Deadlines for registration requirements under UK REACH to be extended by three years

The Government has recently published draft legislation that will provide businesses with an additional three years to comply with the transitional provisions relating to the registration of substances under UK REACH.

Registrations made under EU REACH whilst the UK was still in the EU were automatically transferred into UK REACH. Although there was a requirement for registrants to provide the Health & Safety Executive (the HSE) with further information relating to those substances by specific deadlines (depending on the status of the substance under UK REACH and the quantities in which the substance is manufactured or imported). The draft Reach (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (the Draft Regulations), laid in Parliament on 20 April 2023, will extend the current deadlines for the submission of that further information by three years as set out below.

• First submission deadline extended from 27 October 2023 to 27 October 2026. 
• Second submission deadline extended from 27 October 2025 to 27 October 2028.
• Third submission deadline extended from 27 October 2027 to 27 October 2030.

The Draft Regulations also extend the period in which downstream users and distributors under UK REACH can import chemicals from the EU without submitting a full registration to the HSE. This is to ensure that period remains consistent with the extended deadlines outlined above. 

In addition to these extensions, the Government will be developing and introducing a new registration model that will facilitate registrations that have been transferred from EU REACH to UK REACH.

When the Draft Regulations come into force this will be the second time that the deadline for submissions will have been extended by legislation, and recognises the significant administrative burden placed on both businesses and the HSE due to the transitional registration requirements under UK REACH.