Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Article 13 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. From 1 January 2030, the use of sulfuryl fluoride for post-harvest fumigation and treatment of wood and wooden products against pest infestation is prohibited, except where such use is strictly required for a phytosanitary certificate and no other treatment can be used.

Article 16 – paragraph 2 – point e: deleted

Article 16 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 a (new): The Commission shall continuously monitor the Union’s semiconductor supply market. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend paragraph 2 of this Article and exclude from the quota system laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article semiconductor materials or vapour deposition chambers within the semiconductor sector, where it identifies that, as a consequence of the inclusion of the semiconductor sector in the hydrofluorocarbon quota system, there are shortages or disruptions of supply to the Union’s market of semiconductor materials or of vapour deposition chambers.

Article 16 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: Following a substantiated request by a competent authority of a Member State or an EU Agency and taking into account the objectives of this Regulation, the Commission may, exceptionally by means of implementing acts, authorise an exemption for up to four years to exclude from the quota requirement laid down in paragraph 1 hydrofluorocarbons for use in specific applications, or specific categories of products or equipment, where it is demonstrated in the request that:

Article 16 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – point a: (a) for those particular applications, products or equipment, alternatives are not available, or cannot be used for technical or safety reasons or risks to public health; and

Article 17 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: The allocation of quotas is subject to the payment of the amount due which equals to five euro for each tonne of CO2 equivalent of quota to be allocated in the period 2024-2026 and shall increase every three years thereafter so as to ensure a constant revenue, in light of the quota phase-down set out in Annex VII. Importers and producers shall be notified via the F-gas Portal of the total amount due for its calculated maximum quota allocation for the following calendar year and of the deadline for completing the payment. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, determine the modalities and the detailed arrangements for the payment of the amount due. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in 34(2).

Article 17 – paragraph 6: 6. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend paragraph 5 as regards the amounts due for the allocation of quota and the mechanism to allocate remaining quotas, where necessary to prevent major disruptions of the market of hydrofluorocarbons, or where the mechanism is not fulfilling its purpose and is having undesirable or unintended effects, including on public health and the users of MDIs.

Article 17 – paragraph 6 a (new): 6a. By ... [one year following the entry into force of this Regulation] and every year thereafter, the Commission shall assess, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, the impact of the HFC quota phase-down on the Union’s heat pump market, and shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council. / The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend Annex VII and allow a limited amount of additional quotas for placing on the Union market HFCs to be used in heat pumps until the year 2029, where the assessment referred to in the first subparagraph concludes that the HFC quota phase-down set out in Annex VII creates disruptions in the Union’s heat pump market to an extent which would endanger the attainment of the RePowerEU heat pump deployment targets. / In the report referred to in the first subparagraph the Commission shall provide a justification for its decision to adopt or not to adopt the delegated acts referred to in the second subparagraph. / Where the Commission adopts a delegated acts as referred to in the second subparagraph, the additional quotas shall be distributed to producers and importers, following their requests, submitted to the F-gas Portal, accompanied by evidence, in the form of sales contracts, that the quotas are to be used for heat pumps.

Article 19 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: When placing pre-charged equipment or products as referred to in paragraph 1 on the market, manufacturers and importers of equipment or products shall ensure that compliance with paragraph 1 is fully documented and shall draw up a declaration of conformity in this respect.

Article 19 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2: By drawing up the declaration of conformity, manufacturers and importers of equipment or products shall assume responsibility for compliance with this paragraph and paragraph 1.

Article 19 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3: Manufacturers and importers of equipment or products shall keep this documentation and the declaration of conformity for a period of at least five years after the placing on the market of that equipment or products and shall make it available, on request, to the competent authorities of Member States and the Commission.

Article 19 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: Where hydrofluorocarbons contained in the equipment or products referred to in paragraph 1 have not been placed on the market prior to the charging of the equipment, importers of that equipment or products shall ensure that, by 30 April [OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation] and every year thereafter, the accuracy of the documentation, the declaration of conformity and the veracity of their report pursuant to Article 26 is confirmed, for the preceding calendar year, at a reasonable level of assurance by an independent auditor registered in the F-gas Portal.

Article 19 – paragraph 5: 5. Importers of equipment or products referred to in paragraph 1, which has no establishment in the Union, shall mandate an only representative with an establishment within the Union that assumes the full responsibility of complying with this Regulation. The only representative may be the same as the one mandated pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

Article 19 – paragraph 6: 6. This Article shall not apply to undertakings that placed on the market less than 100 tonnes of CO2 equivalent of hydrofluorocarbons, per year, contained in the equipment or products referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 20 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: Undertakings shall have a valid registration in the F-gas Portal prior to the import or export of fluorinated greenhouse gases and products and equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases except for the following activities:

Article 20 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – point c: (c) supplying, or receiving hydrofluorocarbons for the purposes listed in points (a) to (d) of Article 16(2);

Article 20 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2: The Commission and competent authorities of the Member States shall ensure that the following data included in the F-gas Portal is publicly available: / (a) regularly updated quota allocation and quota transfers; / (b) a list of registered importers and producers; / (c) data on imports, including points of entry and type of HFC; / (d) temporary storage data; / (e) facility-level chemical destruction data.

