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all environmental contributions invoicing & payment take-back mattresses fees legislation collectors what about my old mattress inform imports / exports mattress or not

What are the environmental contributions for?

A significant portion of the contributions serves to reimburse the costs of the use of the recycling centres, the transport and processing of discarded mattresses. Valumat reimburses final sellers for voluntary collection and the professional market for collection via an approved collector.
In addition to the operating costs, Valumat also provides a budget for research and development into an easily dismantlable and recyclable mattress.

Do I have to pass on the environmental contributions to my customers?

Participants in the Valumat system pass on the contribution defined by Valumat to their customersfrom 1 January 2021. On invoices between professionals (with VAT number, B2B) the contribution must be visibly displayed on the invoice. This can be done via a text line (including environmental contributions) or with explicit mention of the amount of the environmental contributions.

For sales to consumers (B2C) it is not necessary to specify this contribution on the invoice or receipt, but it is allowed. Ultimately, the environmental contribution is included in the total price of the mattress and paid by the consumer. The consumer can be informed via other means of communication (e.g. posters, price labels in the shop, mention in advertising brochures, etc.) that his total price includes the environmental contribution.

B2B invoicing options:

per invoiced item, stating the amount
grouped stating (total) amount
per invoiced item or grouped stating "environmental contributions included"

Click here for more information about legislation and pricing to customers (B2C).

How will the contribution be accounted for and how will it be included in the VAT return?

For the sake of clarity, it is the producers, the importers, who must join the Valumat management body. For each mattress put on the Belgian market by the producers, importers, they have to charge an environmental contribution. Be it to an end customer user (consumer/hotel/hospital/prison....) or to a wholesaler, vendor who will in turn pass on the contribution to the end customer.

For producers/importers, the environmental contribution to be charged is not included in the purchase and sale price. The environmental contribution and its VAT must therefore be charged to customers on top of the normal selling price and must be included in the VAT return as a supply of services. The collected contribution is subsequently transferred by the producers/importers to Valumat. Valumat will send an annual invoice for this.

The collection and transfer of the environmental contribution can be accounted for in various ways.

A first option is to first book the collection of these contributions as revenue (class 7) and to provide an "invoice to be received" (class 6) at the end of the financial year for the payment of the environmental contribution to Valumat. The Valumat management organisation will then request the contributions collected by the producer/importer via invoice at the beginning of the following year. This invoice balances the accrued commission "invoices to be received".
A second option is to book the collection of this environmental contribution to a waiting account (class 4), as is done for VAT. The contributions are then considered as invoiced and collected amounts that do not belong to the company, but as an amount that is 'set aside'. Producers/importers report the quantity of mattresses they place on the market at the beginning of the following year. On the basis of this declaration, the management organisation Valumat will charge the environmental contribution. The contribution charged by Valumat balances the account on which the contributions collected by the producer/importer were booked. The difference between the total environmental contributions invoiced in the financial year and the turnover to be found in the accounts will have to be explained when the VAT turnover agreement is drawn up.

Does the take-back obligation mean that I have to take back mattresses from my customers?

Contrary to most other waste streams for wich there is a take-back obligation, the final sellers of mattresses are not obliged to accept old mattresses from their customers. This is also the case for the brokers and producers or importers who sell mattresses to a final seller .

Valumat provides a financial incentive for final sellers who voluntarily accept discarded mattresses when purchasing a new mattress. For practical reasons, that amount is calculated on the basis of the collected tonnage (600 €/ton). This equates to approx. 9 € per mattress.

What happens if I do take back mattresses from my customers?

Valumat provides a financial incentive for final sellers who voluntarily accept discarded mattresses upon the purchase of a new mattress. For practical reasons, that amount is calculated on the basis of the collected tonnage (600 €/ton). This equates to approx. 9 euro per mattress.

Payment to distribution for voluntary selective collection is offset by the commitment of the final seller to accept the mattresses offered free of charge when consumers buy a new mattress from them (principle of free acceptance 1/1).

When they come to bring mattresses at your home, they may charge a fee for the transport.

