Message 001
Communication from the Commission - TRIS/(2026) 2494
Directive (EU) 2015/1535
Notification: 2026/0485/CZ
Notification of a draft text from a Member State
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MSG: 20262494.EN
1. MSG 001 IND 2026 0485 CZ EN 03-09-2026 CZ NOTIF
2. Czechia
3A. Úřad pro technickou normalizaci, metrologii a státní zkušebnictví
Biskupský dvůr 1148/5
110 00 Praha 1
Tel: +420 221 802 216
e-mail: eu9834@unmz.gov.cz
3B. Ministerstvo životního prostředí, odbor legislativní
Vršovická 1442/65
Praha 10, 100 10
Tel: +420 267 122 813
4. 2026/0485/CZ - S20E - Waste
5. Draft Act amending Act No 542/2020 on end-of-life products, as amended, and amending other related acts
6. end-of-life products, batteries, waste batteries, life cycle, extended producer responsibility
7.
8. The main objective of the proposed amendment to the Act on end-of-life products is to adapt the legal order of the Czech Republic to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries, amending Directive 2008/98/EC and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Directive 2006/66/EC. This Regulation entered into force on 12 July 2023 and its various parts are gradually becoming applicable from 18 February 2024. The development and production of batteries is a strategic necessity for the EU in the context of the transition to renewable energy sources and the expected rise in electrification.
Requirements for batteries and the management of waste batteries are currently governed by the Act on end-of-life products, which is the subject of the proposed amendment. As the entire battery life cycle will continue to be governed by the directly applicable European Union regulation, it is necessary to make the necessary changes to the national legislation currently in force to ensure the Regulation’s applicability and enforceability while eliminating undesirable duplication between Czech and Union legislation.
In addition to adapting the legislation to the relevant EU Regulation, the proposed Act addresses in greater detail, in particular, the issue of industrial batteries (primarily battery storage systems). Measures are proposed to address ‘free-riding’, where the costs of waste treatment are borne by someone else (other producers, or public budgets covering the shortfall) rather than by the person who should be responsible for the product (the person who manufactured it or imported it from abroad, in accordance with the principle of extended producer responsibility). In general, the amendment seeks to address the ‘free-riding’ issue comprehensively in relation to all types of selected products subject to extended producer responsibility (batteries, EEE, tyres) by clarifying and further elaborating the existing provisions. In this regard, specific examples include an increase in the deposit for producers performing their obligations in an individual scheme, more detailed provisions on the separate indication of costs, and mandatory collective compliance for certain types of products. For a large number of existing batteries at solar power plants, it is impossible to trace who placed them on the market and who should be responsible for their recycling. The amendment therefore proposes measures to address this burden.
The main reason for notifying this technical regulation is the proposed rules on the separate indication of costs for batteries (§ 81). Under Article 74(5), Regulation 2023/1542 requires information on the costs of take-back (and subsequent management) to be shown separately to the end-user at the point of sale. In this respect, the proposed amendment goes beyond the requirements of the Regulation and, in the new § 81, requires this information to be included in all documents issued following the sale. Furthermore, it requires this information to be provided when the product is presented and its price indicated in sales using means of distance communication.
The draft Act in question does not implement any EU legislation other than the aforementioned Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The subject of this notification of a technical regulation is Part One of the draft Act in question (Amendment to the Act on end-of-life products). Part Two (Amendment to the Act on conformity assessment of specified products when made available on the market) and Part Three (Amendment to the Act on market surveillance of products), which are purely implementing in nature, do not contain technical regulations within the meaning of Article 1(1)(f) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535. They are therefore not the subject of this notification of a technical regulation. Part Two of the proposal adds a new Division concerning batteries, given that Regulation 2023/1542 also covers the conformity assessment of batteries placed on the market. In Part Three, Regulation 2023/1542 is now listed in the Annex – which contains a list of the relevant surveillance authorities – in place of the EU Directive that previously governed this area.
Reference to previous notification of Act No 542/2020 as the basic legislation: 2021/0343/CZ
Keywords: end-of-life products, batteries, waste batteries, life cycle, extended producer responsibility
9. In order to ensure the adaptation of the Czech legal order to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council, it is necessary to adapt the relevant parts of the Act on end-of-life products governing the management of batteries and waste batteries to the new Union Regulation. It is therefore proposed to delete certain provisions that are governed by the directly applicable Regulation, to introduce penalties for breaches of the obligations arising from the Regulation, and to address certain links between national and Union legislation concerning the various types of batteries placed on the market and their take-back and recovery at the end of their life. Another objective of the proposed amendment is to introduce appropriate measures to address ‘free-riding’ and the legacy burden associated with industrial batteries (see above). The following reasons can be given to justify these measures:
The objective of the proposed provisions concerning the separate indication of costs for batteries (§ 81) is to prevent the circumvention and breach of the visible contribution mechanism, with the visible contribution being a key mechanism in the fight against ‘free-riders’, i.e. entities operating on the Czech market but failing to fulfil their take-back obligations. More rigorous action against ‘free-riders’ is often called for by the stakeholders concerned, including collective scheme operators, producers and the professional community. The indication of a visible contribution at the time of sale shows that the producer in question is duly registered and pays take-back contributions. More specific conditions regarding the indication of a visible contribution will therefore limit the ability of free-riders to conceal the fact that they are not complying with their obligations. For this reason, provisions are being proposed whose main purpose is to confirm to purchasers the origin of the batteries they purchase in terms of compliance with take-back obligations. In the online shopping context, the requirement to indicate costs separately is ineffective, as the customer only becomes aware of the separately indicated costs after purchasing the product, not at the time of choosing it. Tax documents are often sent to customers by email, so with this form of distribution customers do not in practice notice the amount, or absence, of separately indicated costs. It is therefore proposed that producers, distributors and last sellers must indicate the costs separately in online shops (whether on online platforms or in online shops operated by the retailers themselves) when presenting individual products prior to sale. More precise conditions for indicating the visible contribution are also proposed for EEE (§ 73(1) and (4)).
