The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2020.
The implementation of this scheme has been delayed and the new launch date is August 16, 2023. The regulations require the implementation of a 20 pence deposit, paid by the customer, to be applied to each scheme article on Amazon sold in Scotland.
A Scheme Article means a drink (regardless of whether it is sold alone or as a unit in a multipack), which is contained and sold in packaging and is:
The scheme will be regulated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and administered by Circularity Scotland (CS).
For more information about the role of CS as scheme administrator, go to: https://circularityscotland.com/.
We will provide detailed instructions on the next steps in the coming months, but for now:
If you are not the brand owner or the importer, you must acquire and share proof with us that the producer of the products you sell is registered with SEPA and CS.
If you are a producer, you need to be registered with both SEPA and CS, but if you register with CS, they will register with SEPA on your behalf.
We will provide further details on this in due course. This will likely be via a document submission through Seller Central.
Customers will get their 20 pence deposit back when they return the empty container to a return point or through a take-back service that Amazon will provide. We are working on finalising the operations related to the take-back service and will be able to share more information by the end of the year.
No. Amazon will be responsible for refunding the 20 pence deposit to the customer once they have returned the container.
Every producer registered with CS will need to pay a fee. CS is currently working on ascertaining the fee. We will be able to provide you with more information in this regard by spring 2022.
Click here for more information on cash flow through the supply chain.
Yes. There will be no difference between FBA and seller-fulfilled products in terms of ASIN creation, labelling and deposit pricing.
We are currently working on this feature and will provide more information once it becomes available.
Yes. The regulation applies when the end customer is based in Scotland. This includes sales through the UK website by sellers based outside the UK.
This will depend on whether manufacturers decide to create separate European Article Numbers (EANs) for Scotland vs. the rest of the UK. This is not a mandate in the regulations. For products where the EANs differ, there will be two separate ASINs.
We are currently working on this and will be able to provide more information in the upcoming days.
CS is not currently open for registration. You can now subscribe to receive updates through the CS website. Go to: https://circularityscotland.com/
Useful links –
The information on this page is subject to updates, and you will be notified of these changes.