Obligated "producers" (see "who are the producers...." above) will be able to fulfill their legal obligations by joining Product Care as a member for this program. Members of the program agree to report, on a monthly basis, their sales of program applicable products to Product Care and remit applicable eco fees on those sales (see "how will the program be funded...." above).

Sometimes it is more practical for a company that is not the legally obligated producer to join the program and report on their sales (sometimes called a “voluntary remitter”). The program is flexible in terms of which company in the supply chain becomes a member, so long as there is assurance that the program receives the eco fee for every program product sold in BC. The legal producer definition becomes relevant where it is determined that products/fees are not reported to the program and the matter is referred to the Ministry of Environment for compliance with the regulation.

Examples of situations where this may be practical:

1. The obligated producer (ex: manufacturer) ships to a distributor (who may or may not be in BC) and only the distributor knows the quantity actually sold in BC.  In this example the distributor and producer agree with each other (and notify Product Care in writing):

• The distributor will join the Product Care program and report and remit fees on all sales in BC of the designated products sold by the distributor, regardless of brand
• The producer does not report/pay the program on sales to that distributor, but does report/pay on sales to other BC customers.

2. Company A has no operations in BC but "ships to store" for many BC based retailers or distributors and is aware of the quantity sold by each retailer or distributor. As a service to its retail or distributor customers, Company A agrees to report to Product Care on the aggregate of all BC sales to these customers, and the customers do not. However if the retailer or distributor sells other brands of the designated products, it must report and pay fees on those sales (unless a similar agreement is reached with that company).

For a company to be a voluntary remitter, they should discuss this with suppliers or customers in their supply chain and after they reach an agreement, the company can register with Product Care as a member.

Reporting will be on a monthly basis using an online reporting system. Reports and fee remittances will be due by the end of the month following the reporting period (e.g. sales in July 2012 must be reported and received by the Program before the end of August). Fees payable by members to the program are subject to HST. View more details on eco fee remittance.