The Supreme Decree No. 22/2025 of the Ministry of the Environment, published on May 7, 2026 in the Official Gazette, enters into practical application at two speeds. There are obligations that apply from now on — without an adaptation period — and collection targets that take effect in 24 months, with progressive floors until the system matures. If your company produces, imports, or sells batteries, photovoltaic panels, or electrical and electronic equipment, the decree defines how much you must collect, when, and under what conditions.
What changed
Law No. 20,920, known as the REP Law (Extended Producer Responsibility), empowered the executive branch to establish specific regulations by product category. DS No. 22/2025 is the instrument that activates that authority for three main categories: batteries, temperature exchange devices (TEDs), and photovoltaic panels (PVPs), in addition to extending the regime to other electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). The collection targets set by the decree:
- Batteries and accumulators in general: starting point at 3% of the volume placed on the market, scaling up to 45% by the end of the compliance period.
- TEDs: initial target of 6%, with a cap at 30%.
- PVPs: floor at 10%, maximum at 50%.
The base period is 24 months from publication — which places the start of the compliance period around May 2028 — with staggered increases starting from that date. But two obligations do not wait for that deadline. Retailers whose point of sale exceeds 400 m² must immediately set up a reception point for used products, at no cost to the consumer who returns them. And batteries imported with mercury or cadmium content exceeding the limits established in the decree may not enter the market as of May 7, 2026. The decision rule is precise: not setting up the reception point or importing batteries outside the limits is not future noncompliance; it is current noncompliance.
What this may mean for your company
The analysis changes depending on the role your company plays in the chain. If you are a producer or importer of any of the regulated categories, the decree brings you into the management system required by the REP Law. That means registering in the Producers and Responsible Parties Registry, reporting the volume placed on the market, and meeting the collection targets within the deadlines set by the decree. The targets are not aspirational: they are compliance thresholds with legal consequences before the Superintendence of the Environment (SMA). If you are a battery importer, the obligation to comply with the mercury and cadmium limits applies from May 7, 2026. Importing products that do not comply with those limits exposes your company to customs retention, an SMA fine, and, potentially, civil liability toward distributors or buyers who receive the products. If you are a retailer with points of sale larger than 400 m², you need to set up the reception of used products. This is not a voluntary or gradual decision. The omission is enforceable from now on. The gray area left open by the decree is the exact scope of "electrical and electronic equipment" outside the named categories. The REP Law has a broad list and the regulation does not circumscribe it with surgical precision. If your company markets products on that boundary — small appliances, lighting equipment, power tools — it is worth checking whether they fall under the decree before the SMA answers that question in an inspection.
What you can do
Three actions with different time horizons:
- Check today whether your company falls within the categories directly regulated by DS No. 22/2025. If the answer is yes, the starting point is to register in the Producers and Responsible Parties Registry — if that has not already been done — and map the volume placed on the market during the last commercial year. That data is the basis for calculating the collection target that will apply to you in 2028.
- Review the import process if your company imports batteries or accumulators. The foreign trade team or customs broker must have clarity on the mercury and cadmium limits established by the decree and on the documents that will prove compliance before the National Customs Service. Without that proof, clearance may be blocked.
- Audit your points of sale if your company operates stores larger than 400 m². Setting up the reception point requires defining logistics, training staff, and putting in place a minimum traceability system for received products. Starting today reduces the risk of being noncompliant during an SMA inspection, which could happen at any time.
To assess which part of DS No. 22/2025 applies to your business model and what adjustments your operation requires, schedule a diagnostic meeting with our team: https://calendar.app.google/f13cTubrP12uveuBA. This content is informational and does not constitute legal advice for a specific case. Primary source: Supreme Decree No. 22/2025 of the Ministry of the Environment, published on May 7, 2026 in the Official Gazette of Chile, במסגרת Law No. 20,920 (REP Law).