The Ministry of Environment issued Decree No. 3314 dated June 15, 2026 about the amendment of environmental taxes on waste-generating products. The decree went into effect upon its issuance, following its signature by President Joseph Aoun on June 15, 2026. Article 1 revises the tax rates applied to certain products, based on the quantity or quality of waste produced during their manufacturing or usage. It imposes an environmental tax of 1% on essential goods and primary materials, including live animals, meats, dairy products, cereals, pharmaceutical products, and base metals such as aluminum, iron, nickel, and steel. Also, it levies an environmental tax of 1.5% on intermediate consumer products and processing goods, such as beverages, spirits, vinegar, paper, cardboard, glass, and electrical machinery. Further, it imposes an environmental tax of 2% on heavier industrial materials and potential environmental pollutants, including cement, mineral fuels, mineral oils, organic chemicals, diverse plastics, and carpets.  Moreover, it levies an environmental tax of 2.5% on high-impact chemical and industrial commodities, including animal or vegetable fats, inorganic chemicals, rubber, raw hides, skins, leather articles, travel goods, and stone or cement manufacturers. Finally, it imposes an environmental tax of 3% on hazardous, highly toxic, or heavily regulated materials, specifically tanning or dyeing extracts, explosives, pyrotechnic products, matches, arms and ammunition. The ministry based its decision on the Environmental Protection Law No. 444 dated July 29, 2002, which established the "polluter pays" principle; on Law No. 38 dated January 5, 2026 that amended the Integrated Solid Waste Management framework, which mandates the imposition of taxes on certain products relative to the quantity or quality of waste generated during their manufacturing or resulting from their use, in application of the producer responsibility principle and in accordance with the schedule attached to the law specifying the tax rates as a percentage of the product’s value; and on the legislative amendment to Law No. 80 of October 10, 2018 about the legal framework for integrated solid waste management that Parliament approved and that reaffirmed that waste management remains the responsibility of the State, which imposes additional expenditures on the Treasury that must be funded. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: Byblos Bank, LTW, 22-27 June 2026