Reach fees and charges "out of proportion" - Cefic

24 October 2007 15:27  [Source: ICIS news]

By Lucy Craymer

 

LONDON (ICIS news)--The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) is concerned about the cost and transparency of the proposed fee and structure changes related to Reach, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

 

"We have three major issues with the proposal," said Cefic spokesman Franco Bisegna, citing the apparent lack of transparency over what was being charged, the possibility that companies would be overcharged and that fees were not proportionate with the workload, he explained.

 

It costs €60,000 ($85,714) for authorisation and then that same fee has to be paid again two years later to have it just re-registered, he said.

 

"It is totally out of proportion,” added Bisegna.

 

But the European Commission (EC) defended plans to increase fees and charges, saying the money raised was needed to cover the European Chemical Agency's workload.

 

“The final decision on Reach substantially increased the responsibilities, and hence workload, of the agency with respect to the EC’s proposal,”  an EC spokeswoman said.

 

“The July 2006 estimates were just that – estimates. Reach is not adopted until December 2007 and the figures could not be finalised until then,” she said.

 

Another reason for the increase was that the European Council and Parliament added a requirement to the legislation that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should have reduced fees, the spokeswoman said.

 

The fee structure was criticised for its complexity earlier this week by the UK's Chemical Business Association, but the EC said the structure was as a result of legislation.

 

“The regulation fees, which are the fees with a more complex structure, merely reflect the requirement of the Reach regulation that such fees must differentiate according to tonnage range, according to whether the submission is done jointly or separately and whether the applicant is or not an SME,” said the spokeswoman.

 

The proposal was due to be discussed with member states at the Reach committee on 31 October and a committee vote is provisionally planned for 10 December.

 

($1 = €0.70)

 

By: Lucy Craymer
+44 20 8652 3214

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