Denehurst Chemical Safety Ltd - UK-REACH

UK REACH / GHS

The UK leaves the EU on 31st January 2020. As part of the negotiated withdrawal agreement, there will be an implementation period following the UK departure until 31st December 2020. During this period all EU regulations, including REACH and CLP will continue to apply in the UK, and UK products can still be supplied to other EU member countries under existing rules.

At this time of writing, there is still uncertainty about whether the UK will remain as part of the EU chemicals framework after the end of the implementation period, including REACH, CLP biocidal products, plant protection products, cosmetics etc.

Until there is a clear indication that the UK will not remain part of these EU processes, it is advised to do nothing other than make some simple preparations to be ready for a split in the regulatory regimes.

This guidance is deliberately brief and will be expanded if it is necessary to make the changes to accommodate separate UK and EU-27 systems.

The main points to consider are:

• The UK will retain the key provisions of EU regulations, including REACH, CLP, Biocides, PPP, etc, but as UK Statutory Instruments and not EU Regulations. Draft legislation has been prepared that is virtually identical to the EU Regulations in terms of technical content, but changing references to EU legislation and EU institutions such as ECHA to UK legislation and UK bodies such as the HSE. Therefore, expect continuity in terms of a REACH process, including SDS formatting and content, and also continuity in Classification and Labelling requirements

• The UK has not provided a lot of detail; this is deliberate to avoid unnecessary work and effort in case it is not required. 

• The UK will have its own REACH-IT portal for submissions; this is ready to be switched on.

•  Expect a period of time in the UK to meet Registration requirements for substances currently supplied from the EU; there will be a form of pre-registration that will need to be completed within the first few months, with full registration at some point after (likely at least 2 years).

• Existing UK registrants will be able to grandfather their existing registrations into the new scheme. 

• UK companies that buy from EU suppliers may become importers under the new regulations and need to comply with new UK-REACH registration requirements and CLP notification requirements, unless their EU suppliers appoint UK Only Representatives

•  EU-27 organisations importing from the UK will need to Register to allow continued supply, unless their UK suppliers appoint an Only Representative.

For further advice, contact Denehurst.

Page last updated 31 Jan 2020