Who must register for BDO in Poland? Waste database

September 14, 2020

What is BDO?

BDO register is a register of entities introducing products, products in packaging and managing waste on the Polish market. BDO is an integral part of the database on packaging, products and waste management, the so-called BDO. It has been created to collect information about waste. It ensures electronic fulfillment of registration, recording and reporting obligations. We will begin with: who must register for BDO?

Who must register for BDO?

Obliged to enter into the BDO register are entrepreneurs who:

• generate waste and keep waste records,
• introduce packaged products, lubricating oils, batteries or accumulators, vehicles, electrical or electronic equipment into the territory of Poland,
• import or produce packages and/or goods in packages, buy them as part of intra-community transactions (from companies in the EU).

Moreover, the register is obligatory also to stores and wholesalers who provide their customers with plastic bags that are subject to a recycling fee. In this case, an annual statement must be submitted on light bags (15 to 49 microns) and other bags (over 50 microns) that have been purchased and handed over. The register does not include very light bags with the thickness of less than 15 micrometers which are offered as packaging for food sold in bulk and are dispensed for hygiene reasons.

Who should submit an application to the BDO register?

The application must be submitted by entities listed in art. 50 sec. 1 of the Act on waste of December 14, 2012. Pursuant to the aforementioned article, whether a company should submit an application to the register is determined by the area in which it operates and, at the same time, by the scope of this business activity.

The register is kept by voivodship marshals. Depending on the type of business, entrepreneurs are registered to BDO at their own request or ex officio. If the application has not been filed), therefore there is no need for the entrepreneur to submit the application.

On the BDO website, there is an interactive form through which we can check whether we are subject to obligation of registers to the BDO.

When one should register for BDO?

If your business is subject to entry in the BDO register, you must obtain an entry before starting the business. After submitting a correct and complete application for entry in the BDO register, the voivodship marshal has 30 days to consider the application and enter it in the register. The application is submitted via the electronic form on the BDO website. Only the section that applies to our business activity should be completed.

A registration fee is required. It should be paid to a bank account of a competent marshal’s office. The fee depends on the size of enterprise. Therefore, if you run a micro-enterprise, you must pay a fee of PLN 100. While your company is not a micro-enterprise, the amount to be paid is PLN 300. The fee must be renewed every year until the end of February of each year.

Before COVID-19 outbreak, the deadline for starting the obligation to keep electronic waste register was set for June 31, 2020. The anti-COVID-19 act extended this deadline:

Until December 31, 2020, it is allowed to prepare paper-based waste register, but keeping a waste transfer card or a municipal waste transfer card that are paper-based is permissible if the person transferring the waste issues a waste transfer card or municipal waste transfer card in this form.

Currently it is possible to use the valid way of keeping waste records in paper-based form, but only till December 31, 2020.

BDO statement – till when?

The annual report must be submitted electronically, through an account in the BDO system. It must be done till March 15 for the previous calendar year. Moreover, if during the year a company gets closed down, the report must be submitted within 7 days from the date of its closing.

What are the penalties for the lack of registration?

When not complying with the provisions on registration, record keeping and reporting as to BDO, sanctions can be imposed. The sanctions can be divided into two categories:

• fine (from PLN 100 to over PLN 1 million) or arrest, both imposed by courts,
• administrative fine (from PLN 5,000 to PLN 1 million) imposed by the Provincial Inspector for Environmental Protection.

The administrative fine is imposed for:

• running a business without the required entry into the BDO database,
• not including the registration number on the documents (drawn up in connection with the conducted business activity). This number is assigned by the marshal upon registration into the BDO database. It applies to companies that are subject to a registration fee.

One may be punished with arrest or a fine for:

• failure to submit an application for entry into the BDO register,
• submitting an application inconsistent with the facts,
• failure to submit an application to change the entry,
• failure to submit an application for removal from the register,
• breach of reporting and recording obligations.

In summary, from January 1, 2020, a subject to a fine or arrest will be anyone who does not:

• store for 5 years from the moment of registration, share or submit documents and all data required by the law,
• have the confirmation generated from the BDO database during the transport of waste.

Author: Izabella Strzeszewska

Tags waste database BDO, who must register for BDO in Poland