The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has written to exporters telling them that they will need to note the name of the waste producer on the Annex VII document.
This follows a recent ruling at the Court of Justice of the European Union following a case brought to a German court by scrap metal dealer Interseroh. It centred on the need to provide the waste producer’s name in box 6 of the document to the consignee of the shipment, with Interseroh arguing that this could damage their business and had already lost them customers.
It has become common practice that intermediary companies arranging shipments would not disclose the name of the waste producer in the document, but would put something along the line of “refer to shipper” or equivalent in order to protect its business to the consignee and prevent the consignee working directly with the waste producer.
However, the Court ruled that the Annex VII document must show the waste producer, and this must be transmitted to the consignee without any omissions.
In its letter to exporters, the NIEA wrote: “Failure to include a completed and signed Annex VII document may result in the shipment being stopped during transit or at its destination by another competent authority who may request the shipment is returned to the country of origin, with costs paid by you [the shipper].
“As a result of this ruling we will no longer accept a separate document accompanying an Annex VIII identifying the waste producer. All details should be included on the Annex VII document. Any Annex VIIs submitted to NIEA that do not have the waste producer recorded will be classed as incomplete and will not be accepted.”
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is also considering its position. In a statement, it said: “SEPA is currently reviewing its regulatory approach to Annex VII submissions, including the requirement to complete box 6, and will in due course issue guidance outlining SEPA’s position on these matters.”
The Environment Agency in England and Wales is also considering its response to the ruling.