Here you will find the list of final sellers and the link to the communication materials.

Do I get compensation when I take back old mattresses from my customers?

Valumat provides a financiëal incentive for final sellers who voluntarily accept discarded mattresses when purchasing a new mattress. For practical reasons, that amount is calculated on the basis of the collected tonnage (600 €/ton). This equates to approx. € 9 per mattress.

When they come to bring mattresses at your home, they may charge a fee for the transport.

You can find a list of these final sellers here.

How do I become a collection point?

As a final seller, if you want to take back old mattresses from your customers on a voluntary basis and free of charge when they purchase a new one, you can have yourself registered as a collection point.

We expect you to store the mattresses in a dry state and to use a Valumat-homologated collector.

How do I find an homologated Valumat collector or an approved reuse centre?

Each company must store discarded mattresses separately and have them collected by a collector approved by the regional authorities. They have the mattresses processed in licensed processing facilities.

Only when you use a Valumat-homologated collector or an approved reuse centre are you entitled to compensation for voluntary collection from consumers.

Click here for the list of Valumat-homologated collectors and approved reuse centres.

How do I refer my customers to the recycling centre?

Are you a final seller of mattresses and you do not collect old mattresses from your customers? Then you are legally obliged to inform your customers where they can take their old mattresses. Valumat will design and make available the appropriate communication material for this.

How do I inform my customers that I am a collection point?

Are you a final seller of mattresses and you collect old mattresses from your customers?
Valumat provides the appropriate communication material. Vendors who collect free of charge can put their name on the Valumat website.

I am a mattress seller and would like to know all about the compensation I will receive when I take back old mattresses.

Conditions

You are a professional seller of mattresses.
You voluntarily collect discarded mattresses from your customers for free when they buy a new mattress.
You have the discarded mattresses collected by a homologated Valumat collector or by an approved reuse centre.
The type of mattress falls under the scope of the take-back obligation.
You store the mattresses in a dry and with no risk of contamination.
You agree on the modalities and costs of collection in mutual consultation with your collector.

Amount

Valumat provides a financial incentive for final sellers who voluntarily accept discarded mattresses when purchasing a new mattress. For practical reasons, that amount is calculated on the basis of the collected tonnage (600 €/ton). This equates to approx. 9 € per mattress.

Valumat determines this fixed amount annually depending on the market conditions for collection, transport and processing.

How to apply for compensation

You don't have to do anything yourself. It is your collector who annually forwards your data to Valumat.You log into our website with your unique code that you receive from Valumat in April of the year following the year of collection and Valumat takes care of the payment of your fee.

When will you receive your compensation?

The financial compensation related to collections in 2025 will be paid by Valumat in 2026.

For your accounting

The Valumat financial compensation is free of VAT. You do not have to send invoices and you do not receive a credit note. You book your financial compensation on a 74-account (other operating income).

I produce or import mattresses and sell them to my customer wholesaler, who in turn exports them. Do I have to pay a contribution to Valumat for this?

At the time of the sale from the producer or importer to the broker, it is not always clear who the ultimate user of the mattress will be.

Does your customer export the mattresses purchased from you? Then this customer can fill in a “declaration on word of honour export”.

You can deduct the quantities stated on this declaration from the quantities that you have placed on the Belgian market when completing your annual declaration.

Exports are taken to mean the physical shipment of mattresses outside Belgian territory that give rise to an exemption from VAT, to be stated on the invoice, in accordance with Article 39 (supplies outside the EU) or Article 39a (intra-Community supply), as defined in the value added tax code.

Foreign consumers who buy mattresses in Belgium do pay the contribution.

I export mattresses produced or imported by myself. Do I have to pay a contribution to Valumat for this?

No, you do not have to pay a contribution to Valumat on this. Your annual declaration only pertains to the mattresses that you have produced or imported to put on the Belgian market.

If a foreign retailer delivers to a Belgian consumer, under which EPR does that sale fall, the Belgian or the foreign one?

