Battery Act and WEEE Take-Back Obligations for Online Retailers

1. What are ElektroG and BattG, and what are they about?

ElektroG, Germany's Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, transposes a European requirement into German law: the EU's WEEE Directive, an abbreviation for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The goal of the law is to keep discarded electrical devices out of household waste and ensure they are properly collected and recycled instead. To make that work, ElektroG obliges anyone who counts as a so-called "manufacturer" to register before the first sale and later to take part in taking back old devices.

The term "manufacturer" sounds at first as if it only applies to production companies, but under ElektroG it is defined much more broadly. Anyone who sells electrical or electronic devices under their own brand, even though they were produced elsewhere, or who is the first to place an imported device on the German market, also counts as a manufacturer. This applies to many online retailers, for instance when private-label products or imported goods from overseas suppliers are resold directly. Anyone who is a manufacturer in this sense must register with the Stiftung Elektro-Altgeräte Register, known as Stiftung EAR for short. This foundation is the central German registration body for electrical devices and, on behalf of the authorities, coordinates the entire take-back system.

Alongside ElektroG there is the Battery Act, known as BattG, which plays a comparable role for batteries and rechargeable batteries and is itself based on European battery law. Anyone who sells loose batteries or offers devices with a permanently built-in battery will, as a rule, also come into contact with BattG. Both laws follow the same basic principle: register before the first product is sold, and afterward take part in an organized take-back of used devices or batteries, so that valuable raw materials can be recovered and harmful substances properly disposed of.

A term that keeps coming up in this context is "placing on the market", the German legal concept of Inverkehrbringen. This refers to the moment a product is actually offered for sale or delivered to a customer in Germany for the first time, not the moment of manufacture or import as such. For you as an online retailer this means: the decisive point in time for registration is not the day the goods arrive in your warehouse, but the day they are first sold in your shop. This distinction matters because it fixes the latest possible point for registration with no room for interpretation.

2. Since when do they apply, and what changed in 2022?

ElektroG has existed in Germany since 2005. In 2015 it was fundamentally revised and is often referred to as ElektroG2 to distinguish it from the original version. Among other things, that revision clarified the registration duties and widened the circle of manufacturers covered. The Battery Act has existed since 2009 and has since been amended several times, most recently in connection with new European battery law.

A particularly important change for online retail came with an amendment to ElektroG that has been in force since 1 January 2022. Before this amendment, the take-back duty for old devices was mainly associated with brick-and-mortar shops, that is, physical stores where customers could simply hand in their old device on their next visit. Since the amendment, online retailers and fulfillment providers are explicitly included as well, provided they have a permanent storage and shipping area for electrical devices of at least 400 square meters. This closed a gap that had existed for many years: retailers who sold exclusively online could previously avoid the take-back duty more easily than a shop around the corner.

At the moment, European battery law itself is also in a state of transition. The new EU Battery Regulation entered into force in 2023 and is gradually replacing the previous EU Battery Directive, on which the German BattG was originally based. Over the coming years, this regulation introduces new duties in stages, for example disclosure of a battery's carbon footprint, improved labeling and higher collection targets. For shop owners, this mainly means one thing: battery law is currently in a gradual transition phase, and ongoing monitoring of the exact deadlines makes more sense than relying on a single, long-outdated date.

3. Who is affected, does this apply to small shops too?

Yes, this explicitly applies to small and side-business online shops as well. A widespread misconception is that ElektroG and BattG only affect large electronics chains with their own stores. In fact, neither law distinguishes by company size or revenue, only by whether a product falls under the relevant definition. Even a small shop that sells headphones, battery-powered toys, electronic accessories with a built-in battery, or simple household electronics can fall entirely under ElektroG, regardless of whether entirely different products are also sold alongside them.

For batteries, the scope is even broader than for electrical devices. While the take-back duty for electrical devices in online retail is tied to a specific storage and shipping area, batteries are subject to a considerably lower threshold compared with ElektroG. Practically every distributor who offers batteries must take back used batteries free of charge, independent of any new purchase, no matter how large or small their own warehouse or shipping operation is. So if you sell even occasional loose batteries, for example as an accessory to battery-powered products, you should not dismiss the take-back duty on the grounds that your own shop is far too small.

In practice, many shop owners are surprised by which products can actually be affected. These include things like e-bike accessories, power banks, smart plugs, motion sensors, wireless chargers and battery-powered night lights, products that at first glance feel more like a gadget or a home accessory than "real" electronics. What matters is not the product category in your own shop system, but simply whether a device runs on electricity or contains or requires a battery. Anyone who reviews their range with this in mind typically finds more affected items than they initially assumed.

4. What you specifically need to do

The first and most important step is an honest review of your own product range: which products could fall under ElektroG, which under BattG, and where does both apply at once, for example with a device that has a permanently built-in battery? This review should not only cover "classic" electronics, but explicitly also accessory items with their own power supply. Only once it is clear which products are affected can registration be tackled in a targeted way.

Once it is established that your products are affected, registration with Stiftung EAR follows, and it must happen before the so-called placing on the market, meaning before a product is offered for sale or delivered in Germany for the first time. Once registration is successful, you receive a WEEE registration number, which you must state correctly in your online shop's legal notice page and on invoices. This number is the visible proof that you have met your manufacturer duty, and it is checked regularly by market surveillance authorities.

