This new 20 euro tax could affect your next smartphone

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The Ministry of Ecological Transition has just proposed a decree leading to the creation of a “penalty” 20 euros for electronic devices that are difficult to repair. Conversely, products with a good repairability rating will be credited with a “bonus” which can go up to 40 euros, according to this first version of the text.

For the moment, this idea is only a project, but an order could well be taken by 2025 to put it into practice this system. In the words of the ministry, these “bonus, penalty” should affect both smartphones, but also computers, dishwashers, washing machines and even televisions.

Other devices are also being studied, such as vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers or high-pressure cleaners. But on these products, the bonus/penalty could be half as large. In the draft decree which is currently available for online public consultation, the major brands all have their opinions.

Thus, the United.b group, owner of the Boulanger and Électro Dépôt brands, took the floor. He assures that the establishment of such a system by the summer of 2024 (the ministry's initial deadline) is “purely and simply untenable in view of the necessary adaptation efforts.”

L’reparability index as justice of the peace

In order to know if a smartphone or a computer is “easy” to be repaired, the government would like to set up a scale around the repairability index of a device. Present on all electronic components since 2021, the latter is for now only indicative.

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The addition of a sanction (or a bonus) could therefore give it an even more important role. In its draft text, the government has set a clear limit. For smartphones and other devices, the repairability index must be greater than 6.9/10 to avoid the penalty.

Regarding “simple” to repair, their index will be at least 8.2. Between the two, the majority of products on the market today, nothing changes. To take a concrete example, none of the 5 best-selling smartphones today in France would be affected by the bonus/malus system wanted by the government.

Durability before repairability ?

In an interview given to journalists around the world, members of the ministry recognized that the repairability index had some flaws, the biggest being that it does not take into account the durability of the product as a whole. .

However, a durable device, even difficult to repair, is a good thing for the environment. The ministry could therefore review its decree in a few months when the sustainability index is introduced in the territory. The conditions of the latter are currently being debated by experts in the digital world and recycling.

In the main lineshttps://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2024/01/15/un-malus-ecologique-a-l-etude-pour-les-entreprises-les-moins-reparables_6210840_4408996.htmlhttps://www .lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2024/01/15/un-malus-ecologique-a-l-etude-pour-les-apparatus-les-moins-reparables_6210840_4408996.htmles, repairability should always count for a little less than 50 % of the score, as well as reliability (45%). Finally, 10% of the grade should be offered in case of “improvements” of the product during its life. This is mainly about software updates for computing devices.

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