Will the Council of State end the fee for private copying of refurbished devices? This tax, which allows phone and tablet owners to manually copy the contents of a CD, is at the center of a legal debate.
Before last year, this fee only applied to new devices. But since its extension to the refurbished market, the 14 euros already charged on the initial purchase of a phone or tablet are added between 8.40 and 9.10 euros (excluding VAT). A decision that prompted the UFC Que Choisir and reconditioning professionals to challenge this measure last year before the Council of State.
A demand for transparency
On Friday, November 25, the public rapporteur will present his conclusions to the Council of State on this issue. According to L’Informé, he must propose the cancellation of the scale of refurbished mobiles and tablets. If the high administrative jurisdiction is not subject to the recommendations of the public rapporteur, it follows them very regularly. The Council of State will issue its ruling in the coming weeks.
Criticized many times, the establishment of the fee for private copying on second-hand devices is the main failure, in a personal capacity, of the former Secretary of State for Digital, Cédric O, the latter explained after his departure from the Government. At the end of October, the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) and the Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs (IGAC) called for more transparency on private copying in a report.
However, consumers who have purchased a refurbished phone will not be refunded this tax. The Public Rapporteur’s recommendation does not include a retroactive cancellation. Likewise, the cancellation should not be immediate, but deferred to February 2023.
Source: BFM TV
