L’Agenzia ha aggiunto tre nuove domande e risposte relative alla Brexit e il Regolamento REACH. Le nuove domande sono riportate in seguito.
Can my UK-based company set up a company on paper only in an EU-27 Member State and transfer its registrations there?
No. Every registrant company is responsible for its registrations and the substances that are covered by these registrations. Therefore, responsible staff and the relevant documentation must be available for inspection at the premises of every registrant. Only Representatives must live up to the requirements in Article 8(2) REACH. A mere address or letterbox is not sufficient and may lead to legal consequences being taken by enforcement authorities or ECHA. The company that you set up must comply with all local regulations and have legal personality at its place of establishment. Your company will need to notify this change in REACH-IT immediately ahead of the UK withdrawal. ECHA will clarify the practical steps that you will need to take, in January 2019. We also recommend that you consult ECHA’s Practical Guide No. 8.
Can my company, which is a UK-based manufacturer or formulator, transfer its REACH registration to an Only Representative (OR) within the EU-27/EEA? How can my company do this prior to the UK withdrawal from the EU to avoid our registration being voided as non-existent when the withdrawal occurs?
Yes, such a transfer of registration will become acceptable for UK-based manufacturers and formulators at the time of the UK withdrawal. According to Article 8 of the REACH Regulation, only a natural or legal person established outside the EU may by mutual agreement appoint a natural or legal person established within the EU to fulfil, as Only Representative, the obligations that the REACH Regulation imposes on importers. As long as the UK is a Member State of the EU, your company therefore will not qualify for performing such a transfer.
Consequently, we recommend that you, prior to the UK withdrawal from the EU, set up a contractual agreement to appoint an Only Representative, which contains a suspensive conditional clause stipulating that the appointment takes effect on the date when the UK withdrawal from the EU takes effect. The date and time of the UK withdrawal is foreseen to be 30 March 2019, 0000 hours CET (i.e., 29 March 2019, 2300 hours BST). Your company will need to notify this change in REACH-IT immediately ahead of the UK withdrawal.
Please note that if you act as a formulator (i.e., you import a substance from a third country to the UK, and include the substance in a mixture that you export to the EU-27 / EEA), you can appoint an Only Representative for the quantities of the substance that you formulate into a mixture that you export to the EU-27/EEA. However, note that for the quantities of the substance that you import to the UK for further export as such to the EU-27/EEA, you cannot appoint an Only Representative. The reason is that only non-EU manufacturers or formulators can appoint an Only Representative.
ECHA will clarify the practical steps that you will need to take, in January 2019. Please note that following the successful transfer of the registrations in REACH-IT, you are expected to submit an updated registration dossier, indicating the new Only Representative role.
Can my company, which is a UK-based manufacturer or formulator, transfer its REACH Authorisation (or its Application for Authorisation) to an Only Representative within the EU-27/EEA? How can my company do this prior to the UK withdrawal from the EU to avoid our Authorisation (or application) being voided as non-existent when the UK withdrawal takes effect?
Yes, such a transfer will become possible at the time of the UK withdrawal.
However, as long as the UK is still a Member State of the EU and your company is therefore not located in a “third country”, your company will not qualify for performing such a transfer. Consequently, we recommend that prior to the UK withdrawal from the EU you set up a contractual agreement to appoint an Only Representative which contains a suspensive conditional clause stipulating that the appointment takes effect on the date when the UK withdrawal from the EU takes effect. The date and time of the UK withdrawal is foreseen to be 30 March 2019, 0000 hours CET (i.e., 29 March 2019, 2300 hours BST). The Only Representative will need to adhere to all the conditions of use determined by the Authorisation decision, including any specific duties foreseen in the decision for your company. ECHA will clarify the practical steps to take closer to this date, in January 2019.
The Authorisation holder/applicant needs to notify ECHA of the transfer. ECHA will forward the notification to the European Commission.
Per consultare tutte le domande e risposte di ECHA su REACH e la Brexit: clicca qui.
Pavia, 9 dicembre 2018.
