Managing compliance with substance restrictions from June 2009
The new REACH definition of 'placing on the market' in Article 67 clarifies that from June 2009 enforcement action can be taken against any EU organization which manufactures or supplies any article which does not comply with the substance restrictions listed in REACH Annex XVII. This enforcement action can be taken at any point in the supply chain. In particular, enforcement action can be taken against:
- an EU supplier which supplies components and sub-assemblies to a manufacturer that do not comply with the substance restrictions
- an EU manufacturer which produces an article from these components and sub-assemblies, which in turn does on comply with the substance restrictions
To guard against this possible enforcement action, EU manufacturers should insist that their EU suppliers provide declarations that the suppliers are meeting their legal obligations to comply with the substance restrictions. This legal obligation also applies to suppliers who import sub-assemblies and modules manufactured outside the EU.
For further information, please contact Dr Aidan Turnbull
Head of WEEE, RoHS & EcoDesign on +44 (0)1225 748420
