ECHA's Board Of Appeal Decides On Substance ID Case

On 2 April 2014 ECHA's Board of Appeal (BoA) issued a decision on one of its most complicated cases to date. In particular, the appeal concerned a registration dossier submitted by the Polish firm Przedsiębiorstwo Produkcyjno - Handlowe UTEX for a product of the semi-dry absorption (SDA) method of flue gas desulphurisation.

First, the decision highlights important points relating to the general rules of registration and compliance check. The BoA makes it clear that it is the responsibility of the registrant to decide which substance it is required to register (registration strategy) and to act accordingly (e.g. by submitting compliant registrations). ECHA is responsible under the compliance check procedure for verifying whether the information provided by the registrant meets the requirements of the REACH Regulation. The Member State enforcement authorities are responsible for taking action if they consider that a manufacturer or importer has failed to register a