Legal services for REACH

Complying with the REACH regulation does not only demand chemical and toxicological knowledge. In oder to fulfil all REACH requirements, comprehensive legal expertise is necessary. K&L consults companies in all legal questions concerning REACH by ccoperating with lawyers specializing in the REACH regulation.

Obligations of a company under REACH

In order to define the obligations of a company under REACH, the material and personal scope of the regulation has to be analysed case by case. Among others, the range of exceptions, deadlines or the responsibility of authorities are also important aspects for companies.

Common registration demands a contractual agreement

REACH requires the joint registration of identical substances. For this reason, manufacturers and importers have to participate in SIEFs (Substance Information Exchange Forum) or they can become a member of a consortium. The extent and the content of a cooperation have to be defined in a contract. For the purpose of sharing confidential information, an independent trustee – normally a lawyer – can guarantee the necessary confidentiality.

Cooperation versus European competition law

Companies which jointly register substances and exchange substance related information have to respect European competition law. Competition law has to be considered when it comes to drafting the consortium agreement, the decision on the acceptance of new members in a consortium or the provision of registration relevant information in a SIEF.

14 additional chemicals on the candidate list

Per January 13, 2010, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki has put 14 additional chemicals as ‚substances of very high concern’ (SVHC) onto the candidate list under REACH. Substances of the candidate list might be transferred into Annex XIV of the REACH regulation. This means that as of a date still to be defined their production and use might need an authorisation by ECHA.

In the first version of the candidate list, effective October 28, 2008, ECHA had defined 15 substances. The enlargement of the candidate list has immediate consequences for all companies subject to information obligations versus their customers according to art. 33 REACH. This article rules that every member of the supply chain has to pass information to his business client as soon as the article delivered by him contains one or more substances of the candidate list in a concentration higher than 0.1 mass%. Versus a consumer, this obligation has to be complied with by responding to an inquiry within a period of 45 days.

The information obligation of producers, importers, distributors or dealers has become effective by ECHA’s announcement of the new candidate list, January 13, 2010.