Seen from afar, it is a market that one would imagine in full euphoria, driven by a continuous increase in sales and rising environmental concerns. And yet the French players in reconditioning grimace. In question, the fact that they owe since the 1er July pass on the private copying levy on their sales.
This contribution, which traditionally applied to new multimedia devices, aims to compensate rights holders in the cultural industry in return for digital backups of their works. But, in 2020, the Copie France organization, which manages the collection, began to ask for it from sellers of second-hand products.
“It has always been the law”, assures the World Bruno Boutleux, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Copie France. Reconditioners, but also the UFC-What to choose, contest it, recalling that the texts in force so far mentioned the ” release “ of a product, which, according to them, means its first marketing in France.
Legal litigation
Legal disputes have emerged, followed by a battle for influence between the players in reconditioning and those in culture. And the match turned to the advantage of the seconds. First with the adoption, Tuesday 1er June, by Copie France, of a new scale of the private copying fee where the case of reconditioned devices is explicitly mentioned. Then with the adoption at first reading by the deputies, on June 10, of an amendment which brings the extension of the scale of the private copying fee into the law, during the examination of the bill aimed at reduce the environmental footprint of digital technology in France (REEN).
For reconditioners, it is “A cold shower”, sighs Jean-Lionel Laccourreye, president of the Interprofessional Union for the reconditioning and regeneration of computer, electronic and telecom equipment (Sirrmiet). “From our point of view, there has been a real confusion between the dynamism of our sector, which is expanding, and its profitability, which is limited. “
Reconditioning is a very competitive industry, with gross margins of around 10% or even 20% at best. However, the private copying levy is a fixed price, independent of the selling price – the scale depends solely on the storage capacity of the products. It costs 8.40 euros for devices over 64 GB, which is considerable for entry-level refurbished phones, below 200 euros.
You have 39.07% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.