Does every online shop need to have an entry in BDO?

The shortest and fairest answer is: no, not every online shop has to have an entry in BDO, but the online sales model itself very often triggers such an obligation. This is because many e-commerce owners confuse two different levels: the online sale itself and the environmental obligations arising from this, what i how sell. If the shop only acts as an intermediary, does not pack the goods, does not introduce products in packaging, does not offer plastic bags and has no other statutory titles, an entry will not always be required. If, however, the trader packs the orders himself, uses cartons, foil, fillers or envelopes and markets them together with the goods, he very often becomes an entity introducing packaged products and then BDO ceases to be an option and becomes an obligation. Business.gov.pl points this out explicitly with e-commerce. 

When does an online shop need to have an entry in BDO?

The most common case in e-commerce concerns precisely the packaging of goods for shipping. If a shop prepares a package for a customer itself and uses packaging such as cardboard, tape, stretch film, bubble wrap, paper or fillers to do so, it can be considered to be introducing packaged products. This is not a technical detail, but one of the classic titles of entry in the BDO register. In addition to this, the obligation may also arise if a shop offers plastic shopping bags covered by the recycling fee, sells certain regulated products such as electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, accumulators, tyres or oils, or generates waste requiring registration itself. BDO and Biznes.gov.pl point out that various categories of activities listed in the Waste Act are subject to registration, not just the classic „waste companies”. 

When does an online shop not have to register with BDO?

Not all e-commerce automatically falls into the system. If the business model does not involve packaging of goods by the seller, does not involve regulated products and does not generate other environmental obligations, an entry may not be necessary. A good example is some brokering or dropshipping models, where the shop is not the actual marketer of the packaging, as shipping and packaging is carried out by another entity. However, one has to be very careful with simplifications. The fact that a company „only sells online” is not decisive. What matters is the actual scope of activities: who packs, who introduces the packaging, who is responsible for the product and whether the shop carries out the activities listed in the legislation as requiring registration. In practice, many online shops mistakenly assume the absence of an obligation simply because they do not have a large-scale warehouse or do not generate typical production waste. 

How do you check your obligation and what to remember after entry?

The most sensible place to start is with a simple audit of the business: does the shop package the goods itself, does it offer plastic bags to customers, does it sell products covered by separate obligations and does it keep records of waste. If the answer to any of these questions is „yes”, you need to check the relevant duty section in BDO. It is worth remembering that the entry itself is only the beginning, as, depending on the type of activity, there may be registration and annual fees, as well as an obligation to submit an annual report on products, packaging and waste management resulting therefrom by 15 March for the previous calendar year. The registration and annual fees are not paid by all registrants, but only by certain groups, including those introducing packaged products, electrical and electronic equipment or batteries and accumulators. This is why, for the e-commerce sector, the most dangerous mistake is not „not knowing the form”, but failing to find out in advance by which title a shop enters the BDO and what obligations this entails.

If you run an online shop and are unsure whether your business requires registration with BDO, it is best to verify this before a problem arises with a report, fees or an audit. For details, please see Contact on the site where you can describe your e-commerce operating model and match the scope of support to your actual responsibilities.