What is a Remittance Agreement and Does it Apply to You
Introduction
A remittance agreement outlines who is responsible for registering, reporting and paying fees on the sale of beverage containers in British Columbia. In most arrangements in BC, producers / bottlers manage the responsibility of registering their products with Encorp, report on sales and pay the associated fees. When they sell their products to retailers / distributors, they recoup the fees from the retailer / distributor who then pass it along to the consumer at the time of sale.
Some retailers / distributors are taking on the responsibilities of registering, reporting and paying fees on behalf of the producer / bottlers. When the retailer / distributor is taking on this responsibility on behalf of a producer / bottler, there must be a Remittance Relationship Agreement in place between the two parties which is filed with Encorp.
Do you need a Remittance Relationship Agreement?
Consider the following questions:
- Does your company sell beverage containers in BC to retailers / distributors without charging them a deposit and CRF fees?
- Does your company sell beverage containers to retailers / distributors and have a verbal agreement that they will report the deposit and CRF fees to Encorp on your behalf?
- Are you a retailer / distributor that is remitting fees to Encorp on behalf of a producer / bottler?
If you answered “Yes” to any of the above questions, you must fill out a Remittance Relationship Agreement with each retailer or distributor you have such an agreement with, and you must send a copy of such signed agreements to Encorp at brandregistry@returnit.ca. Download a copy of the Remittance Relationship Agreement.
Note
Remittance agreements only apply to the retailers / distributors with whom you have an agreement, meaning if you are a producer / bottler and sell products through multiple retailers or channels, you still need to report on those sales. If you are a producer / bottler and a retailer / distributor is reporting on your behalf, you should confirm with all the retailers / distributors you have relationships with as you can’t assume all retailers / distributors are taking on this responsibility on your behalf.
If you have any questions or need clarification if you are required to fill out a Remittance Relationship Agreement, please email brandregistry@returnit.ca.