Article 18 Small producers

Member States may exempt producers which, relative to the size of the national market place very small quantities of batteries or accumulators on the national market, from the requirements of Article 16(1), on the condition that this does not impede the proper functioning of the collection and recycling schemes set up on the basis of Articles 8 and 12.

Member States shall make public the draft exemption measures referred to in paragraph 1, and the grounds for proposing them and shall notify them to the Commission and other Member States.

The Commission shall, within six months of notification as referred to in paragraph 2, approve or reject the draft measures after having verified that they are consistent with the considerations set out in paragraph 1 and do not constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States. In absence of a decision by the Commission within this period, the draft measures shall be deemed to have been approved.