Article 22 – paragraph 1: The import and export of fluorinated greenhouse gases and products and equipment containing those gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases is subject to the presentation of a valid licence to customs authorities pursuant to Article 20(4).

Article 22 – paragraph 1 a (new): By way of derogation from the first paragraph of this Article and from Article 20, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish simplified rules for registration in the F-gas Portal in the case of temporary storage as defined in Article 5(17) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 34.

Article 23 – paragraph 6: 6. Importers of fluorinated greenhouse gases in refillable containers shall make available to customs authorities, at the time the customs declaration related to the release for free circulation is submitted, a declaration of conformity including evidence confirming the arrangements in place for the return of the container for the purpose of refilling.

Article 23 – paragraph 12 – subparagraph 2: For other substances and products and equipment covered by this Regulation, customs authorities shall seize and confiscate fluorinated greenhouse gases imported or exported in violation of this Regulation and in accordance with the [Environmental Crime Directive 2021/0422(COD)] to prevent unlawful import, further supply, or export, in particular in cases of hydrofluorocarbons placed on the market in bulk or charged in products and equipment in violation of the quota and authorisation requirements set out in this Regulation.

Article 24 – paragraph -1 (new): -1. By 30 June 2025, the Commission shall publish a report evaluating the potential risks of illegal trade and identifying additional measures to reduce those risks linked to movements of fluorinated greenhouse gases and of products and equipment containing those gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases when placed under temporary storage, or a customs procedure including customs warehousing or free zone procedure or in transit through the customs territory of the Union, including tracing methodologies for gases placed on the market, such as quick response (QR) codes.

Article 26 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: By 31 March [OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation], and every year thereafter, each producer, importer and exporter that produced, imported or exported fluorinated greenhouse gases during the preceding calendar year shall report to the Commission the data specified in Annex IX on each of those substances for that calendar year. This paragraph shall also apply to all undertakings receiving quotas pursuant to Article 21(1).

Article 26 – paragraph 2: 2. By 31 March [OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation], and every year thereafter, each undertaking that destroyed fluorinated greenhouse gases during the preceding calendar year shall report to the Commission the data specified in Annex IX on each of those substances for that calendar year.

Article 26 – paragraph 3: 3. By 31 March [[OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation], each undertaking that used fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I as feedstock during the preceding calendar year shall report to the Commission the data specified in Annex IX on each of those substances for that calendar year.

Article 26 – paragraph 4: 4. By 31 March [OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation], each undertaking that placed fluorinated greenhouse gases, contained in products or equipment on the market during the preceding calendar year shall report to the Commission the data specified in Annex IX on each of those substances for that calendar year.

Article 26 – paragraph 6: 6. By 31 March [OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation], and every year thereafter, each undertaking that reclaimed fluorinated greenhouse gases shall report to the Commission the data specified in Annex IX on each of those substances for that calendar year.

Article 26 – paragraph 7: 7. By 30 April [OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation], each importer of equipment that placed on the market pre-charged equipment as referred to in Article 19 containing hydrofluorocarbons, and where those hydrofluorocarbons have not been placed on the market prior to the charging of the equipment, shall submit to the Commission a verification report issued pursuant to Article 19(3).

Article 26 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: By 30 April [OP: Please insert the year of application of this Regulation], and every year thereafter, each undertaking which under paragraph 1 reports on the placing on the market of hydrofluorocarbons during the preceding calendar year shall, in addition, ensure that the veracity of its report is confirmed, at a reasonable level of assurance, by an independent auditor. The auditor shall be registered in the F-gas Portal and shall be either:

Article 27 – paragraph 2 a (new): By 31 December 2024 the Commission shall adopt a delegated act on a common general framework that Member States shall use to design centralised electronic systems.

Article 29 – paragraph 1: 1. The competent authorities of Member States shall carry out regular checks to establish whether undertakings comply with their obligations under this Regulation.

Article 29 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: Checks referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, shall include on-site visits of establishments with the appropriate frequency and verification of relevant documentation and equipment as well as checks of online platforms selling bulk fluorinated gases or products and equipment that contain such gases.

Article 29 – paragraph 5: 5. At the request of another Member State, a Member State shall conduct checks on undertakings suspected of being engaged in the illegal movement of the gases and products and equipment covered by this Regulation and which are operating on the territory of that Member State. The requesting Member State shall be informed about the result of the check.

Article 29 – paragraph 7 a (new): 7a. Member States shall provide an annual summary of the data collected from the logbooks to the Commission by 1 April of each year. The Commission shall publish an annual summary and assessment of the data received from Member States.

Article 31 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: In cases of unlawful production, import, export, placing on the market, or use of fluorinated greenhouse gases or of products and equipment containing those gases or whose functioning relies on those gases, Member States shall set out minimum administrative fines of at least four times the market value of the gases or products concerned and equipment concerned and maximum administrative fines of at least six times the market value of the gases or products concerned and equipment concerned. In case of a repeated infringement within a five-year period, the Member States shall set out minimum administrative fines of at least seven times the value of the gases or products concerned and equipment concerned and maximum administrative fines of at least ten times the value of the gases or products and equipment concerned.