If a Belgian consumer buys a mattress in a physical shop of a retailer abroad, he is subject to the legislation of that country and therefore pays the applicable EPR contribution there. The foreign producer is not subject to a take-back obligation in Belgi&umuml; and therefore does not pay a contribution to Valumat.
If the Belgian consumer buys a mattress online from a foreign retailer, the foreign shop is subject to a take-back obligation because of its sales activities in België. It must then join Valumat and pay a contribution to Valumat for the mattresses which it places on the Belgian market.

What about old slatted frames, box springs, cots. Are there rules about these too?

This take-back obligation only applies to mattresses and therefore not to box springs, sofa’s, the slatted bases and cots. There may still be an EPR for furniture in the future, but that is not yet specifically addressed.

Is it true that we are not obliged to state in our catalogue that the Valumat contribution is included?

In connection with communication to the consumer (as is also the case for other waste flows subject to a take-back obligation), the following is provided: “In accordance with article 3.2.1.1, §7 of VLAREMA, the end seller will affix a notice in a clearly visible place in each of its sales outlets upon which it indicates under the heading “TAKE-BACK OBLIGATION” how it complies with the provisions of chapter 3 of VLAREMA and how the buyer can dispose of his discarded mattress. The consumer must also be informïed of this when selling takes place outside a sales area (e.g. online).” It is therefore recommended that the notice “Valumat contribution included” is provided in your catalogues (e.g. with a *).

When do retailers/importers (B2C) on the one hand and on the other hand producers/importers (B2B) charge the Valumat contribution?

The definition of producer is not exactly the same in the three regio’ns. In the definition, placing products “on the market” is also described as, “selling”, “marketing”, “reselling” and “trading”.

It is generally assumed that the contribution is charged when a mattress is invoiced: when an invoice is issued to a Belgian, it is placed on the Belgian market.

Please note: producers and importers also pay a contribution if for some reason an invoice is not drawn up and the mattress is placed on the Belgian market.

When must I repay the environmental contribution to my customer?

Some final sellers take back mattresses from customers as part of promotions such as a “money-back guarantee”. In those cases you will pay back the amount of the mattress to your customer as well as the contribution.

If you resell this mattress, you will again charge an environmental contribution.

What about environmental contributions and discounts?

The environmental contribution is independent of the sale price of mattresses. So there are no discounts on environmental contributions.

What about the contribution on sofa beds?

When the filling is an integral part of the furniture and cannot be removed without damaging the furniture and resulting in it no longer having its original function, this filling is not considered a mattress.

If the mattress can be seen separately from the furniture, is removable and replaceable, it is considered a mattress and a contribution must be paid on this.

I am selling a box-spring bed with 2 mattresses and a topper. How much is the contribution?

You pay an environmental contribution on the 2 mattresses and on a topper, which means three times the environmental contribution at the applicable rate.

I sell covers and cores separately. Do I have to pay a contribution for these?

Covers and cores are not covered by the definition of mattresses. Therefore, no contribution has to be paid on these. It is the party that puts together a mattress using covers and cores that will place the mattress on the market and is therefore subject to a take-back obligation and will have to pay the contribution.

How can I integrate Valumat contributions into my ERP package?

Here you will find a document with several suggestions for integrating Valumat contributions into your ERP package. Of course, every software package is different. This document therefore presents a number of options on how you can approach integration and what aspects should be taken into account.

Eco-modulation of the environmental contributions

The environmental contributions determined by Valumat are uniform contributions that are not differentiated according to the circularity of the mattresses. However, Valumat has set itself the objective of switching to eco-modulation in the relatively short term, i.e. the environmental contribution will in the future be determined in function of the possibility of dismantling of the mattress and the recyclability of the dismantled materials.

Do you use recommended retail prices?

Legally speaking, the environmental contribution must be included in the total price to be paid by the consumer. This applies both to prices indicated by retailers in their shops and to any recommended retail prices (which also include VAT and other taxes and costs) that producers suggest for sales in Belgium. However, this does not apply to purchase prices where the Valumat contribution is invoiced separately.