Register for Declaration of Compliance for Sales Packaging put into Circulation

Register for Declaration of Compliance for Sales Packaging put into Circulation (VE-REGISTER) Manual Companies Module (C-Module) Version: 1.2.2 24.03.2014 ComNetMedia AG Page 1 of 29 Version 1.2.1

CONTENTS 1 Preliminary notes... 3 2 Application overview... 4 2.1 Gateway... 4 2.2 Login area... 5 3 Self-registration... 6 4 Activate account... 11 5 Companies module... 13 5.1. Modify basic data... 14 5.2. Filing the annual VE... 16 5.2.1 Create and download PDF-file... 22 5.2.2 Upload the signature file... 25 5.3 View VE-archive... 28 5.4 Change password... 29 Page 2 of 29 Version 1.2.1

1 Preliminary Notes In the 5th Amendment to the German Packaging Ordinance (VerpackV), which came into force on 5th April 2008, a Vollständigkeitserklärung (VE Declaration of Compliance for Sales Packaging put into Circulation ) was introduced, which must be lodged with the local [German] Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) [in German IHK]. From January till the 2nd May of each year all obligated companies have to file an electronic packing report - Vollständigkeitserklärung (VE). After that the addresses and names of these companies are published in a specific list in the VE-Register while at the same time the responsible [German] federal state authorities obtain an electronic inspection of the VE- Register. According to 10, para.6, the dual systems are on their part obliged to provide or forward electronically to the lodgement institutions (German CCI = GCCI) and/or in the VE-Register the retail packaging associated with each delivered CS licensed by them. The corresponding data of the dual systems are to be forwarded electronically at the latest by 01.05 of each year for the previous year. Page 3 of 29 Version 1.2.1

2 Application Overview 2.1 Gateway The VE-Register appears in the internet as a gateway application with research function capability. From 2 nd May of each year the list of businesses which have filed a VE can be viewed under the address http://ihk-ve-register.de/. Figure 1: Internet gateway Page 4 of 29 Version 1.2.1

2.2 Login area The VE-Register provides a non public area for all involved parties. Before you can register amount of packaging material for the Vollständigkeitserklärung you have to create an online account first. If you are already registered you can proceed with step 5. companies module. The CS Register is a pure web application, which is optimized for a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The individual modules run in a standard browser. Please note that for work with the C-module the options Java Script, Cookies and PopUps must be activated. Note: Due to security reasons an active session will be terminated automatically, if the application is not used for more than 30 minutes. In that case all unsaved date will be lost. If you want to proceed you have to login again. Page 5 of 29 Version 1.2.1

3 Self-registration Before the application can be used you have to register yourself and create an individual account. This is required only once and the login-data can be reused for future reports. To start the registration-procedure click on the link Unternehmen anmelden in the left navigation column. Figure 2: Register business After this, the registration starts with the selection of the country of your company s headquarters. If your company operates a business establishment in Germany, please choose Germany instead. Subsequently please click the button Weiter to continue. Page 6 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Figure 3: Registration Step 1 At the next step please enter the VAT Registration Number (VAT Reg No - in German Umsatzsteueridentnummer = USt-IdNr). Please note that it is vital that the dual systems use the same VAT Reg No. Click Weiter to enter the next step. Figure 4: Registration Step 2 Page 7 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Figure 5: Registration Step 3 Please enter the name, general address and contact information of your company as they, for example, can be found in the imprint of your company s website, in the following form. The fields marked with * are obligatory. You can access the next step of the registration after completely filling out the form and confirming using Weiter. Page 8 of 29 Version 1.2.1

In step four of the registration procedure, please enter the name an contact information for the responsible person in your company. Please type in the contact e-mail twice to make sure that it is correct. The e-mail containing the link to finally activate your account as well as all other system information will be sent to this e-mail address. Click Weiter to enter fifth and final step of the registration procedure. Figure 6: Registration Step 4 Page 9 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Figure 7: Registration Step 5 At this point you can verify the data entered and correct it if necessary by clicking Zurück. You can conclude the registration procedure and confirm the data by using Registrierung abschließen. Figure 8: Registration Confirmation notice Page 10 of 29 Version 1.2.1

After this you should receive a confirmation e-mail at the address provided. By clicking the link contained in this e-mail you will be led to a website to finally activate your account. 4 Activate account The following screen will ask you to define your password. Please type in a password which is minimum 8 characters long and consists of at least two numerals in the field Passwort. Retype the same password in the second field named Passwort wiederholen and using the button Registrierung abschließen to conclude this step and finally activate your account. Figure 9: Activate account Click on Zum Login in order to enter the website of the VE-Register. Figure 10: Activation notice Page 11 of 29 Version 1.2.1

You can now access the companies module of the VE-Register by entering your username (Benutzername), your VAT Reg No., and your password (Passwort) in the appropriate fields. Figure 11: Login at the gateway Page 12 of 29 Version 1.2.1

