REACh and Brexit

Following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, a separate ‘UK REACH’ regime entered into force on 1^st January 2021. You may need to take action to ensure that you are compliant with both the EU and UK REACH regimes. Staphyt offers a comprehensive range of REACH services to help you manage the potential impacts that Brexit may have on your business and supply chains.

Strategy

Preparing your REACH Brexit Strategy

Our experts can advise on how your EU REACH and UK REACH obligations may have changed since 1^st January 2021.

Our service can be adapted to suit your requirements, which will depend on a range of factors, including whether you are based in mainland Europe, Great Britain or Northern Ireland. Typically, the service will involve a review of your substance inventory and position in the supply chain, to determine your legal obligations, and your options for achieving compliance with REACH Regulation (EC) No.1907/2006 and the UK REACH regulations. This service is available to different actors in the supply chain, including manufacturers, formulators, importers, and downstream users.

EU REACH Compliance and Brexit

EU REACH & Brexit: Only Representative Services

Staphyt can fulfil the role of ‘Only Representative’ for Great Britain-based manufacturers and formulators requiring to access the EU market. For clients impacted by Brexit, our Only Representative services include:

set up (and monitoring) of the required REACH-IT account;
assembling and maintaining records in accordance with the regulations; and
liaison with downstream users.

UK REACH COMPLIANCE

Support to UK-based EU REACH registration holders requiring continued access to the UK market

UK-based legal entities who held EU REACH registrations at any point between April 2017 and 31^st December 2020 will be able to ‘grandfather’ these into the UK REACH system. Our service will include setting up your ‘Comply with UK REACH’ online service account, and submitting the preliminary information required by the UK authority. In order to benefit from the ‘grandfathering’ provisions, this data must be submitted before 30^th April 2021. Once complete, this will ensure access to the UK market for a period of 2, 4 or 6 years from October 2021, depending on tonnage band and/or the hazard profile of the substance. Thereafter, it will be necessary to submit a full REACH dataset, according to the required tonnage band.

For legal entities based in Northern Ireland, under the terms of the Northern
Ireland Protocol, the process for moving goods to and from the European Union under
EU REACH will not change from 1 January 2021.

Support to GB-based downstream users of EU REACH registered substances

From 1^st January 2021 GB-based companies sourcing EU-REACH registered substances for use/sale in GB may have additional obligations under UK REACH. Under EU REACH, these companies are currently defined as downstream users. However, under UK REACH, GB-based companies sourcing substances from outside GB will be defined as importers. As such, they will be required to hold a UK REACH registration for imported substances which fall within the scope of the regulations.

As a first step towards registration, in order to retain access to the UK market such companies can submit ‘downstream user import notifications’ covering all relevant substances. Our service will include setting up your ‘Comply with UK REACH’ online service account, and submitting the information required by the UK authority for downstream user import notifications. This data must be submitted before 28^th October 2021 to ensure ongoing access to the UK market for a period of 2, 4 or 6 years from 28 October 2021, depending on tonnage band and/or the hazard profile of the substance. Thereafter, to continue importing, it will be necessary to submit a full REACH dataset, according to the required tonnage band.

Note that the EU-based exporter may choose to appoint a UK-based Only Representative to take responsibility for UK REACH compliance, potentially relieving the UK downstream user of UK REACH notification and/or registration obligations.

Support to EU-based companies requiring continued access to the UK market

EU REACH registrations currently held by legal entities based in the EU/EEA will no longer support access to the GB market from 1^st January 2021. Separate UK REACH registrations will be required. Registration can be done by the UK-based importer, or the EU-based manufacturer/formulator may appoint a UK-based Only Representative to take on UK REACH obligations.

Staphyt can fulfil the role of ‘Only Representative’ for EU-based manufacturers and formulators who require access to the GB market. Our UK REACH Only Representative services include: