ESTADO DEL SECTOR - THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 33 Spain is the only European country to introduce the tax, which is not compulsory for member states and will add extra costs for companies The Government rejected the request made by the main consumer organisations, together with FEPEX, to postpone the entry into force of the special tax on non-reusable plastic packaging, which will finally be applied from 1st January. These organisations claim that this tax will have a negative effect on fruit and vegetable sales. ”Spain is theonly Europeancountry to introduce the tax, which isnot compulsory formember states, andwill addextracosts for companies inour difficult international economic context, in which the fruit and vegetable industry is juggling with multiple challenges to maintain its sustainability and competitiveness, in an uncertain scenario as a result of increased production costs and strong competition fromthird countries”, FEPEX argues. Like the rest of the organisations from the main consumer sectors that signed the petition to the government requesting a moratorium on the tax, FEPEX has declared that it is firmly committed to the reduction of single-use plastic, but considers that the tax comes ”at the worst possible time”. TheorganisationssigningthepetitionstatedthatSpanishcompanies”areaheadof legislation in their commitment to the environment and in themanagement of plastic, and pointed out that thevastmajorityof companieshavealreadyadoptedmeasures suchas redesign, weight reduction and reuse to try tominimise the presence of thismaterial in packaging”. FEPEX is particularly concerned about the uncertainty regarding the tax’s scope of application, formal obligations, and registration in the Regional Register as well as the accounts and stock records companies have to keep. THE PLASTIC TAX WORRIES THE SECTOR
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