In addition, you need a working take-back process for your customers: clear return instructions, information on possible collection points, and an understandable description of how an old device or a used battery can be returned. It is also important to inform customers about this take-back option before they buy, not only once a return is actually requested. Finally, you should document the quantities taken back, since this information can be part of your ongoing reporting duties toward Stiftung EAR.

It is also worth assigning fixed responsibility for this topic within your own company, similar to how bookkeeping or data protection are usually handled. Especially when product range, marketing and shipping are managed by different people, responsibility for registration and take-back can otherwise easily fall between the cracks. A designated contact person who checks new products for ElektroG and BattG relevance before they are listed prevents a single new product from unnoticeably becoming a compliance risk for the whole shop.

6. Fines and risks of non-compliance

Anyone who fails to register with Stiftung EAR in time risks, first of all, a sales ban for the affected products. In essence, this means the relevant electrical devices or batteries may no longer be lawfully sold in Germany until registration has been completed. In addition, the responsible market surveillance authority can impose significant fines for violations, whose exact amount depends on the individual case and is deliberately not stated here with an invented figure.

One aspect that looks like pure administrative law at first glance, but in reality carries a solid competition-law risk, is particularly relevant in practice: ElektroG and BattG are considered so-called market conduct rules within the meaning of Germany's Act Against Unfair Competition, known as UWG. This means a violation of registration or take-back duties can not only be pursued by the authorities, but can also be challenged through a competition-law warning letter, known in Germany as an "Abmahnung", issued by competitors or certain associations. Precisely these kinds of violations are, in practice, a popular target for such warning letters, because they are comparatively easy to prove, for example through a missing registration number in the legal notice page.

How a missing registration is even discovered is a question many shop owners underestimate. Market surveillance authorities can spot-check online shops, among other things by matching the WEEE registration number stated in the legal notice page against the publicly searchable Stiftung EAR register. Competitors who are themselves properly registered also have a commercial interest in not letting unfair competition through a missing registration go unchallenged, and they tend to check the legal notice pages of competing shops quite closely. This double layer of scrutiny, from authorities and from competitors themselves, is a key reason why a missing registration rarely stays undetected for long in practice.

7. Common misconceptions

A common misconception is: "I only sell accessories, not real electrical devices." In fact, accessories with their own power supply or built-in battery, such as wireless headphones or battery-powered toys, frequently do fall under ElektroG. Classification does not depend on how a product is categorized in your own shop, but on whether it objectively requires or contains a power source.

A second misconception concerns the take-back duty itself: "That only applies to brick-and-mortar shops." This assumption was partly understandable before 2022, but has been explicitly outdated since the ElektroG amendment. Online retailers and fulfillment providers with sufficient storage and shipping space have been included ever since, on the same footing as physical stores, and for batteries the take-back duty is practically independent of floor space anyway.

A third, particularly risky misconception is: "Without registration I can still sell for now and catch up on the paperwork later." The opposite is true. Registration with Stiftung EAR must take place before the first placing on the market, meaning before the first product is actually sold. Anyone who sells first and plans to register later is, in the meantime, in violation of an existing sales ban, even if the registration is successfully filed at a later point.

A fourth misconception concerns existing registrations: "I am already registered with Stiftung EAR for other products, so that covers my new range too." That is only partly true. Registration is tied to specific product categories, and anyone expanding their range into a new category, for example moving from household electronics to battery-powered toys, generally needs to check whether the existing registration actually covers that new category. An existing registration therefore does not automatically protect every new product added to the range later on.

8. What Mironsoft can take off your hands

We know that many shop owners quickly feel overwhelmed by topics like ElektroG and BattG, because technical product details, European law and German administrative structures all come together at once. Mironsoft helps you create clarity: we review together with you which products in your shop fall under ElektroG and BattG, and we help present your registration number and take-back information correctly directly in your online shop.

Beyond that, we support you in building an understandable take-back information page where customers can clearly read up on how a return works. Because take-back duties frequently overlap in practice with the LUCID packaging registration under the Packaging Act, we also cross-check this area on request, so that no single duty is looked at in isolation while another gets overlooked. And because battery law itself is currently evolving through the new EU Battery Regulation, we keep an ongoing eye on legal changes and reach out in good time, before a new deadline turns into an acute problem.

For the actual registration with Stiftung EAR and for binding legal questions in individual cases, we work closely with specialized service providers and, where useful, with your legal counsel. This gives you a reliable overall picture in one place, instead of scattered information spread across a registration portal, your shop system and your legal notice page.

9. Summary

ElektroG and BattG obligate practically every online shop that sells electrical devices, electronic accessories with a built-in battery, or loose batteries to register before the first sale and to take part in an organized take-back of old devices or used batteries. For electrical devices, the take-back duty in online retail has applied since the 2022 amendment from a storage and shipping area of 400 square meters; for batteries, a considerably lower threshold applies that is practically independent of shop size.

Small shops are explicitly affected too, particularly once battery-powered accessories are part of the range. Anyone who registers in time, states the WEEE registration number correctly, and sets up an understandable take-back process avoids both a sales ban and the risk of competition-law warning letters. This article provides a general overview and is not a substitute for individual legal advice for your specific case.

10. FAQ: Battery Act and WEEE take-back obligations in online retail

This article provides a general overview of ElektroG and BattG and is not a substitute for individual legal advice for your specific case.