Fees and charges - General

What fees and charges are payable under REACH?

REACH requires that fees are paid in the following cases (see Article 74 of the REACH Regulation ):

• Submission of a registration.
• Request (in a registration submission) that certain information is kept confidential, as foreseen in Article 10(a)(xi) of the REACH Regulation.
• Update of a registration submission that refers to a change in the tonnage range.
  This fee does not apply in the case of submissions regarding intermediate substances that benefit from the simplified information requirements foreseen in Article 17(2), 18(2), or 18(3) of the REACH Regulation as no update of tonnage range is required for such submissions.
• Update of a registration submission that relates to a change in the identity of the legal personality of the registrant.
• Update of a registration submission that relates to a change in the access granted contained in the registration submission. A fee is payable when a registrant makes a request to the European Chemicals Agency ("the Agency)" that information contained in the submission be treated as confidential. A request to lift the confidential status of information contained in the registration submission is free of charge.
• Notification to the Agency of product and process orientated research and development activities, with a view to obtain an exemption from the obligation to register, as foreseen in Article 9 of the REACH Regulation.
• Application for an authorisation under Article 62 of the REACH Regulation.
• Appeals to the Board of Appeals of the Agency against decisions of the Agency listed in Article 91(1) of the REACH Regulation.

REACH requires that charges are paid in the following cases:

• Request to the Agency for an extension of an exemption from the obligation to register in cases of product and process orientated research and development activities.
• Submission of a review report in connection with an authorisation, as foreseen under Article 61 of the REACH Regulation.
• Other charges may be levied for administrative and technical services provided by the Agency at the request of a party that are not covered by another fee or charge.

Why are there fees and charges?

The REACH Regulation requires that payments are made in connection with certain activities of the Agency. These payments are intended to cover part of the work that such activities would generate at the Agency.

Specifically, the REACH Regulation requires that "fees" are paid in connection with certain submissions to the Agency. It also foresees that the Agency may collect other payments in connection with services it provides; these payments are referred to as "charges" (see Article 74(5) of the REACH Regulation). The activities for which a charge is payable were not laid down in the REACH Regulation and have been set out in the Commission Regulation on Fees and Charges.

The rules for payment laid down in Chapter IV of the Fees and Charges Regulation apply equally to fees and charges.

How has the level of the fees and charges been calculated?

The criteria for setting the level of fees and charges are laid down in the REACH Regulation.

The basic principle is that the level of fees and charges must take into account the workload involved. In addition, the level of fees and charges should ensure that the income from fees and charges (together with the EC subsidy and a possible voluntary contribution from the Member States) is sufficient to cover the costs of the Agency.

Other principles that have been taken into account are that reductions should apply for SMEs, that fees in connection with registration submissions must take into account whether the information is sent jointly or individually, and that no fee should be levied for registration submissions of substances between 1 and 10 tonnes in cases where all the information required under Annex VII is provided.

Is the level of fees and charges too high?

The level of fees and charges has been set to ensure that a part of the costs of the Agency is covered. It is important to note that another part of the costs will be covered through a Community subsidy. Thus, the level of fees and charges is below what would be required to fully cover the costs of the Agency.

In addition, a review clause is contained in the Fees and Charges Regulation to adjust the level of fees and charges in line with information available after REACH becomes operational. This will allow adjustments if there is evidence that the current level of fees and charges is not adequate.

Where can I find the text of the Regulation?

The Commission Regulation on Fees and charges payable to ECHA has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.