Jerrican-type packaging will be considered reusable if its design allows for multiple rotations

The nature of plastic packaging and its treatment regarding the Special Tax on Non-Reusable Plastic Packaging has raised doubts about how to determine when a product is exempt from this tax. The Dirección General de Tributos (DGT) has recently clarified the criteria for distinguishing between single-use packaging and those that can be reused.

What the DGT has resolved

The Administration has established that the status of reusable packaging is an objective condition. This means that the determining factor is whether the product has been conceived, designed, and marketed specifically to undergo multiple rotations or to be refilled. The criterion is not based on the will, behavior, or actual use that the purchaser decides to give the packaging once it has been marketed.

In this sense, if a jerrican-type container meets the design characteristics to be reused, it acquires that status from its manufacture. The regulations do not require the packaging to be effectively reused by the consumer for the exemption to remain valid; rather, its design purpose must be reuse.

What this means for you

For manufacturers of jerrican-type packaging, this ruling provides legal certainty regarding the application of the tax. The determination of taxation will not depend on the subsequent activity of their customers, but on the technical specifications of the product they place on the market. This avoids the uncertainty of having to monitor the use each buyer makes of their products to justify the non-application of the special tax.

To prove that packaging meets this reusable condition, the regulations allow for the use of various means of evidence under free assessment, highlighting certifications under the UNE-EN 13429:2005 standard.

What should be done

Manufacturing companies must ensure that the technical documentation and certifications of their products faithfully reflect their design oriented toward reuse. It is fundamental to have solid means of evidence, such as the aforementioned UNE standard certifications, to prove to the Administration that the packaging has been designed for multiple rotations, in accordance with the provisions of Law 7/2022.