{"id":80932,"date":"2025-01-23T17:40:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T16:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/?p=80932"},"modified":"2025-01-30T10:54:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T09:54:54","slug":"supreme-court-allows-packaging-tax-in-tuebingen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/oberstes-gericht-erlaubt-verpackungssteuer-in-tuebingen\/","title":{"rendered":"Packaging tax in T\u00fcbingen is not unconstitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The T\u00fcbingen packaging tax is compatible with the German constitution. This was decided by the Federal Constitutional Court. A McDonalds restaurant had lodged a constitutional complaint. Without success.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The tax has applied in T\u00fcbingen since the beginning of 2022 to disposable packaging, crockery and cutlery for takeaway food, such as coffee cups, chip trays and plastic cutlery. This is intended to bring money into the municipal budget, counteract littering in the city and strengthen reusable systems. A fee of 50 cents is charged for each container and 20 cents for cutlery.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Constitutional complaint by McDonald's restaurant dismissed<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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After the Federal Administrative Court declared the packaging tax to be legal in May 2023, the operator of a McDonald's restaurant in T\u00fcbingen lodged a constitutional complaint with the judges in Karlsruhe.\u00a0<\/p>

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In its decision published today (22 January 2025), the Federal Constitutional Court comes to the following conclusion:<\/p>

In particular, the packaging tax is also a \u201elocal\u201c excise duty within the meaning of the Art.<\/abbr>\u00a0105 Abs.<\/abbr>\u00a02a sentence 1 Basic Law (GG<\/abbr>), than the consumption of disposable items in the sale of \u201etake-away take-away<\/span>-food or beverages\u201c is taxed. The incentive to use reusable systems intended by the packaging tax statute also does not contradict any concept of federal waste law that has been relevant since its entry into force.<\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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According to the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court, the decisive basis for the packaging tax is that it only affects disposable packaging that is used when serving food and drinks for immediate consumption on site. This regulation is aimed in particular at packaging that often ends up as waste directly in T\u00fcbingen, for example fast food dishes such as burgers or kebabs. As such food is usually consumed before leaving the city centre, the city is permitted to levy the tax on local snack bars and fast food restaurants. However, packaging for leftover food, such as trays from restaurants, is not subject to this regulation.<\/p>

No insolvencies due to packaging tax<\/h2>

The decision also made it clear that the tax does not infringe on the operators' freedom of occupation. The amount of 50 cents per package is considered proportionate and is unlikely to drive any economically sound business into insolvency. This assessment is confirmed by previous experience: The court has no evidence that the introduction of the tax would have led to a wave of insolvencies. The city of T\u00fcbingen has been levying this tax since the beginning of 2022 and limits it to disposable packaging, regardless of the material used. Reusable containers and cups are exempt from the tax.\u00a0<\/p>

The fast food giant McDonald's expressed its disappointment at the decision from Karlsruhe. Such localised solutions and individual municipal packaging taxes are difficult to implement for companies with a nationwide presence, the company explained in writing. They would lead to disproportionate bureaucracy and deprive the catering industry of much-needed planning security in a difficult economic phase.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Municipal packaging tax compliant with EU law<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The judgement of the Federal Administrative Court two years ago already stated that federal waste legislation does not preclude a municipal packaging tax. \u201eIt aims to prevent packaging waste in the urban area and thus does not pursue a conflicting objective at local level, but the same objective as the EU and federal legislators.\u201c According to EU law, \u201ewaste prevention is the top priority in the waste hierarchy\u201c. Local taxes that make disposable packaging more expensive are therefore not ruled out.<\/p>

So far, only a few cities, including Constance and Freiburg, have followed this model.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Further news on laws and regulations<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEuropean Commission publishes guidance on PPWR implementation\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe document is intended to support companies, authorities, and market participants in applying the new regulations.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead more \"\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tBundestag passes Packaging Act\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThis repeals the current Packaging Act and adapts it to the PPWR, which will apply directly from 12 August 2026.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead more \"\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFIFA now permits sealed single-use plastic bottles\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tFollowing the publication of the stadium regulations for the 2026 Football World Cup, the association has clarified its requirements.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead more \"\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tBVDM calls for EUDR improvements for packaging\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tIn the association's view, packaging manufacturers require clear guidelines on which obligations they themselves must fulfil and which responsibilities lie with their customers.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead more \"\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFIFA bans reusable bottles from World Cup stadiums\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe regulations apply to all venues during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead more \"\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tIndustry alliance urges swift implementation of PPWR\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tNumerous associations and companies are simultaneously warning of regulatory uncertainty.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead more \"\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The T\u00fcbingen packaging tax is compatible with the German constitution. This was decided by the Federal Constitutional Court. A McDonalds restaurant had lodged a constitutional complaint. Without success.","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":80939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","rank_math_description":"Die T\u00fcbinger Verpackungssteuer ist mit dem Grundgesetz vereinbar. Das hat das Bundesverfassungsgericht entschieden. ","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Verpackungssteuer","rank_math_title":"","_earpaper_enabled":false,"_earpaper_voice_id":"","_earpaper_audio_url":"","_earpaper_audio_id":"","_earpaper_article_id":"","_earpaper_status":"","_earpaper_error":"","_earpaper_duration":0,"_earpaper_generated_at":"","csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[58757,31,32,59604],"class_list":["post-80932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-maerkte","tag-gesetze-und-verordnungen","tag-nachhaltigkeit-und-green-packaging","tag-packmittel-und-packstoffe","tag-verpackungssteuer","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"acf":[],"vimeo_video":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}