Definition of electrical and electronic equipment

Definition of electrical and electronic equipment

Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) means any electrical or electronic equipment meeting the definition specified in Section 3(1)c) of the Act. For the purposes of the Agreement, EEE means all EEE included in one of the groups 1 to 6 under Annex No. 1 to the Act.

Definition of EEE according to Act 542/2020 Coll. on End-of-Life Products, valid from 01 January 2021

Section 3 Basic Concepts

(1) The following is understood to apply for the purposes of this Act: 

a) selected product means an electrical appliance, battery or accumulator, tyre or vehicle,

b) end-of-life product means a selected product that has become waste,

c) EEE means electrical and electronic equipment that is functionally dependent on an electric current or an electromagnetic field, or equipment for the production, transmission and metering of an electric current or an electromagnetic field, which is intended for use with voltage levels not exceeding 1,000 VAC or 1,500 VDC,

d) waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) means EEE that has become waste, including all its components, construction and consumable parts,

e) WEEE originating from households means WEEE originating from households or WEEE of a similar nature and quantity originating from legal entities and natural persons engaged in business; it is always WEEE originating from households if, before it became an end-of-life product, the EEE could be used both in households and by other end-users.

f) battery or accumulator means a source of electrical energy generated by the direct exchange of chemical energy, consisting of one or more primary cells that are incapable of being recharged, or one or more secondary cells that are capable of being recharged,

g) waste battery or accumulator means a battery or accumulator that has become waste,

h) tyre means a flexible component of a wheel assembly that is made of natural or synthetic rubber and reinforcing materials without a rim, with the exception of a wheel for use on devices drawn or pushed by a person on foot, on a bicycle or on a personal medical device or on a rehabilitation or compensatory aid,

i) waste tyre means a tyre that has become waste,

j) vehicle means a road motor vehicle as defined in the Act on Conditions of Operation of Vehicles on Roads,

k) end-of-life vehicle means a vehicle that has become waste,

Link to this Section 3 

This does not apply to
the exemptions under Act No. 542/2020 Coll.:

Section 2 Scope of the Act

 This Act does not apply to

a) EEE necessary for the protection of the security interests of the Czech Republic, including weapons, ammunition and munitions intended for the needs of the security or armed forces and other military material intended exclusively for security or military purposes,

b) EEE designed and installed as part of other equipment not covered by this Act, provided that it can only perform its function as part of that equipment and that it does not comprise light sources or solar panels,

eg. List of EEE according to the Communication of the Ministry of the Environment

c) EEE designed to be sent into space,

d) large stationary industrial machinery,

Specifications: Section 3(2)n) 

A system of large dimensions composed of machines, equipment or components that function together for a specific purpose, are permanently installed and dismantled by specialist personnel at a specific location, and whose use and maintenance are restricted to specialist personnel on premises for industrial production or research and development,

e) large fixed installations, except for equipment not specifically designed and installed as part of such installations,

Specifications: Section 3(2)o)

A system of large dimensions composed of several types of apparatus and, where appropriate, other equipment, which is assembled, installed and dismantled by specialist personnel, intended for permanent use as part of a building or structure in a predetermined place reserved for that purpose, and may be replaced only by equipment specifically designed for the same purpose,

f) non-road mobile machinery intended exclusively for professional use,

Specifications: Section 3(2)p)

A machine with its own power source, the operation of which requires either mobility or continuous or semi-continuous movement between a series of fixed workstations and which is designed exclusively for professional use,

g) EEE specifically intended solely for research and development purposes, which is not normally available to consumers,

e.g. applies only to Research Institutes

h) medical devices, if they are expected to be a source of infection before the end of their useful life, and active implantable medical devices,

e.g. pacemakers and other devices that come into contact with human blood

i) explosives,

j) batteries or accumulators used in equipment

1. related to the protection of the security interests of the Czech Republic, including weapons, ammunition and munitions intended for the needs of the security or armed forces and other military material, with the exception of products not intended exclusively for security or military purposes, or

2. designed to be sent into space and

k) vehicles of the armed forces.

