Pre-registration

As it is estimated that there are around 30,000 substances on the European market in quantities above 1 tonne and that registering all of these substances at once would be a huge task for all involved, a system of pre-registration was introduced to allow for staggered registration deadlines. Registration has been phased since 2010, with the final deadline of 31st May 2018 for all substances between 1 and 100 tonnes. To avail of the staggered registration deadlines, companies needed to pre-register during a specific period in 2008. Pre-registration is therefore now closed; the only facility open to companies is late pre-registration, details of which are provided below.

Late pre-registration

For a substance to be eligible for late pre-registration the substance must firstly be what is known as a 'phase-in' substance, meaning that it must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• The substance is listed on EINECS, i.e. those on the EU market before 1981
• The substance was manufactured in the Community, or in countries acceding to the EU on the 1st January 1995 or on 1st May 2004, but not placed on the market by the manufacturer, at least once in the 15 years before entry into force of this Regulation, provided the manufacturer has documentary evidence of this
• The substance is a so called 'no longer polymer'

Secondly, it must be the first time that the substance has been imported or manufactured in quantities of one tonne per year or more by the company in question.

Finally, the late pre-registration must be submitted within 6 months of the first import/manufacture and no later than 12 months prior to the appropriate registration deadline. Therefore, late pre-registration only now applies to those at tonnages between 1 and 100 tonnes, and must be submitted by 31st May 2017 ahead of the 2018 registration deadline.

Further information on how to submit a late pre-registration can be found on ECHA's website here.