Austria
Who the fishing gear rules cover in Austria
Fishing gear EPR in Austria catches a product most people never connect with a landlocked country. The duty sits in section 18a of the packaging ordinance (Verpackungsverordnung 2014), and it applies to producers of gear that contains plastic.
Picture your own case. You make or import nets, lines, traps or floats with plastic in them, or you ship them into Austria from abroad. If you are the first to place that gear on the Austrian market, you are the producer who owes the duty.
Austria is landlocked, so the practical market is tiny, but the obligation on paper has been real since 1 January 2023.
Registering fishing gear in Austria
Because the rules were transposed into the packaging ordinance, the mechanics are borrowed wholesale from packaging. You register in EDM and join an approved collection-and-recovery system.
Participation in the system is what discharges your collection and reporting obligations, exactly as it does for packaging.
What and when you report in Austria
Reporting runs on the packaging calendar. You report the plastic-containing gear you placed on the market to your system by 15 March for the preceding calendar year.
The fee is set by the system, not the state, and is based on the mass of gear you place. Austria publishes no official rate, so treat any figure as the system's own.
A flat-rate simplification is available under the ordinance, up to 1,500 kg household plus 1,500 kg commercial packaging combined, with no separate fishing-gear exemption.
Selling fishing gear into Austria from abroad
Distance selling does not remove the duty, it adds a step. Since 1 January 2023 a foreign seller of single-use plastic products, which expressly includes fishing gear, must appoint an Austrian authorised representative under section 16d of the ordinance.
Non-compliance is enforced as an administrative fine under section 79 of the Waste Management Act.
For the wider map, see EPR in Austria and the related single-use plastics rules.
Frequently asked questions about fishing gear EPR in Austria
The essentials for gear sellers.
What does fishing gear EPR mean in Austria?
It means producers of plastic-containing fishing gear help fund the collection and treatment of that gear when it becomes waste. In Austria the duty sits in section 18a of the packaging ordinance and has run since 1 January 2023.
Do foreign or online sellers need an authorised representative in Austria?
Yes. Since 1 January 2023 a foreign distance seller of single-use plastic products, fishing gear included, must appoint an Austrian representative under section 16d. Foreign manufacturers may appoint one under section 16c.
When are fishing gear reports due in Austria?
By 15 March each year, for the preceding calendar year, filed to the collection-and-recovery system you joined. It is the same annual deadline that governs packaging.
Do marketplaces check fishing gear registration in Austria?
Yes. Fishing-gear producers are single-use-plastic producers, so the 1 January 2023 marketplace and fulfilment gate applies. A platform must ensure the producer is compliant or exclude it.
