UK REACH is to be Implemented from 1 Jan. 2021

The Brexit transitional period will be closed on 31 Dec. 2020 and UK REACH will be implemented from 1 Jan. 2021. Enterprises that intend to manufacture, sell or import chemicals into Britain should comply with the requirements of UK REACH from 1 Jan. 2021.

According to the guidance documents released on 1 Sep. 2020, the British government has decided to extend the deadlines for full data submissions to up to six years. Previously, full data should be submitted within 2 years, which raised the industry concerns as the time period given is too little.

The UK REACH compliance strategies for different enterprises vary. Details are as follows:

UK-based enterprises that have completed EU REACH registration (Grandfathering)

For UK-based enterprises that have completed REACH registration, they can legally grandfathering the registration into UK. There are two steps:

• Holders of EU REACH registrations should submit the basic information to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) before 30 Apr. 2021;
• Supplement all the related information within 2, 4, or 6 years from 28 Oct. 2020, depending on the tonnage band and the hazards;

The information required for submission are similar with that required under EU REACH. Details will be released by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs soon.

Note: Grandfathering is applicable to all UK-based enterprises that have completed EU REACH, including importers, only representatives, joint registrants, lead registrants, etc .;

EU-based enterprises that have completed EU REACH registrations and downstream users are based in UK

For enterprises that are based in EU and have completed EU REACH registrations, if these enterprises intend to continue to trade with UK-based downstream users, they should:

• The UK-based downstream users must submit downstream user import notification (DUIN) to HSE before 27 Oct. 2021 to inform HSE that they will continue to import the products;
• A new registration must be submitted to HSE within 2, 4 or 6 years of 28 Oct. 2021, or the EU-based enterprises can appoint an UK-based OR to carry out registration;

Non UK enterprises that have completed REACH registration

To ensure the compliance of products in UK after the transitional period, enterprises must complete the following steps:

• The non UK enterprises should entrust their UK-based downstream users to submit DUIN to HSE before 27 Oct. 2021;
• The UK-based enterprises complete a new registration within 2, 4 or 6 years of 28 Oct. 2021;

If the downstream users are not willing to do so, the non UK enterprises may entrust an UK-based OR to submit the DUIN to HSE before 27 Oct. 2021. Then the OR will complete the new registration within 2, 4, or 6 years of 28 Oct. 2021 on behalf of the non UK enterprises.

However, if the non-UK enterprises have not completed REACH registration, when the UK REACH takes effect, the non-UK enterprises or importers must complete UK REACH registration before exporting their products to UK.

Submission deadlines for different tonnage bands

Under UK REACH, the deadlines for full data submissions are different depending on the tonnage bands and hazards of different substances (up to six years). The deadlines start from 28 Oct. 2021, the end of DUIN submission period. Details are as follows:

Deadline Post 28 Oct. 2021	Tonnag e	Hazardous Property
2 years from 28 Oct. 2021	Over 1000 tpa	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 Oct. 2021	100-1000 tpa	Candidate list substances (as at 27 October 2023)
6 years from 28 Oct. 2021	1-100 tpa

For enterprises fail to complete EU REACH before 31 Dec. 2020, if these enterprises intend to trade with UK-based enterprises after Brexit, the UK-based importers should complete or the non UK manufacturers should entrust an OR to complete UK REACH Registration.

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Reference

How to comply with UK REACH Regulations