What solutions if you have not registered your substances yet?
An unregistered substance may be sold and imported on the European market only until May 2018, the deadline for the REACH Registration.
Nonetheless, some manufacturers manage to find a loophole by deliberately limiting their annual tonnage, thereby exempting themselves from Registration.
- European manufacturers limit sales of the substances to less than 1t/year
- Non-European manufacturers spread their sales on different importers, each less than 1t/year
To find out how to calculate your tonnage bands, do not hesitate to consult our article.
What happens if you create a new substance after May 31st 2018?
You must submit an Inquiry to ECHA
If you create a new substance after 31 May 2018, you will have to start an Inquiry process with ECHA.
The latter states that "Companies planning to register a non-phase-in (new) substance or phase-in (existing) substance that has not been pre-registered, have a duty to inquire with ECHA whether a registration has already been submitted for that substance".
Your Inquiry dossier should contain specific and detailed information on the substance in question - such as the identity of the registrant and the identity of the substance as well as its analytical data.
Once your Inquiry dossier has been submitted, ECHA has 20 working days to give you an answer.
For more information on Inquiry, read our article on the subject.
Spacial case: your substance is under development
In this case, you may be eligible for a REACH registration exemption.
As indicated by ECHA, "Substances used above one tonne a year for product and process orientated research and development (PPORD) can also be exempted from the obligation to register for a period of five years. To benefit from this exemption, a PPORD notification must be submitted to ECHA."
More information on the PPORD exemption, available here.
Some Recommendations
- Whatever the situation is, it is necessary to make arrangements to comply with REACH, both now and after May 2018.
- Regulations are often amended. It is useful to seek advice from regulatory consultants who can guide you and help you through the compliance process.
- The REACH Regulation requires ECHA to publish an annual report on the evaluations carried out the previous year. This report includes recommendations on ways to improve the quality of a future registration and is therefore a source of useful advice. The report is published on February 28th each year and is available on the ECHA website.
- The key to success: clear planning and proactive communication with ECHA, downstream users and co-registrants.
