The EKAER decree containing detailed rules has not yet been published but the most important EKAER changes can already be foreseen from the amendment of the act.
The group of products to be reported in the EKAER system may change from 2021
From 2021, EKAER numbers will only have to be requested in the case of the goods specified in the EKAER decree. However, the list of goods requiring EKAER-reporting does not necessarily match the current list of "hazardous products". The group of products concerned requiring announcement may be extended.
In practice, this means that businesses will have to check in each case whether the transported goods in question require EKAER registration or not.
With the amendment of the EKAER decree, we will also see in which cases companies will be obliged to provide EKAER collateral and when it is possible to be exempted from the risk collateral obligation.
We do not know yet whether EKAER exemption limit values will change
In 2020, EKAER exemption applied to the cases when the weight and value of a product unit did not exceed 2,500 k and 5 million forints in the case of non-hazardous products and 500 kg and 1 million forints in the case of hazardous products. The question is whether these limits set by the regulation more than 5 years ago will change and how.
At the moment, if non-hazardous products are transported by a vehicle not subject to road toll, there is no EKAER registration obligation. However, in the case of hazardous products, transport by any vehicle must be registered in the EKAER system. As the group of products requiring EKAER registration may change, the rules relating to the vehicles concerned may be amended also. EKAER numbers may not be necessary for a company in 2020 but will have to be requested in 2021 if it is prescribed by the EKAER decree. The opposite is, of course, also possible: if a product is no longer included in the list in 2021, EKAER numbers will not have to be requested for it next year.
EKAER sanctions will become more differentiated
Sanction regulation will be fine-tuned from 2021. There will be a differentiation between serious misconduct and minor error.
A default penalty of up to 40 percent may be imposed on companies filing to meet their EKAER registration obligation or companies submitting erroneous EKAER registration with regard to the weight and value of the transported goods. In the case of all other errors (e.g. mistyping of data, incorrect registration plate numbers, failed closing, incorrect cause of transport etc.) a default penalty of up to HUF 200,000 may be imposed on natural person taxpayers and up to HUF 500,000 on non-natural person taxpayers.
Although it seems that regulation is relaxed, companies and carriers may not lay back as they will have to watch out for the detailed rules to be announced in the near future and have to be prepared for enhanced controls.
