Self-reporting, inspections, and penalties

How to remedy non-compliance in the application and declaration of the EPR Fee

CONAI has established procedures to monitor the correct application of the EPR Fee.

The Rules of CONAI identify the main types of infringement that constitute serious infringements:

1. failure to apply the EPR Fee;
2. omission or insufficient indication of the EPR Fee, such that it prevents verification of correct application in the context of the checks referred to in Article 12;
3. failure to present, or late submission of, the EPR Fee declaration referred to in Article 4, paragraph 11, more than 30 days after the deadline;
4. inaccurate (unfaithful) declaration of the EPR Fee referred to in Article 4, paragraph 11;
5. fraudulent use of the exemption procedures referred to in Article 4, paragraph 10.

The financial penalty for one or more of the above infringements is equal to:

• 50% of the sums due for a first infringement;
• 150% of the sums due for subsequent infringements; Application of this penalty also entails, in relation to the violations referred to in Article 14, paragraph 2, point (e), the loss of the right to use the simplified procedure for a period of three years.

The financial penalties are reduced by half if:

• under Article 12, paragraph 4, the infringement is not contested, or the EPR Organisation Member waives the right to contest it following CONAI’s communication of its reasons;
• in the case of inaccurate submission of the EPR Fee declaration, the omission is found to be no more than 10% of the total EPR Fee declared on an annual basis. For other infringements of the Statute and Rules of CONAI, penalties of up to €250,000 may be imposed (Article 14, paragraph 6 of the Rules of CONAI).

Penalties are further reduced to one third if payment is made within sixty days of notification by CONAI. The penalties also apply to transferees who have participated in, or derived undue advantage from, the violations referred to in Article 14, paragraph 2, points (a) or (b).

Request for correction (self‑report form), including the incentive procedure

EPR Organisation Members wishing to correct breaches of the rules can use a “self‑reporting” procedure. In this case, without prejudice to the application of any interest on arrears due, no penalty is applied to those who – before the start of checks – self‑report the infringement, calculate and declare the EPR Fee due in the prescribed manner within 30 days of submitting the self‑report (Form) and pay the Fee upon receipt of the invoices issued by CONAI.

Incentive procedure for correction

With effect from 20 February 2019, CONAI introduced an incentive procedure for correction for companies wishing, on their own initiative, to correct their position fully and without hindering the determination of the EPR Fee due within the deadlines set by the consortium rules.

This procedure provides in particular that:

• checks are limited to the last 5 years (instead of 10) prior to the date of submission of the self‑report, provided that checks under Article 12 of the Rules of CONAI have not already begun;
• companies may pay the sums due to CONAI (EPR Fee and late‑payment interest) in instalments over up to 36 months.

The deadline for submitting declarations after the self‑report (30 days) and the non‑application of penalties by CONAI also remain unchanged.

The incentives (which may not be interpreted as a prior waiver by CONAI of the EPR Fee due from the company over the past ten years) apply only if the following conditions are met, and they automatically lapse if any one of them is not fulfilled:

• within 30 days of submitting the self‑report, periodic declarations must be sent to CONAI referring to the five years preceding the self‑report;
• correct payment must be made of the sums owed to CONAI for any reason.

The above incentive procedure may also be applied to companies already subject to checks (under Article 12 of the Rules of CONAI), provided that they accept the findings of the checks without reservations or objections, subject to:

• the other conditions listed above (including instalment plans and payment of sums due);
• application of the penalty, but only on the amounts assessed within the aforementioned deadline.

Monitoring and verification activities carried out by CONAI

CONAI’s monitoring activity includes targeted checks, internal data cross‑referencing and comparison with external sources (including entities that are public or private, national or foreign, or economic operators including those who are not EPR Organisation Members), with specific reference to the flow of packaging transferred within Italy, including packaging of cross‑border origin or destination – Article 224, paragraph 3, letter (n), Legislative Decree 152/06.

Under its Rules (Article 12), CONAI may at any time request in writing that any EPR Organisation Member provide clarifications, information and accounting or administrative documentation relating to the correct and timely fulfilment of consortium obligations. CONAI may also carry out checks – including audits and/or inspections – at the EPR Organisation Member’s premises, following prior written notice, for a maximum duration of fifteen days.