ECHA recommends companies to prepare for a ‘no deal’ scenario ahead of the UK’s withdrawal on 30 March 2019.
Political Uncertainty
With continued political uncertainty regarding the withdrawal agreement, the Agency urges companies to act now to continue complying with their obligations under the:
- REACH
- Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP)
- Prior Informed Consent (PIC)
- Biocidal Products (BPR) regulations
To keep substances that are registered under REACH legally on the EU-27/EEA market, UK-based manufacturers and formulators can either transfer their business to, or appoint an only representative in, one of the EU-27/EEA countries.
ECHA to Open a ‘Brexit Window’
Subject to further developments, ECHA will open a ‘Brexit window’ in REACH-IT from 12 to 29 March, 24:00 hours CET (11 p.m. UK time) to enable UK-based companies to make these changes and transfer their REACH registrations. If an only representative is not appointed, the EU-27/EEA importers will have to submit their own registrations.
If a downstream user in one of the EU-27/EEA countries relies on REACH authorizations granted to a UK-based company, they need to make sure that there is another EU-27/EEA supplier with a valid authorization for their use.
EU-27 companies will also need to notify their exports of hazardous substances regulated under the PIC Regulation when exporting to the UK. This will be done using the ePIC tool. The export notification in ePIC needs to be submitted 35 days before the export. ECHA will soon clarify how to deal with exports to the UK during the period right after the UK’s effective withdrawal.
Companies based in the EU-27/EEA will also need to prepare for placing substances on the UK market after 29 March, which will be governed by UK law. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published respective guidance.
Source: ECHA