Non-EU Chemical Suppliers

REACH is a piece of EU law, and sanctions can only be imposed on an EU legal entity such as a manufacturer or importer. REACH also extends to the non-EU countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and so is applicable in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. If you are in the EU or EEA you must comply with REACH or face penalties.

Businesses located outside the EU/EEA cannot face sanctions by EU/EEA authorities. The obligation to comply with REACH falls on the importer in the EU/EEA. But firms outside the EU/EEA can help their importers in several ways.

The Only Representative

The non-EU/EEA firm (who must be a substance manufacturer, a formulator of mixtures or a producer of articles) can appoint a company in the EU/EEA to act as “Only Representative”, or OR for short. The OR can then register the substance(s) deriving from the non-EU/EEA firm and relieve the EU/EEA importers of their REACH obligations including registration.

The substance registration itself is then in the name of the OR, not the non-EU/EEA principal. It is necessary for the non-EU/EEA firm to share data, tonnage and usage information with the OR and it must be prepared to pay all the costs of registration. A carefully drafted contract is needed to protect the interests of both the OR and the non-EU/EEA principal. It is necessary to tell the importers who is appointed as OR and for the OR to recognise the importers to be covered in the registration. You can find out more about the role of an OR in our dedicated webpage.

The responsibilities of an OR are considerable and when making an appointment the non-EU/EEA company should realise that the relationship will be long-term. The OR should be selected with care and an investigation carried out to assess their competence for the task.

If you are looking for a reputable organisation to act as your OR, contact us about our Matchmaker programme.

Providing a high standard of information

Where no OR is appointed, it is necessary for the EU/EEA importer to comply with the obligations of REACH. Doing so may be difficult especially in the case of imported mixtures. The importer can only comply if they are aware of the substances in the mixtures so their disclosure is normally necessary. If this is problematic in terms of confidentiality, it may be possible to involve a third party to act as a Trustee, or it may be necessary to reach a formal, legal, agreement on the use of the information. Importers will also need technical information if they are to make registrations, some of the necessary information may be held by the overseas company. These considerations all make for closer relationships between overseas companies and their EU/EEA customers.

You can call our Helpdesk number on +44 (0) 20 7901 1444. Or e-mail us on enquiries@reachready.co.uk.