Commission Regulation (EC) No 340/2008Show full title

Commission Regulation (EC) No 340/2008

of 16 April 2008

on the fees and charges payable to the European Chemicals Agency pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC(1), and in particular Article 74(1) and Article 132 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The structure and amounts of the fees and charges collected by the European Chemicals Agency, hereinafter the ‘Agency’, as well as the rules for payment should be established.

(2) The structure and amount of the fees should take account of the work required by Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 to be carried out by the Agency and the competent authorities and should be fixed at such a level as to ensure that the revenue derived from them when combined with other sources of the Agency's revenue pursuant to Article 96(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 is sufficient to cover the cost of the services delivered. The fees for registration should also take into account the work that may be done pursuant to Title VI of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

(3) A fee should be set for the registration of substances which should depend on the tonnage range of those substances. However, no fee should be levied for registrations covered by Article 74(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

(4) Specific fees should be levied in the case of registrations of isolated intermediates submitted under Article 17(2), Article 18(2) or (3) or Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

(5) Requests made in accordance with Article 10(a)(xi) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 should also give rise to the payment of a fee.

(6) A fee should be levied for updates to the registration. In particular, a fee should be paid for updates of the tonnage range, for changes in the identity of the registrant involving a change in legal personality, and for certain changes in the status of the information contained in the registration.

(7) A fee should be levied for the notification of information concerning product and process oriented research and development (PPORD) in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. A charge should be levied also for any request for an extension of a PPORD exemption.

(8) A fee should be levied for the submission of an application for an authorisation. The fee should consist of a base fee that should cover one substance, one use, and one applicant, and additional fees for any additional substance, use, or applicant covered by the application. A charge should also be levied for the submission of a review report.

(9) Reduced fees and charges should apply in the case of certain joint submissions. Reduced fees and charges should also apply to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises(2).

(10) In case of an only representative, the assessment of whether the reduction for SMEs applies should be done by reference to the headcount, turnover and balance sheet information of the non-Community manufacturer, formulator of a preparation, or producer of an article that is represented by that only representative in connection with that transaction, including relevant information from linked and partner companies of the non-Community manufacturer, formulator of a preparation, or producer of an article, in accordance with Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

(11) Reductions provided for in this Regulation should apply on the basis of a declaration of the entity that claims to be entitled to the reduction. The submission of false information should be discouraged by the imposition of an administrative charge by the Agency and a dissuasive fine by the Member States, if appropriate.

(12) A fee should be levied for any appeal lodged in accordance with Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. The amount of the fee should take into account the complexity of the work involved.

(13) Fees and charges should be levied in euro only.

(14) A proportion of the fees and charges collected by the Agency should be transferred to the competent authorities of the Member States to compensate them for the work of the rapporteurs of the committees of the Agency and, as appropriate, for other tasks provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. The maximum proportion of the fees and charges to be transferred to the competent authorities of the Member States should be determined by the Management Board of the Agency following a favourable opinion from the Commission.

(15) In fixing the amounts to be transferred to the competent authorities of the Member States and in fixing any necessary remuneration in respect of any other agreed work done for the Agency, the Management Board of the Agency should observe the principle of sound financial management as defined in Article 27 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(3). It should also ensure that the Agency continues to have available sufficient financial resources to undertake its tasks, having regard to existing and pluriannual estimated budgetary appropriations and it should take into account the workload involved for the competent authorities of the Member States.

(16) Deadlines for the payment of fees and charges levied under this Regulation should be fixed taking due account of the deadlines of the procedures provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. In particular, the first deadline for payment of the fee in connection with the submission of a registration dossier or the submission of an update should be fixed taking into account the deadlines during which the Agency must perform the completeness check. Likewise, the first deadline for payment of fees in connection with notifications for an exemption from the obligation to register for product and process orientated research and development should be fixed taking into account the deadline provided for in Article 9(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. However, a second reasonable deadline should be set by the Agency for payments that are not made before expiry of the first deadline.

(17) Fees and charges provided for under this Regulation should be adapted to take account of inflation and for that purpose the European Index of Consumer Prices published by Eurostat pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 of 23 October 1995 concerning harmonised indices of consumer prices(4) should be used.

(18) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established under Article 133 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1, as corrected by OJ L 136, 29.5.2007, p. 3. Regulation as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1354/2007 (OJ L 304, 22.11.2007, p. 1).

(2)

OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36.

(3)

OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1525/2007 (OJ L 343, 27.12.2007, p. 9).

(4)

OJ L 257, 27.10.1995, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).