ECHA Cancels REACH Registrations Because Companies Misrepresented Themselves

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, Finland has revoked "a number of" REACH registrations because the registrants misrepresented their size. Size is important because the registration fee is dependent on the size of the entity submitting the registration. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are allowed a significant discount to avoid disproportionate costs of registration compared to market value. According to ECHA, this "ensures equal and fair treatment of registrants." Companies declare their size when registering the fee is assigned automatically when the registrant makes their electronic dossier submission. Once submitted registration dossiers pass a completeness check, which includes payment of the fee, the registrant is given a registration. This generally occurs within three weeks of submission.

In their more comprehensive review since the November 2010 submission deadline, ECHA has determined that some companies inappropriately claimed they were SMEs when they did not, in fact, qualify for that designation or the reduced fee. Those companies that cannot document their SME status or pay the full size entity fee are considered to have failed the completeness check. In those cases ECHA has chosen to revoke the registration, which means the companies can no longer legally manufacture or import the chemical substance in question.

More details on the revocation can be found on the ECHA website.