The "visible fee": towards greater transparency for eco-contributions on B2B invoices
A transparency objective for the circular economy
Filed in early April 2025, the bill aims to introduce a mandatory mention of the eco-contribution on B2B invoices. This mechanism, referred to as the “visible fee”, would allow the various economic operators to clearly see the amount of contributions paid to producer responsibility organisations (PROs) for managing the end of life of products.
Until now, this contribution has generally been included in the final price, with no clear distinction on business invoices. Making this cost visible follows on from the principles of the AGEC law, which aims to strengthen traceability and producer responsibility.
It is worth noting that the AGEC law already introduced an obligation to display the eco-contribution visibly to the final consumer for the furniture EPR scheme, with a deadline set for 31 December 2025. Beyond B2B invoices alone, the aim today is to extend this display with no time limit, to ensure full transparency on producer responsibility costs throughout the value chain.
Three stated aims of the text
According to the authors of the bill, this measure addresses three main issues:
- Fighting fraud, in particular by making checks easier and ensuring that every operator concerned meets its declaration obligations.
- Protecting the competitiveness of compliant producers, by allowing a clear distinction between those who meet their EPR obligations and those who do not.
- Improving economic clarity, by helping professional customers better understand how prices are formed and the costs linked to waste management.
What this means for affected businesses
If the bill is adopted, businesses subject to EPR will need to adapt their invoicing systems to include a separate line showing the amount of eco-contributions, scheme by scheme.
This will require:
- Precise knowledge of the eco-contribution amounts applicable per product or category;
- An update to ERP or invoicing systems to automatically generate this line;
- Full traceability of declared contributions, to avoid discrepancies between invoiced amounts and amounts actually paid.
This change could also have indirect effects: by making this cost visible, businesses will need to be able to justify their amounts and demonstrate compliance in the event of an audit.
A change some businesses have already anticipated
For several months, some businesses have taken steps to regain control over their EPR declaration processes, in particular through automation solutions or dedicated management tools. The aim is twofold: to ensure the reliability of data declared to producer responsibility organisations, and to have a clear view of the costs associated with each scheme.
For these businesses, making eco-contributions visible would not be a disruption, but rather a way of recognising their compliance efforts.
This is precisely the context in which CompliancR offers a practical response. Thanks to an AI algorithm and teams of EPR experts, our solution automates the identification and calculation of eco-contributions, scheme by scheme. It generates declarations that meet legal requirements, along with the eco-contribution amount per product based on their identifiers, ensuring full transparency for B2B customers. By centralising data and guaranteeing its reliability, CompliancR simplifies the implementation of the "visible fee". An effective way to turn a regulatory requirement into a driver of compliance and trust.
One more step towards a clearer EPR system
The "visible fee" bill is part of a wider movement to strengthen transparency and fairness in the EPR system. If adopted, it could permanently change business practices between producers, distributors and other economic operators.
The reform also raises technical and operational questions that businesses will need to anticipate in order to stay compliant while controlling their costs.