Plastic Packaging Import Into Spain
Over the last few years, the environmental impact of extensive plastic use has attracted the attention of Spanish tax legislators. As a result, Spain has now approved a new tax on non-reusable plastic packaging.
The new tax impacts most industrial and consumer products businesses, as it applies to the manufacturing, importation and intra-EU acquisition of non-reusable plastic packaging in Spain. It covers the transactions of all packaging materials and packaged products.
All shipments using such packaging are therefore impacted: all imports into Spain.
The tax rate is €0.45 per kilogram of non-reusable plastic packaging shipped into or within Spain.
What does “non-reusable plastic packaging” mean?
The definition of "non-reusable plastic packaging" includes the following:
Non-reusable plastic containers.
Semi-finished plastic products (e.g., thermoplastic sheets) intended for the production of non-reusable plastic containers.
Plastic products aimed to facilitate the closing, trading, or presentation of non-reusable containers.
With the exceptions of:
Medicines, sanitary products, meals for particular medical uses, sanitary hazardous wastes.
Products inadequate for use or destroyed.
Low-volume operators: intra-EU acquisitions and imports of non-reusable plastic packaging when the weight of the non-reusable plastic packaging does not exceed 5kg per month.
For worldwide imports, the tax must be paid via the customs import declaration, for which the shipper must disclose the weight of non-recycled plastic. The shipper must also disclose if the low volume exemption threshold (5kg of taxable products per month) applies.
For recycled plastic, which is not taxable, taxpayers can provide a certificate issued by an accredited entity to prove the recycled nature of the product.
Who is subject to this tax?
Manufacturers of products are subject to the tax, and those who import them into Spain are considered taxpayers.
What do I need to know as a taxpayer?
For imports from outside of the EU, the tax must be paid via the customs import declaration, for which you must disclose the weight of non-recycled plastic.
How is the tax calculated?
The tax base is the quantity, expressed in kilograms, of non-reusable plastic packaging. The tax rate will be €0.45 per kilogram.
For recycled plastic, which is not taxable, taxpayers can provide a certificate issued by an accredited entity to prove the recycled nature of the product.
Useful links for additional information
Useful explainer from EY: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/tax-alerts/spain-introduces-new-indirect-tax-on-non-reusable-plastic-packaging-as-of-1-january-2023
Information in Spanish: https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/impuestos-especiales-medioambientales/impuesto-especial-sobre-envases-plastico-reutilizables.html?faqId=8c61f74bf0a32810VgnVCM100000dc381e0aRCRD