IMPORTANT – post-Brexit Compliance with EU REACH

All chemicals manufactured or imported into the EU/EEA market, including Northern Ireland, above 1 tonne/year per legal entity must comply with the EU Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation.  For more information, please visit the section of ‘EU preparedness actions’ of the CTPA Brexit public advice.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), responsible for implementing EU REACH, confirmed in this public news from 28 April 2021 that all transfers of registrations following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU have now been completed.  More than 8 000 UK-based registrations have been successfully transferred to companies in the EU, EEA or Northern Ireland. These companies must review and, if needed, update the information in these registrations.

Actions for GB-based companies selling chemicals (on their own or within mixtures) to EU/EEA countries and Northern Ireland

• Consider who is importing products from GB into the EU/EEA/NI: is it your own EU company/affiliate or an external customer?  If the import is carried out but an external customer (e.g. retailers), they will be legally responsible for compliance of your products with EU REACH. In practical term, these companies would not be able to fulfil REACH registration obligations, unless they are granted access to a brands’ formulations and details (mainly ingredients, components of each raw materials, % of inclusion in the formulation) which would allow them to calculate the REACH import tonnage.  Such customers would therefore need to access a brand’s intellectual property.
• If you sell into the EU/EEA/NI chemicals sourced from a GB-based supplier and your EU affiliate or customer is asking you to ensure compliance with EU REACH: you need to check with your GB supplier if they have transferred their registration to an EU affiliate or appointed Only Representative, and if their registration covers your EU tonnage.  You may need to set up a specific agreement or request a certificate of compliance.
• If you sell to the EU/EEA/NI chemicals sourced from an EU-based supplier and your EU affiliate or customer is asking you to ensure compliance with EU REACH: a re-import exemption may apply; however, you need to ensure that your EU supplier’s registration covers the tonnage re-imported into the EU and you would be required to have proof of this.

Communication within the supply chain and a mapping of chemicals used, their source location and quantities are extremely important to ensure compliance with EU REACH.