Among the new regulations that will have the greatest impact on the food and beverage industry this year is <a href="https://www.sweetpress.com/noticias/fiab-aclara-dudas-sobre-las-nuevas-regulaciones-de-envases-y-residuos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Decree 1055/2022 on Packaging and Packaging Waste</a> . The Council of Ministers approved it on December 27, a few days before the end of 2022, as it had been announcing for months. The Government points out that the new regulation, which revises national legislation from 20 years ago, establishes profound changes in this area in order to &nbsp; move towards a circular economy and achieve the new packaging recycling targets for 2025 and 2030 established by the European Union. Among others, it establishes measures aimed at the prevention of packaging waste and, in line with the <a href="https://www.sweetpress.com/noticias/objetivo-impulsar-una-economia-circular-y-baja-en-carbono" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils for a Circular Economy,</a> marks among its objectives for 2030 the reduction of 20% of single-use plastic bottles compared to 2022. The Royal Decree also encourages the sale of food in bulk . For example, whole fresh fruits and vegetables may not be sold in packages of less than 1.5 kg, except in certain cases, such as those that present a risk of deterioration or shrinkage when they are not sold packaged. Businesses have six months to adapt to the new requirement, which establishes that those whose surface area is equal to or greater than 400 square meters will allocate at least 20% of their sales area to the offer of products presented without primary packaging or through packaging. reusable. In addition, the new standard includes measures to encourage the increase in the reuse of containers in the beverage sector , without compromising food safety. Among others, the one that establishes that retail businesses must accept the use of adequate and clean reusable containers by consumers and offer a number of references in reusable containers from 2025 or 2027, depending on their surface area. In addition, a deposit, return and return system will be established to guarantee the recovery of these containers. The Royal Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste also promotes the use of materials obtained from packaging waste in the manufacture of new containers and other products, and establishes percentages of recycled plastic content in packaging for 2025 and 2030 that producers they should try to achieve. It also establishes specific marking rules in relation to the container in which packaging waste must be deposited as of January 1, 2025 and prohibits marking with expressions such as ";environmentally friendly"; or any other equivalent that may lead to its abandonment in the environment.<h2> Extended Producer Responsibility</h2> Among the new obligations that it contemplates, the Extended Producer Responsibility (RAP) stands out, which affects all companies that use industrial and commercial containers and packaging to transport and sell products to their customers in Spain. The Royal Decree establishes that they will now be in charge of financing and managing their packaging waste; and not the end customers as was the case up to now. “Companies will have to take charge of the industrial and commercial container and packaging waste that ends up in the facilities of their final customer, with the consequent cost and with important new organizational needs for companies. In addition to other obligations before public administrations such as its registration in the Packaging Registry of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the provision of data on the placing of packaging on the market, compliance with recycling and reuse objectives, etc. ";, they explain from Envalora , a new collective system of extended producer responsibility (scrap) for industrial and commercial packaging. The scraps were born with the aim of providing a collective and efficient solution to companies in the face of this new responsibility, since they assume, in a delegated manner, a large part of their obligations and provide technical and legal advice to comply with the new Royal Decree.<h2> New plastic tax</h2> On the other hand, since January 1, the new <a href="https://www.sweetpress.com/noticias/packaging-cluster-aclara-dudas-impuesto-plastico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax on non-reusable plastic containers</a> has been in force, contemplated in the Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils approved last April. This new indirect tax establishes a rate of 0.45 euros per kilo of non-recycled plastic contained in non-reusable packaging. The Government expects to raise 690 million euros with it. It affects both empty containers and if they are purchased containing a product or are used to handle, protect, distribute or present merchandise . In addition, semi-finished plastic products (destined for the manufacture of containers, such as thermoplastic sheets) or plastic parts designed for closing, marketing or presenting non-reusable containers are also included. It must be paid by those who manufacture these containers in Spain, as well as those who purchase them within the European Union or import them from other non-EU countries. They are the three types of taxpayers obliged to declare and pay the tax before the Administration, although it provides that the manufacturer will charge the tax on his invoice and the following links in the distribution chain decide in turn if they do so and how they will charge it. Business organizations from the food and beverage industry, such as FIAB or Aecoc , had asked the Government in recent months to <a href="https://www.sweetpress.com/noticias/razones-pedir-aplazamiento-impuesto-plastico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">postpone the entry into force of this tax</a> on single-use plastic to avoid new costs for companies in the face of the complex situation that are supported by inflation and the high costs of energy and raw materials caused by the war in Ukraine and international uncertainty. To this, these organizations indicated, is added the complexity in the management of the new tax, but the Government has only established a moratorium until July to present the accounting entries related to the new tax. ";There are many of us in the industry who have requested on countless occasions a one-year moratorium for the entry into force of this tax, because in addition to the direct economic impact that it will entail, the lack of definition that still surrounds its implementation today makes it an element of clear legal insecurity for our companies”, pointed out Rubén Moreno , general secretary of Produlce, in an opinion article recently published in Cinco Días .<h2> No VAT on essential products</h2> 2023 has also started with a package of anti-crisis measures approved by the Government. Among them the elimination or temporary reduction of VAT on basic foods, which also will not be able to rise in price in the next four months. This value-added tax reduction will be in effect until July, or until May 1 if the year-on-year rate of underlying inflation in March falls below 5.5%. It will mean a cost of 661 million euros for the public coffers. VAT is eliminated on products that were already considered essential and to which a super-reduced VAT of 4% was applied until now. They are common breads, bread flour, milk of any animal species, cheese, eggs, fruits, vegetables, legumes, potatoes and cereals considered natural products according to the Food Code. VAT on other foods such as oil (including olive oil) and pasta is reduced from 10% to 5%. Associations that represent the mass consumption value chain, such as ACES , Aecoc , Anged , Asedas and FIAB have positively assessed these measures, although they consider that they should also include fish, meat or yoghurts (they remain with 10 %) because they also ";form part of the basic basket of consumers and are also essential in the Mediterranean diet,"; these organizations said in a statement. The approved measures, in any case, indicate in that same statement ";they are good news that will help limit the impact of inflation, will have a direct and positive impact on the pockets of consumers and support the commitment of the agri-food chain, which for months it has been making an extraordinary effort to cushion the strong impact that the escalation of energy and raw materials has had on food production and distribution costs”. These anti-crisis measures also include aid to encourage consumption of 200 euros for 4.2 million Spanish households with incomes of less than 27,000 euros and whose assets do not exceed 75,000, as well as subsidies worth 300 million for farmers to compensate them for the rise in production costs, especially the increase in the price of fertilizers. During this year, the discount of 20 cents per liter of fuel for transporters, farmers and fishermen will also be maintained, and the rates of the state-owned highways rescued by the Government, such as the Madrid radials, will remain frozen. Regarding the electricity market, the entry into force of the new regulated market rate (PVPC) stands out ; the maintenance of the VAT reduction to 5% (after falling from 21% in the last year and a half); and the special at 0.5%, the minimum allowed by the European Commission (it was 5.11% before the crisis).

The Royal Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste and the new tax on plastic that have just entered into force will mean a profound change in the manufacture, management and elimination of non-reusable packaging, as well as entail an additional cost for companies. These are some of the novelties that will most impact the food and beverage industry , which also finds some relief with the anti-crisis measures approved by the Government these days

New front for packaging manufacturing and management in 2023

New front for packaging manufacturing and management in 2023