Since August 26, exporters of products such as tires or electrical and electronic equipment have been required to provide an eco-certificate to ensure that the customs clearance process is conducted smoothly, in accordance with local regulations.
The Eco-Levy programmeof the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a programme to support and finance the management of electronic waste, at the end of life, of certain regulated products, whether new or used, such as, but not limited to, electric and electronic tires and equipment (EEE).
Its application consists of three modules:
- inspection of electrical, electronic and pneumatic equipment, new or used, before boarding in the countries of origin or dispatch (356 types of equipment are concerned),
- collection of eco-contributions for each product from the manufacturers/exporters of these EEAsand their transfer to the Intervention Fund For the Environment (FIPE), to finance the implementation of the programme,
- financing and setting up of waste collection and reprocessing infrastructure for electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and an IT platform for managing the whole programme.
Once the eco-contribution is settled, an eco-certificate is issued. Since 26 August this certificateforms part of the package of documents to be presented during the customs clearance process in the DRCfor the product typologies mentioned above.
In order to materialise this programme, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has designated the Intertek laboratory as the only laboratory able to carry out the inspection and the collection of eco-contributions for products subject to the Eco-Levy programme. Therefore,only Intertek is able to issue to exporters the famous eco-certificate necessary for customs clearance formalities import.
In effect, exporters will be required to submit an Application for Certification (RFC) to Intertek with the shipping invoice. Once the inspection of the application and the payment of eco-contribution have been completed, the laboratory will indicate whether a physical inspection is necessary. If all the lights are green, then the precious eco-certificate will be issued.
To assist exporters, Intertek made available on itswebsiteon 20 August the list of products covered by this programme. This list includes all customs codes (SH6) covered by the Eco-Levy programme. It should therefore be checked whether the customs code of a product intended for export to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is listed. If so, it will be necessary to contact Intertek. For information purposes, on the same file, the cost of the levy is shown.
It should be noted that the DRC is not the only African country that has set up the Eco-Levy programme. On 23 May 2023, Tanzania had made it official while designating Bureau Veritas as responsible for its implementation.
Source(s): Intertek
Editor(s): C.MOREAU-REVEL