5 Companies module To access the companies module of the VE-Register please enter your login data (VAT Reg No in Benutzername and your password in the field Passwort ) and click the login-button. After the successful login you can modify your company s name, address and contact information via the menu point Basisdaten bearbeiten in the left-hand column or you can start to create your annual VE by choosing VE bearbeiten. In the left column you are also shown who your contact person is with your responsible CCI ( Ihr(e) IHK Ansprechpartner ), with which user name you are logged in, you have the possibility of altering your password by clicking Passwort ändern and logout of the CS Register using Abmelden. Figure 12: Start page of the business module Page 13 of 29 Version 1.2.1

5.1 Modify basic data Via the menu point Basisdaten bearbeiten you can change the name of your company, its address and contact information as well as the name and contact information of the responsible person in your company if you need to. To start, click on the menu point to access the mask with all saved information in the read mode. If you wish to modify your stored data please click on Bearbeiten. Figure 13: Process basic data read mode Page 14 of 29 Version 1.2.1

After this you can confirm and save the changes using Speichern. If you want to discard the modifications you can click on the button Abbrechen anytime. Figure 14: Process basic data write mode If your company operates a German establishment and you wish to change the address then you have only to input your new German postcode under Postleitzahl and leave the following field. The matching location is determined automatically. If there are several options for one postcode you are provided with a list from which you can choose the right location. For addresses in all other countries please type in the postcode and city in the applicable fields. Page 15 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Note: The VAT Reg No (UST-IdNr.) entered with the registration procedure can no longer be modified later on as this is used in the application as unique identification characteristic. The field is therefore held in grey. 5.2 Filing the annual VE To file the Vollständigkeitserklärung (VE) please use the menu point VE bearbeiten. There are several steps required and an instruction summary can be found in the document English information under Information und Hilfe International on the IHK-VE-Registers website. In the following the required steps are to be explained in more detail from a technical point of view. If you clicked on the menu point VE berabeiten for the first time then the following screen appears. If you want to modify all VE-data later on you can do so by using VE bearbeiten again. By January each year the online form will automatically change to the new reporting year and all fields will be empty again. Page 16 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Figure 15: Process CS - write mode Please enter the appropriate quantity in kilograms in the respective areas and fields of the online form. Page 17 of 29 Version 1.2.1

If you enter quantities according to 6, para. 2 VerpackV (b2c industry solution), you also have to enter the name of the responsible person or company depositing the audited evidence pursuant to No. 4 of Annex I. To do so please select whether the depositor is a natural person ( Person ) or a company ( Firma ) at first. In the case the depositor is a natural person please enter the forename, surname and the title of the respective person. Figure 16a: Input of quantities according to 6, para. 2 VerpackV and natural person depositing of the evidence pursuant to No. 4 of Annex I (b2c industry solution) If the depositor is a company, please select Firma and then enter the full name of that company in the field Firmenname. Figure 16b: Input of the company s name depositing of the evidence pursuant to No. 4 of Annex I If you enter quantities according to 7 VerpackV (b2b), please confirm recycling by ticking the appropriate boxes in the online form. At first check the box Ich bestätige die Verwertung nach 7 VerpackV to verify that the b2b packaging materials were recycled. Then verify if you have recycled those materials on your own ( Ich verwerte selbst ) or via a third party ( Ich verwerte durch Dritte ) or both by ticking the appropriate boxes. Page 18 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Figure 17: Input of quantities 7 (b2b) Finally you have to select what type of auditor is going sing the VE electronically and was responsible for the audit report via the ticking the right boxes at the end of the form. You also have to add the date of the respective audit report. Now you can then conclude the data entry bay using the button Speichern. If the quantities of packaging materials entered do not exceed the de minimis limitations, you will be notified by the application with a certain message. Figure 18: Undercut the de minimis limitations You will be asked if your data entry is complete. By clicking on Nein you re-access the processing mode of the VE-form and there you can there amend and supplement your data. If your data input was complete, you should use Ja and you get to the next question. Figure 19: Official demand You will be asked that despite the fact that the amount of packaging materials are have put in are do not reach the de minimis threshold, you were asked to deliver a Vollständigkeitserklärung by the competent local authority. To confirm this please click on the button Ja and you are requested to enter the specific reference number of the letter of official demand. After this click on Aktenzeichen speichern to save the data. You can now proceed with the next step of the whole procedure: 5.3.1. Create and download the PDF-file Page 19 of 29 Version 1.2.1

If there is no official demand then acknowledge the query with Nein and the application will prompt to you, that you don t have to conduct a VE for this reporting year. Thus ends the procedure of filing the VE. Please note that you can always re-access the previous step by using the button Zurück. Figure 20: File reference Figure 21: Process completed Page 20 of 29 Version 1.2.1

In the case you wish change the reference number or completely reset the official demand, you can do so by starting the editing-mode again. For this click on the button Bearbeiten right next to the reference number and enter either a new reference number (neues Aktenzeichen) to change the previous one or click on the button Zurücksetzen to reset the official demand by the authority. Figure 22: Processing file reference Figure 23: Process file reference Page 21 of 29 Version 1.2.1

