN 284 million. 

See also: Disposal and deregistration of a car - do not sell for scrap 

Officials from the European Commission did not like the Polish disposal tax from the very beginning. They called on our authorities several times to change the law, and in 2009 submitted proposals to change the law. According to the EU directive, the delivery of end-of-life vehicles to the wastewater treatment plant should not involve any costs. Car manufacturers or professional importers should set up and finance vehicle waste collection systems free of charge.

– The Commission considers that the amount of five hundred zlotys is set arbitrarily, without taking into account the actual costs of obtaining, and is especially disadvantageous for small businesses. Individuals involved in the importation of vehicles also bear part of the costs of the collection system, although according to the directive, only car manufacturers and professional importers should be responsible for it, emphasizes Marta Angroka-Krawczyk from the European Commission Delegation to Poland. 

Disposal fee will disappear, but there may be a deposit fee

Work on changing the law and bringing it into line with EU requirements has been going on for six years. They are administered by the Ministry of the Environment.

- The new version of the project will soon be the subject of interdepartmental consultations, - says Malgorzata Czesheiko-Sochatska from the press service of the Ministry of the Environment.

According to the bill, the recycling fee should disappear. Individuals bringing cars will not pay anything. On the other hand, entrepreneurs who import less than a thousand cars a year will have to sign a contract with a local car collection network at at least three locations. For importers who bring in more cars, nothing will change. 

See also: Importing cars can be cheaper. Fight against recycling fee 

- The Minister of Finance does not agree with the reduction of public money by three hundred and fifty million a year. Instead of a recycling fee, a deposit fee is offered, which will be returned to the first Polish owner of the car twenty years after its import. This fee will have to be paid by people who bring cars older than two years into the country, explains Adam Malyshko.

In his opinion, after the introduction of a deposit fee, every owner of a vehicle registered in Poland, who delivers it to the recycling system, should receive money.

“This would limit the gray area in the autodismantling market,” emphasizes the president of the Auto Recycling Forum association. - The actions of the Minister of Finance look like a game of time, because the current regulations are in force every day, revenues from the recycling fee are growing. 

The Disposal Fee Dispute May End in ESU Claim Against Poland

The government has not yet passed the bill of change, and Brussels is concerned.

– If the act continues to be contrary to EU law, the European Commission may file a lawsuit against Poland in the European Court of Justice, adds Marta Angroka-Krawczyk.

This is how it will probably end. As far as I know, all the documents are already in court. I myself have been trying to get the recycling fee back for four years. There have already been six cases, three each in the Warsaw Regional Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. Everyone agrees, but I still cannot return five hundred zlotys, Adam Malyshko concludes.

Pavel Pucio