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On June 28, 2023, Rebecca Pow, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), signed the REACH (Amendment) Regulations 2023, extending the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registration deadlines. The Explanatory Memorandum states that the amendment extends the current legislative deadlines for registrants to submit information to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under UK REACH. It also extends the period in which downstream users and distributors who were importing before the end of the EU Exit Implementation Period (pre-IP completion) can continue to import chemicals from the European Union (EU) without submitting a full registration. The Explanatory Memorandum notes that extending these timelines “will provide sufficient time for the government to develop and introduce a new transitional registration model.” This amendment also extends the dates by which HSE is required to carry out compliance checks so that these dates now align with the extended submission deadlines. The amendment will take effect July 19, 2023.
According to the Explanatory Memorandum, in response to concerns by industry about the costs of obtaining the information needed to comply with these transitional provisions, Defra, working with HSE and the Environment Agency, is exploring an alternative model for transitional registrations that aims to reduce the need for replicating EU REACH hazard information by placing a greater emphasis on improving understanding of the uses and exposures of chemicals in the context of Great Britain (GB). The Explanatory Memorandum notes that the government needs sufficient time to develop and then legislate for this model, however, and that it will take until late 2024 to develop, legislate, and implement an alternative traditional registration model, including changes to the information technology (IT) system.
The legislation amends the current UK REACH information submission deadlines by three years to:
- October 27, 2026, for substances included on the candidate list on or before December 31, 2023; substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR) and manufactured or imported in quantities of one metric ton a year or more; substances that are very toxic to aquatic life and manufactured or imported in quantities of 100 metric tons or more a year; and all substances manufactured or imported in quantities of 1,000 metric tons or more a year;
- October 27, 2028, for substances added to the UK REACH candidate list before the above submission deadline; and all substances manufactured or imported in quantities of 100 metric tons or more a year; and
- October 27, 2030, for all substances manufactured or imported in quantities of one metric ton or more a year.
The legislation also amends the dates by which HSE must carry out 20 percent of compliance checks to October 27, 2027, October 27, 2030, and October 27, 2035.