The fees and charges that will be charged for registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals under the new REACH registration procedures have been published yesterday in the Official Journal. The fees and charges will apply with the start of registrations of chemical substances on 1st June 2008 (IP/08/564). The basic registration fee will range from EUR 1,600 for substances produced in volumes below ten tonnes, to EUR 31,000 for those above 1000 tonnes. There will be up to 90% discounts for smaller firms and 25% reduction for firms that cooperate together on registrations. The fees payable to European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, which will manage these operational processes, was approved by the Committee of Member State representatives in December.
Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry policy said: “With significant reductions of 90% for smaller companies in the chemical sector we ensure that they continue to be competitive. We have set the foundations for a modern registration scheme which protects human health and the environment. Therefore it is time to seize the new business opportunities offered by REACH."
Ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment through the safe use of chemicals and safeguarding the competitiveness of the European chemical industry are the objectives of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) MEMO/06/488. The main fees and charges will be payable for the submission and update of registration dossiers and in connection with the submission of an authorisation request or a review report. Other fees are payable for notification of certain research and development activities, certain confidentiality requests and for appealing against decisions of ECHA.
In order to keep the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to a minimum, the Commission applied differentiated price policy between the different groups of companies. The following reductions for registrations have been applied:
- 30% for medium companies
- 60% for small sized companies
- 90% for micro enterprises.
The level of the fees for registration varies according to the tonnage range and a reduction of 25% applies in the case of joint submissions to account for the reduced workload.
A lower registration fee has been fixed for the registration of intermediates because the associated workload for the Agency would be much lower than for the other registration dossiers.
Fee revenue will partially finance the operations of ECHA, with the remaining finance coming from a Community subsidy. The fees will be reviewed by 2013 at the latest.
Companies must register chemical substances as from 1 June 2008 (unless they have pre-registered) (MEMO/08/240 ).
Many companies might not be aware of their potential obligations under REACH, as manufacturer, importer or user of chemicals or articles, especially if they do not directly belong to the chemical sector.
REACH requires that all substances manufactured or imported in the EU in quantities above 1 tonne per year be registered as from 1 June 2008. Extended registration deadlines apply if the substances have been pre-registered (all so called “phase-in substances” are eligible for pre-registration).
Companies that want to benefit from staggered registration deadlines (2010, 2013, 2018) must pre-register their chemical substances between 1 June and 1 December 2008.
If a manufacturer or importer of a chemical fails to pre-register by 1 December 2008 he cannot continue manufacturing or importing it until he has submitted a registration dossier. Users of chemicals cannot continue using substances which have not been pre-registered or registered by their supplier.
The Commission alerts companies that they should not miss the pre-registration “window”.
Source:
ECHA Website, April 16, 2008
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