5.2.1 Create and download PDF-file The next step after the entry of the data is to create a document from the VE-Register named Prüfbescheinigung. The Prüfbescheinigung is a PDF-File which can be created by click on the button PDF generieren. Figure 24: Generate.pdf Page 22 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Then the application should prompt a message asking you to download the file. If not please click the button PDF herunterladen to start the download dialog again. Figure 25: Download.pdf To download the PDF-File simply click on the button save and choose a suitable directory on your computer s hard drive. Note: Please be aware that it is vital for the whole procedure, that the original PDF-file is not altered. Therefore you should save the PDF-file first on your computer before you open it. Features like Save as with Adobe Acrobat may alter the PDF-file and it can no longer be recognised as original document by the application. Page 23 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Figure 26: pdf download dialogue If you need to modify the packaging data later on, the complete procedure must be repeated from input, saving the data to generating and downloading of the PDF-file. With the generation of a new Prüfbescheinigung (PDF-File) all earlier versions become invalid and are no longer accepted by the VE-Register this applies also for successfully deposited VE. Should you already have deposited a Vollständigkeitserklärung, then you will be shown an appropriate notice. Please ensure that the downloaded PDF is now passed to your auditor on a secure way. The auditor has to sign it with a qualified digital certificate creating a qualified digital signature and then return the signature file (PKCS#7standard is required) to you. Note: Do not modify this document in any way. If changes have to be made, repeat the whole procedure by entering the new data into the online form and generate and download a new pdf-file. Page 24 of 29 Version 1.2.1

5.2.2 Upload the signature file The final step is to upload the signature file in the VE-Register, after you received it from your auditor. To do so please logon to the VE-Register first and then select the VE bearbeiten menu point in the left navigation column. To start the upload click on the button VE-Meldung abgeben. Figure 27: Release CS notification After this the following upload dialogue appears. Please click on the button Durchsuchen and select the specific folder on your hard drive or USB-stick that contains the signature file, select the signature and press open. Now the Path and name of the signature file will be shown in the upload dialog field. To upload the signature file please click on Hochladen Note: Depending on the signature variation your auditor has chosen, you may have received two separate files from him. In this case please upload only the signature file (see below) and not the PDF-file. The PDF-file is not needed, since it is already stored in the VE-Register. Figure 28: Release CS notification Page 25 of 29 Version 1.2.1

Figure 29: Upload signature file Note: There at least two ways to sign an electronic document digitally defined in the PKCS#7- standard: enveloped signature This variation of an electronic signature contains the signature information and the signed electronic document compiled into one single data file of the signatures data structure. The file ending of the file may differ, depending on the software used. A common example for an enveloped PKCS#7 file ending is.p7m. detached signature Another option to sign an electronic document is a detached signature, where the signed electronic document is not embodied in the signature file. As previously mentioned, there are also different varieties of file endings, depending on the used signature software. The file ending may be.p7s for example. Page 26 of 29 Version 1.2.1

To the VE-Register is doesn t matter, which variation is actually used to sign the pdf file digitally, since both ways are supported. But there are maybe very unique standards and formats depending on the used software, which will not be supported. In this case it is to read signature software s manual and try a different option. While the signature file is uploaded the VE-Register checks whether the document is unchanged and the used digital certificate of the auditor is valid. If all checks are successful then the following message appears on the screen. Figure 30: Successful upload The upload of a valid signature file concludes the whole procedure to file the Vollständigkeitserklärung. The date of the upload is stored in the database as the hand in date. You may now continue by selecting a different menu entry in the left navigation column or logout of the application by clicking Abmelden. The VE will forward automatically to your competent chamber of commerce and industry (CCI) for final verification. After the CCI has approved your VE the competent Environmental Protection Agency will gain access to the details of your VE by the 2 nd of May of that year. In addition your companies name will be added in the public list of main VE-Registers Website. The List will be refreshed by the 2 nd of May of each year. Until then the list of the last reporting year (that is the previous year) is viewable. Page 27 of 29 Version 1.2.1

5.3 View VE-archive To access the archive of your VE you can either click the menu point VE-Historie einsehen or you click the button Historie in reading mode VE-details. You can see the complete history of all generated and downloaded Prüfbescheinigungen (PDF-files) and its status in chronological order for each reporting year. By clicking the name of the PDF-file you can, view it, download it, print it or save it. By clicking you can open a different reporting year. To leave the archive, simply choose a different menu entry in the left navigation column or click Abmelden. Figure 31: VE-archive Page 28 of 29 Version 1.2.1

5.4 Change password Using the menu point Passwort ändern you have the possibility to your password anytime. For this, please enter your old password in the field Altes Passwort and type in your new password in the field Neues Passwort. The new password has got be also at minimum 8 characters long and consist at least two numerals. Finally to confirm the new password you have to retype it in the field Neues Passwort wiederholen to prevent typing errors and save the change using the button named Bestätigen. Figure 32: Change password Page 29 of 29 Version 1.2.1