Wish have notified sellers that from the 1st of January 2023, Swedish EPR requirements come into effect. EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) impacts all merchants selling Sweden-bound products in certain product categories including packaging, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), and batteries. You can find more information on how to obtain your EPR registration and which products are in scope here.
This (effectively an eco tax and a way for governments to raise money) is already live in France and Germany and the Swedish EPR requirements won’t be the last. Belgium, Portugal are likely to introduce EPR in 2023 and even here in the United Kingdom we won’t be immune as it’s expected the government will introduce similar requirements.
Swedish EPR requirements for Wish
To comply with Swedish EPR requirements, merchants selling applicable categories of Sweden-bound products must do the following by January 1, 2023:
- Obtain EPR registration numbers from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency for each relevant product category
- Obtain proof of registration from a nationally approved collection and recycling system or a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) for the packaging, EEE, and/or batteries product categories
Around Q2 2023, Wish merchants will be required to provide Sweden EPR registration numbers to Wish. Wish is planning to launch an official intake channel to receive Sweden EPR registration numbers via Merchant Dashboard and API before then.
Obtaining EPR registration numbers and/or proof of registration may take at least three months so Wish are encouraging merchants to register for all applicable product categories as soon as possible to comply ahead of the 1st of January 2023.
Merchants may face consequences from the Swedish regulatory authorities if they do not have EPR registration numbers and proof of registration for applicable product categories by January 1, 2023. Please reach out to relevant nationally approved collection and recycling systems, PROs, or the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency for more information on EPR program requirements, including deadlines and potential consequences for not being in compliance.
Once Wish starts to require that merchants provide Sweden EPR registration numbers and proof of registration (around Q2 2023), merchants will need to submit their Sweden EPR registration numbers to Wish or risk violating Merchant Policies 13.3 and 13.4. Merchants in violation may be blocked from selling in-scope products into Sweden until they provide EPR registration numbers to Wish.
