Legislation regulating eco-contribution refunds is in its final stages of preparation and will be presented to the government shortly, the Approving Body for Eco-Contributions within the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times Business yesterday.
The unit said companies which are owed refunds for eco-contributions should expect to receive payment “as soon as the Legal Notice is published and the necessary applications from the producers are received, verified and audited”.
Businesses and traders which belong to two authorised waste management schemes are owed up to €4 million in eco-contribution refunds from the authorities. Some firms have been awaiting refunds since 2006: one importer is owed around €800,000 alone.
Sources within the business community say auditors have warned firms the refunds could not be kept on their books: as there is no legislation on eco-contribution refunds, there is no guarantee the monies will materialise.
The drafting of legislation regulating refunds does not fall within this approving body’s remit. Rather, it said, a Legal Notice will specify which authority will be responsible for reimbursement and which will process and approve claims for refunds of eco-contributions made in terms of regulations.
“The competent authority shall regulate its own procedure for carrying out its functions,” the unit added.
Last month the Ombudsman unequivocally stated companies joining a waste management scheme should not be subjected to making dual payments for eco-contribution and waste management fees. Sources say firms had complied and paid the dual payments because authorities had promised refunds would be paid. Instead, waste management scheme operators and bodies like the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry have been calling for due payments to be made without delay for years.
On Tuesday, Chamber president Helga Ellul demanded “the authorities take heed of the Ombudsman’s opinion and immediately issue the business sector their rightfully due refunds”.
Earlier this month, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s environment director Martin Seychell warned the country was far from reaching its packaging waste recovery targets.
Under European Union rules, Malta should be recovering 53 per cent of packaging waste this year, 56 per cent next year and 60 per cent by 2013. But data relating to 2007 reveals Malta managed to recover only 10 per cent of packaging waste put in circulation.
Producers and importers were given until the end of January to register with it data relating to the amount of packaging waste they put on the market.
Despite being legally obliged to register with MEPA, the majority of importers and manufacturers have not complied. Around 350 had registered with the two authorised packaging waste recovery schemes – Greenpak and GreenMT – until last year.
The Chamber also argues compliant companies have suffered dented cash flows and put at a disadvantage for abiding by the law.
Sources pointed out illegal parallel trading, where importers were not only disregarding eco-contribution and packing waste obligations but also ignoring regulations governing labelling, has carried on.
But the Approving Body yesterday said MEPA had over the past few weeks intensified its enforcement efforts, which has resulted in a “marked increase in membership with the schemes”.
“MEPA will continue to maintain its efforts to curb any illegal practices,” the body said.