BASF appeals ECHA decision on compliance check and tonnage downgrade for 1,6-dichlorohexane

On February 28th, 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that it has received an appeal from BASF SE, a chemical company based in Germany. The appeal concerns a decision taken by ECHA related to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. The case is registered as A-001-2023 and the subject matter of the appeal is the compliance check of BASF SE's registration dossier for 1,6-dichlorohexane (the Substance).

In November 2022, ECHA adopted a contested decision that requested BASF SE to submit several studies under Annex IX, among other information. BASF SE is now appealing this decision, requesting the Board of Appeal to annul the Contested Decision and amend it so that the highest annex to the REACH Regulation applicable to BASF SE is Annex VIII, not Annex IX. The company argues that ECHA breached its right to good administration and Article 41 by limiting its assessment to BASF SE's manufacture/import volume in the calendar year preceding the tonnage downgrade and by requesting the company to submit information under Annex IX.

BASF SE downgraded the tonnage band for the Substance from 100 to 1000 tonnes per year (Annex IX level) to 10 to 100 tonnes per year (Annex VIII level) in May 2022, after ECHA had notified a draft decision to the company following the compliance check of its registration dossier. According to the company, ECHA failed to examine each case individually, ignored the information provided by BASF SE, and breached the company's right to good administration. The company also argues that ECHA breached Article 41 by requesting the company to submit information under Annex IX when its ability to legally manufacture/import the Substance was already restricted to a maximum of 100 tonnes per year.

SOURCE: echa.europa.eu