On January 1st, following Brexit, UK chemicals product legislation – REACH, CLP, BPR, PIC, …- entered into force for Great Britain. Updated guidance and information is released by the Health and Safety Executive.
The transition period after UK left the EU beginning last year, has ended on 31st December 2020. A set of specific guidance on complying with UK REACH starting on 1 January 2021 was released and can be found on the Brexit and HSE webpages.
Under UK REACH, manufacturers and importers have a duty to register chemicals that access the GB (Great Britain = England, Scotland and Wales) market. GB-based holders of existing EU REACH registrations need to complete the ‘grandfathering’ process by providing basic information to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by 30 April 2021.
Northern Ireland businesses moving goods to and from the EU can continue to use EU REACH. GB importers need to submit some information on the substances they source from NI in quantities of one tonne or more. They must submit this information within 300 days of the end of the transition period.
GB customers that relied on a registration held by an EU or EEA-based company before 1 January 2021 can continue importing substances as they did before. However, they will need to make sure that the chemical is registered for UK REACH purposes. The GB downstream users should notify the HSE of their intention to continue importing substances from the EU or EEA using a Downstream User Import Notification (DUIN) by 27 October 2021. A GB-based OR appointed by a manufacturer, formulator or article producer based outside of GB, can notify on behalf of their GB-based importers.
A new registration must then be submitted to the HSE by the UK importer within 2, 4 or 6 years of 28 October 2021 (see table deadlines) if their EU/EEA supplier would not have registered through an GB-based Only Representative (OR).
The deadlines are:
| Deadline Post 28 October 2021 | Tonnage | Hazardous Property |
| 2 years from 28 October 2021 | 1000 tons or more per year | ● carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMRs) – 1 tonne or more per year ● Very toxic to aquatic organisms (acute or chronic) – 100 tonnes or more per year ● Candidate list substances (as at 31 December 2020) |
| 4 years from 28 October 2021 | 100 tons or more per year | Candidate list substances (as at 27 October 2023) |
| 6 years from 28 October 2021 | 1 ton or more per year |
The fees and charges are available here.
The online service ‘Comply with UK REACH’ is needed to:
- transfer your EU REACH registration into UK REACH (also known as ‘grandfathering’) to continue having access to the GB market
- submit a new registration for a substance
- notify that you’re going to continue importing substances from the EU or European Economic Area (EEA) by submitting a Downstream User Import Notification (DUIN)
- transfer your assets, such as registrations, to another legal entity
Webinar recordings on REACH, CLP, BPR, PIC, PPPR are available on YouTube: Regulating chemicals after the transition period playlist .
More information: Tine Cattoor, head product policy, tcattoor@essenscia.be
