UK Proposes to Criminalise Infringements of REACH
06/16/2008On 2 June 2008, the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, together with several other UK agencies, launched a consultation concerning enforcement of REACH (Regulation No. 1907/2006 EC) in the United Kingdom. Every EU Member State is required to develop plans by 1 December 2008 for how REACH will be enforced.
The rules proposed by the UK enforcement agencies for an infringement of REACH envision both criminal and administrative penalties. The breach of various REACH provisions listed in the Draft Enforcement Regulation are considered offences. For example, it is a criminal offence if a manufacturer provides false information in the registration dossier or places a substance or article on the market without a valid registration. It is also an offence for the downstream users to provide incorrect information for the purposes of registration of a substance. In certain cases where there is a duty on a downstream user to supply sufficient information, failure to do so may constitute a breach of the Enforcement Regulation.
Under the proposed rules, different levels of penalties are foreseen depending on the offence and range from three months' imprisonment and/or £5,000 to two years' imprisonment and/or unlimited criminal fines. There is no distinction in the level of criminal penalties for breach of the provisions and it will be up to the courts to decide the level to apply in any particular case.
The UK consultation paper and draft enforcement rules are accompanied by a draft “Memorandum of Understanding” among UK agencies that will be involved with enforcement. The consultation period is now open for comments from the public and finishes on 25 August 2008, after which the United Kingdom expects to formalise the enforcement rules in a statutory instrument. Enforcement of REACH is expected to begin in December 2008.
Information on the consultation on the Draft Enforcement Regulation in the United Kingdom can be found here.