 

Placement on the market 

According to Act No. 542/2020 Coll., on End-of-Life Products (hereinafter referred to as “EOL”), placement on the market means the first delivery or release into the free circulation customs regime, whether in return for payment or free of charge, of EEE onto the Czech market for the purpose of business for distribution, consumption or use according to Section 3(2) points b – d.

Section 3 Placement on the market

(2) The following is also understood to apply for the purposes of this Act:

b) placing a product on the market means the first delivery of a selected product within the territory of the Czech Republic, whether in return for payment or free of charge, as part of the business of its manufacturer or by an entity that has acquired the product from another Member State for distribution, consumption or use or for the export of the product for commercial purposes; a transfer pursuant to subsection 1o) is not considered to constitute placement on the market,

c) placing a product into circulation means every delivery of a selected product within the territory of the Czech Republic, whether in return for payment or free of charge, for distribution, consumption or use after it has been placed on the market,

d) import means the release of a selected product from a country outside the European Union into the free circulation customs regime within the territory of the Czech Republic,

 

Manufacturer – the entity obliged to comply under the EOL

Section 3 Basic Concepts

(1) The following is understood to apply for the purposes of this Act:

m)  EEE manufacturer means

1. an entrepreneur established in the Czech Republic that, regardless of the method of sale, including the use of remote means of communication,3)  under a name, trademark or other designation unmistakably associated with it (“own brand”), manufactures and markets EEE or has EEE manufactured or designed and markets it under its own brand,

2. an entrepreneur established in the Czech Republic that, regardless of the method of sale, including the use of remote means of communication,3)  puts into circulation EEE manufactured by other suppliers under its own brand, unless the own brand of the entity under point 1 appears on it; the placement into circulation of EEE by a manufacturer pursuant to this provision shall be deemed to constitute its placement on the market for the purposes of this Act,

3. an entrepreneur established in the Czech Republic who, regardless of the method of sale, including the use of remote means of communication,3)  places EEE acquired from another country on the market, or

4. an entrepreneur who places EEE on the market by delivering it via remote means of communication,3)  directly to end-users in the Czech Republic from another country in which it is established.

 

Manufacturer – obligations and responsibilities

Section 27 Records

(1)  The manufacturer is obliged to keep records of

a) the quantities of the selected products it has placed on the market, in units of weight and units,

b) the persons who provide take-back, transport, processing or other handling of taken-back end-of-life products for the manufacturer, in a similar scope of data to that set out in points a) to c) of Section 26; for persons who provide processing for the manufacturer, the identification number and address of the end-of-life product processing facility is also recorded, and

c) the flow of end-of-life products taken back from the take-back point through to their final use, including preparation for reuse or disposal.

(2) If a manufacturer fulfils its obligations for all the selected products it places on the market under a compliance scheme, it only keeps the records referred to in subsection 1a).

(3) If a person referred to in subsection (1)b) arranges for the take-back, transport, processing or other disposal of end-of-life products for a manufacturer and at the same time for another manufacturer or compliance scheme operator, that person is obliged to report data relating to the end-of-life product only once so as to avoid the duplication of data.

(4)  The Ministry issues a decree determining the scope and manner of record-keeping pursuant to subsection (1).

 

Distributor – obligations and responsibilities

Section 10 Responsibility of the distributor

If a selected product does not come from a manufacturer who is registered in the List of Manufacturers or instead of whom an authorised representative is registered in the List of Manufacturers, the rights and obligations of the manufacturer provided for in this Act shall be vested in the distributor of that product.

The Waste Act also regulates the legal impact of the sale of EEE that does not come from manufacturers (or an authorised representative in the case of a foreign manufacturer) registered in the List of Manufacturers maintained by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic or in a compliance scheme.

It is in the interest of distributors to verify that the relevant manufacturer, importer or authorised representative of a foreign manufacturer duly complies with all the obligations related to the placement of EEE on the market.