Get Brexit Ready, The HSA’s advice to Irish companies sourcing chemicals in the UK

Although the terms of the UK’s Brexit deal may not yet have been finalised, the anticipated implications for Ireland and Irish companies are significant.

Do you or your company rely on UK based import or export of chemical substances as part of your supply chain?

As the UK will be outside of the EU following Brexit, Now’s the time to acquaint yourself with the potential implications for your business.

The HSA has issued the following advice in regards to sourcing/importing substances from the UK.

Importing substances from outside the EU means that the Irish company will be responsible for all of the duties of an EU importer under REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and CLP (classification, labelling and packaging). Duties including;

The registration of any substance they import at greater than one tonne per annum (on its own, in a mixture or in an article with intended release) and the classification and labelling of the products placed on the market, the provision of the SDS (Safety Data Sheets), etc.

As an Irish company, you have a number of Post- Brexit options available that would reduce the regulatory burden post-Brexit, and avoid registration duties under REACH in particular.

Option 1 – Change supplier

Change supplier to another based in the EU-27/EEA. This will mean that you do not any importer Responsibilities.

Option 2 – Exemption

Under article 2(7)(c) of REACH for re-imported substances, If you can prove that a REACH-registered substance was exported from the EU to be blended by your UK supplier and then re-imported, this substance would be exempt from registration on re-import.

In this scenario, you would still be the EU importer, but would be exempt from REACH registration duties. Along with needing to be able to prove that the conditions of the exemption are met, you would be required to ensure that other EU importer duties such as responsibility for the classification, labelling, the SDS, etc. are met.

Other scenarios with suggested options by the HSA include;

UK supplier is a REACH registrant as an importer
UK supplier is a REACH registrant as a manufacturer
UK supplier is a formulator but not a REACH registrant

Further information can be found here

CMSE Consultancy have extensive experience in the area of Chemical Safety with numerous Chemical Engineers and Safety professionals. Find out more about CMSE Consultancy’s Chemical Agents Risk Assessment, PPE and DGSA & ADR Services.

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