State of Mato Grosso do Sul summons companies to implement/prove reverse logistics system

By means of the Environment Protection Agency of Mato Grosso do Sul State (“IMASUL”), numerous manufacturers and importers of products were summoned to prove the implementation of the General Packaging Reverse Logistics System in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. Two deadlines were established, depending on the company’s situation: November 3rd, 2023, or December 8th, 2023. Recently, such deadlines were extended by Imasul. Find out more here.

Imasul Ordinance No. 1.314/2023 has called on manufacturers and importers of packaging and products sold in general packaging (glass, paper, cardboard, plastics, metals and other recyclable materials) to prove the implementation of a General Packaging Reverse Logistics System in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (“Sisrev/MS”), for the base year 2021. The list of manufacturers and importers is described in Exhibit I of the Ordinance, which contains the list with the companies’ names and the corresponding National Register of Legal Entities (“CNPJ”).

If only the CNPJ number of the head office is mentioned in Exhibit I, the Ordinance indicates that the obligation extends to the branches linked to it, especially those related to the production cycle or the logistics chain of commercialization/production, as long as they are located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. If only one or more of the branches were included in the call notice, it also extends to the headquarters and other branches that are also related to the production cycle or the commercialization/production logistics chain.

The Reverse Logistics System is the integrated set of actions, procedures and means designed to enable the collection, sorting and return of packaging in general by the business sector, for reuse in its own – or other – production cycles, or other environmentally appropriate destinations, collectively or individually.

No Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, o referido Sistema de Logística Reversa é auto declaratório e poderá ser estruturados em modelo coletivo ou individual, passando a ter validade a partir do cadastro da entidade gestora da logística reversa – ou da própria empresa, caso inexistente a entidade gestora – no sistema eletrônico (“Sisrev-MS”) do Imasul.

Monitoring of the systems will be carried out by IMASUL, through the submission of Annual Performance Reports by registered companies or the management entities in Sisrev-MS, IMASUL’s electronic system.

Whereas the recent publication of Imasul Ordinance No. 1.329/2023, the initially established deadlines were recently changed and extended by IMASUL, as follows:

• Deadline for proof – December 8th, 2023

Companies (importers and manufacturers) of packaging in general (glass, paper, cardboard, plastics, metals and other recyclable materials) and products sold in such packaging, listed in Exhibit I, must prove the implementation of the Reverse Logistics System in terms of State Decree No. 16,089/2023, which regulates the matter in the State, via Sisrev/MS, by December 8th, 2023.

It is worth noting that companies not listed in Exhibit I, but which have introduced packaging in general into the State of Mato Grosso do Sul in the year 2021, must, in any case, prove the return, to the business sector, of equivalent solid waste quantity of packaging introduced into the Mato Grosso do Sul market through Sisrev/MS.

In turn, brandholders of the product or packaging sold in the State that manufacture or have manufactured, as well as importers of products or packaging that generate packaging in general, must be listed as participating companies in Sisrev/MS to prove the reverse logistics of packaging in general.

A manufacturer who does not hold the product brand, but who bottles, assembles or manufactures products on behalf of the brandholder, must ensure that the respective product and/or packaging is included in a reverse logistics system in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, indicating to IMASUL the Corporate Name and CNPJ number of the company that holds the brand, as well as the reverse logistics system to which the brandholder adheres.

• Deadline for justification – November 3rd, 2023

On the other hand, companies that may not be subject to the implementation of Reverse Logistics Systems, based on the provisions of the applicable legislation, were required to send their justifications by November 3, 2023, according to a specific form.

Demarest’s Environmental Law and ESG teams are available to provide further information and clarify any doubts that may be necessary.