En bref
Eco-participation fees, also known as eco-contribution fees, are mandatory fees that retailers and manufacturers in France must charge. The fees are part of a complex structure that applies to all kinds of products and range from €0.01 to €20.
Certain products such as electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), furniture, and textiles require retailers to visibly display these fees to customers. Failure to comply can lead to fines in the thousands of Euros.
The easiest way to add eco-participation fees to your store and track them is to use an app like Magical Product Fees.
In this article, I’ll break down the basics of France’s eco-participation program and show you how to easily add eco-participation fees to your Shopify store to stay compliant.
What Are Eco-Participation Fees?
The circular economy is the foundation for France’s eco-participation program. This is the concept that everyone involved in a product’s lifecycle—from production to consumption and disposal—is partly responsible for its environmental impact and waste management.
In 1992, France introduced the set of laws known as the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Over time, France developed its eco-participation system, also known as the eco-contribution program, a system of fees designed to fund the collection, recycling, and proper disposal of products at the end of their lifecycle.
Today the program is administered by multiple government-approved eco-organizations, which are funded by the eco-participation fees collected from manufacturers and retailers. These organizations outline which products the fee applies to as well as the amount of the fee.
Currently, the fee is applied to a wide range of products such as electronics, furniture, household appliances, and other products that are commonly sold on Shopify stores.
Do I have to participate in this program?
If you are a retailer in France, you are required to charge the eco-participation fee in accordance with EPR laws. This includes Shopify retailers.
If you are the first distributor, meaning you are either the importer of goods from outside of France or you are a manufacturer selling goods in France, you are also responsible for remitting eco-participation fees. This will require you to have methods to track the eco-participation fees you charge.
French regulations require that eco-contribution fees be clearly visible for certain product categories, such as electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), furniture, and textiles. Failure to comply with these laws can result in costly fines and penalties.
The program applies to mainland France as well as France’s overseas territories, including Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, French Guiana, and Mayotte.
How Much Are Eco-Participation Fees?
There are a number of organizations that manage a program and fee structure for different product categories in France.
For example, Eco Maison manages the fee structure and eco-participation fees for furniture and home decor. Ecosystem is another organization that has similar responsibilities for electronics. Refashion is another responsible for textiles.
Each organization has a complex structure of fees. Retailers are responsible for researching and charging these fees accurately. To know what fees you should be charging, you sell you will need to consult with the correct organization.
Eco-participation fees apply to all kinds of products such as electronics, furniture, household appliances, and toys, and typically range from €0.01 for small items to €20 for larger appliances.
Failure to comply can lead to fines in the thousands of Euros…
Charging eco-participation fees when applicable is a legal requirement under France’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws.
According to LOVAT, a company specializing in VAT and compliance solutions, “The penalty for non-contributing producers is firmly established at a maximum ceiling of €7,500 per unit or per metric ton of the relevant product.”
This staggering penalty can easily add up to hundreds of thousands of Euros in scenarios when the maximum penalty is applied.
Other penalties could include a pause in business operations and even criminal proceedings.
Charing eco-participation fees is serious and it’s important that Shopify merchants are set up to properly charge and track these fees.
How to Add Eco-participation to Your Shopify Store
Merchants need a way to add fees to their Shopify store that are displayed as a separate line item, are clearly labelled, and are easily tracked for reporting and tax purposes.
Shopify doesn’t have great ways to add fees to your store natively…
- You could build the price into the product, however this isn’t recommended by authorities because it won’t be clearly displayed to customers. This also eats into your profits.
- You could build a fee into shipping rates, but this won’t adapt to the quantity. This may lead to undercharging customers which could further lead to non-compliance.
- You could create products for fees, and then instruct customers to select or add these manually – but customers could just avoid paying fees altogether, leading to non-compliance.
The best way to add eco-participation fees to your store is to use an app.
Apps make the process of adding and managing fees super straightforward and typically require no coding skills to set up. If you get stuck at any point, the developers are generally available to jump in and help to ensure a smooth setup experience.
I recently worked with a French Shopify store that was setting up a Fees app. Not all products on their store required mandatory fees, so they needed help setting up some exclusions. They were newer to Shopify and felt overwhelmed, so my team and I were able to help them at no additional cost. They are now up and running and charging all kinds of fees as required.
Using an app also gives you better options for reporting. Apps give you the ability to track your fees, compared to building fees into the price in which case you have no method of tracking. Accurate reporting is crucial for tax purposes, and treating fees as separate items enables you to calculate the total fees collected during any given period.
We’ve compared some of the top product fee apps for Shopify and found Magical Product Fees was the best app for charging eco-participation fees on your Shopify store.
The app allows you to set up multiple fixed fees. And since they are product fees, it is easy to generate reports from your Shopify admin to track how much was charged.
Are Taxes Applied to Eco-participation Fees?
According to Envenance GmbH, a company specializing in EPR compliance solutions, the eco-participation fee in France is subject to VAT tax. When you sell a product with an eco-participation fee, VAT is applied to the total amount, including the eco-participation fee.
This makes it imperative that fees are properly charged and calculated consistently, as failure to do so can lead to non-compliance with both eco-participation and VAT regulations.
Tips for Displaying Fees to Customers
In France, eco-participation fees are typically added to the product’s price and, in many cases, are displayed as a separate line item on sales receipts or invoices.
According to Ecologic, a French non-profit organization similar to Eco Maison, French regulations require that eco-contribution fees be visibly indicated for certain product categories, such as electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), furniture, and textiles.
By using an app to clearly display fees throughout the shopping process, customers will better understand their fee total leading to no surprises at checkout.
A few tips to make sure your fees are transparent:
- Include fees on product pages so customers see them before adding items to their cart.
- Clearly label fees as “eco-participation fe” or “eco-contribution fee” so customers understand the charge and its purpose.
- Provide an itemized breakdown of fees at checkout so that customers aren’t surprised by additional costs.
Selling in Multiple Regions
Since eco-participation fees only apply to customers in France, stores that sell to multiple regions may want to consider enabling a location-based fees feature, however this is generally only available to Shopify Plus users.
Location-based fees are a feature of some apps that will determine whether or not to apply the fee based on the customers’ location.
During the transaction, the customer enters their location at checkout. To properly add or remove fees based on the customer’s location, apps must use a checkout UI extension, however this functionality is available only to merchants on Shopify Plus plans.
Conclusion
Using an app to charge eco-participation fees on your Shopify store ensures compliance with French regulations, builds trust with customers with transparent pricing, and simplifies reporting.
By clearly labelling fees and presenting them as separate line items, you provide your customers with a clear understanding of their purchases. Charging these fees upfront also protects your margins by preventing the need to absorb costs yourself.
Using a reliable Shopify app like Magical Product Fees streamlines everything, allowing you to focus on running your store efficiently with peace of mind and avoid fines and penalties.
Further Reading
Ecomaison – For Professional (Access to Price List and Rates)
Envenance GmbH: Eco-contribution fees in France will increase in 2025
Ecologic France: Factsheet “Eco-contribution”
France: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
Magical Product Fees
The Magical Product Fees app is a fast and easy way to build, customize, and attach fees to products or entire orders.