UK REACH deadline may be extended as Government explores possible amendments

In a letter of 9 February 2021, Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the UK’s Chemical Industries Association called upon the UK government to repeal the UK REACH requirement for duplicate registration datasets. Under the current situation, companies seeking to register substances under UK REACH must replicate the data used to register under EU REACH or purchase it again. This, according to the industry representatives, may result in a 1 billion pounds extra cost for chemical manufacturers and importers.

To mitigate such extra costs in response to the industry’s concerns, George Eustice, the UK’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced on December 6th that the government is considering an amendment of UK REACH. The solutions under consideration mostly coincide with those put forward by industry representatives: which only requires registrants to submit already publicly available data for most substances, and full datasets for the most hazardous ones.

To secure additional time for the industry while exploring the feasibility of this new model, the UK government announced that it will hold a consultation on whether to extend the deadlines for providing full registration data on substances that have been notified via the Downstream User Import Notification (DUIN).  

Under the current regulatory framework, substances that have been DUIN-notified need to be fully registered by 27 October 2023, 2025, or 2027 depending on their tonnage band and risk profile (see table below).

However, subject to the outcome of the consultation, the government might extend the 27 October 2023 deadline to 27 October 2025. Similar plans are also being considered for the 2025 and 2027 deadline.

Last update: 2021-12-15