Several EU countries, such as Spain and Austria, have introduced legislation requiring companies that distribute their products to end-users and do not have their own registered office in the respective country to appoint officially registered agents to fulfill their EPR obligations in the context of packaging. In Germany, companies that are required to register and do not have a registered office in the country must appoint an authorized representative under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act to represent them in the country for EPR obligations. Other countries have already fixed similar legislation. The background of these legislations is the idea of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which makes producers responsible for the entire life cycle of their products and packaging. Common tasks performed on behalf of the producer include: submitting reports and data to regulators, contracting and coordinating with producer responsibility organizations, ensuring compliance with EPR obligations, and acting as a point of contact for stakeholders and regulators. In some cases, certain tasks, such as registration in the producer register, can/must be taken over by an authorized representative in the respective country.
To learn more about which countries in Europe require companies to have authorized representatives, we recommend our EPR Compliance Check tool.