§ 9(2) proposes mandatory collective compliance in relation to portable batteries, light means of transport (LMT) batteries and industrial batteries (with the exception of producers of batteries containing lead, for which a functioning individual scheme has long been in place in the Czech Republic). In the field of batteries, Article 57(1) of Regulation 2023/1542 explicitly allows Member States to do so. As far as industrial batteries are concerned, on 31 December 2024, approximately 211 000 solar power plants had been installed and commissioned in Czechia, including batteries with a capacity of 2 GWh and a total weight of approximately 20 000 tonnes. The current cost of take-back would amount to approximately CZK 1.4 billion. For a large proportion of these batteries, it is impossible to trace who placed them on the market and who should be responsible for their take-back. For these reasons, it was concluded that a functioning system for the ongoing financing of this legacy burden can only be established through collective compliance by existing market participants. The amendment thus also addresses the legacy burden in the category of industrial batteries.
In view of the need to address ‘free-riding’ and the legacy burden associated in particular with industrial batteries, § 31 proposes increasing the deposit for producers performing their obligations in an individual scheme (currently only 20 % of the annual costs of take-back, treatment and recovery of end-of-life products) to 25 %, which corresponds to the newly proposed mandatory amount of the reserve for collective scheme operators. It is desirable to harmonise the conditions for producers who fulfil their obligations individually and those who do so collectively; therefore, the minimum amount of the deposit in the case of individual compliance should correspond to the minimum mandatory reserve for collective scheme operators.
9a. As stated above, the draft Act in question is primarily an implementing measure intended to ensure adaptation to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
As regards the proposed measures mentioned above, which are intended to address ‘free-riding’ and the legacy burden associated with industrial batteries, without the adoption of these measures, long-term problems with ‘free-riding’ would persist, whereby the costs of waste treatment are borne by someone other than the person who should be responsible for the product in question. By levelling market conditions and ensuring that extended producer responsibility schemes have more funds for investment, these measures will also have positive environmental impacts.
9b. The proposed legislation is necessary to ensure the adaptation of the legal order of the Czech Republic to new Union legislation concerning batteries and waste batteries (Regulation 2023/1542).
The proposed measures to address ‘free-riding’ and the legacy burden associated with industrial batteries are necessary to level the playing field in the market. They thus also serve to ensure the effective application of the requirements laid down by EU law in this field. The proposed measures are based on calls from stakeholders for more effective measures against free-riding.
As regards specifically the proposed provisions concerning the separate indication of costs for batteries (and similarly for EEE), which are the main reason for this notification of a technical regulation, the proposed provisions reflect the fact that the visible contribution is a key mechanism in the fight against ‘free-riding’. As noted above, the indication of a visible contribution at the time of sale shows that the producer in question is duly registered and pays take-back contributions. More specific conditions regarding the indication of a visible contribution will therefore limit the ability of free-riders to conceal the fact that they are not complying with their obligations.
As regards the proposed provisions concerning mandatory collective compliance in relation to portable batteries, LMT batteries and industrial batteries, this is an arrangement expressly permitted under Article 57(2) of Regulation 2023/1542. In the case of industrial batteries, these provisions are necessary to address the legacy burden that has arisen. As explained in more detail above, for a large number of existing batteries at solar power plants, it is impossible to trace who placed them on the market and who should be responsible for their recycling. At the same time, the current cost of take-back and recycling of these batteries would be approximately CZK 1.4 billion. Mandatory collective compliance by existing market participants is therefore necessary to create a functioning system for the ongoing financing of this legacy burden.
9c. This draft Act is primarily an implementing measure (see above). Its submission is necessary to ensure the proper implementation of Regulation 2023/1542.
The proposed measures to address ‘free-riding’ are proportionate to the objective pursued, which is to level the playing field in the market and thereby improve the level of environmental protection. These measures benefit the parties concerned who, unlike ‘free-riders’, duly fulfil their obligations in this field. In this context, it should be noted that the proposed measures stem from long-standing calls by the parties concerned, including collective scheme operators, producers and the professional community, for a more rigorous approach to combating free-riders. Specifically, with regard to the proposed provisions on the visible contribution for online shops, the request for these provisions came from collective scheme operators.
10. Reference(s) to basic text(s): 2021/0343/CZ
The basic texts were forwarded with an earlier notification:
2021/0343/CZ
11. No
12.
13. No
14. No
15. No
16.
TBT aspects: No
SPS aspects: No
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European Commission
Contact point Directive (EU) 2015/1535
email: grow-dir2015-1535-central@ec.europa.eu
