Fact-sheet: Exporting and importing dangerous chemicals and pesticides

Ban

Export of chemicals listed in Annex V to Regulation 642/2012 of the Council and European Parliament concerning the export and import of dangerous chemicals are banned. 
Annex V (ECHA website)

Export notification

The requirement to notify export of chemicals applies to chemicals listed in part 1 of Annex I to Regulation 689/2008. Notification must be made for each country of import and for each chemical in the Annex, and must be renewed each year before the chemicals may be exported. Notification is also required for export of mixtures containing Annex I, Part 1, substances in concentrations that could trigger labelling obligations and chemicals in non-reacted form. Notification is not required for chemicals to be exported for research or analysis provided that the quantities are not likely to affect human health or the environment and in any case not more than10 kg of the substance by itself or contained in mixtures (preparations).
See Annex I, part 1 (ECHA website).

Notification of export is done electronically via ECHA's ePIC system. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency recommends that notifications are made well in advance of the first export of the year. On October 1, notifications for the following year's export are opened.

There are special rules for the export of ozone-depleting substances.

Consent

For some chemicals, the importing country must consent before export can take place. This applies to the so-called PIC substances under the Rotterdam Convention and the substances that the EU believes should be included as PIC substances. They are listed in Annex I to Regulation 649/2012, parts 3 and 2 respectively.

For the PIC substances, you can see on the Rotterdam Convention's website whether a country has already given consent to import. See Rotterdam Convention - Import Responses.

If there is no information here about permission to import, you can check if the country has given a direct response to a request from an EU country by searching for Explicit consents in ECHA's database. Here you can search for consent from import and export countries, as well as specific chemicals that require consent. Annex I, part 2 substances are also covered by this database.

If there is no consent, it is the Environmental Agency that obtains consent when an exporter has notified the export.

In consultation with the Commission, the Environmental Agency may decide that the export of a substance in part 2 to an OECD country does not require consent. If a country does not respond to a request for consent, the Environmental Agency, in consultation with the Commission, may under certain conditions decide to allow export. Even if consent is given, export may not take place until 35 days after the company's export notification to the Environmental Agency. (15 days in the following years).

Permission is required for the export of ozone-depleting substances

There are special rules for the export of ozone-depleting substances, which are regulated in Council and European Parliament Regulation No. 1005/2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

Applications for export permits for ozone-depleting substances can be made electronically to the EU Commission. The export permit is granted after the allocation of a so-called EAN number.

Packaging and Labeling

Regulation 649/2012 also contains requirements for packaging and labelling of exported chemicals, as well as for safety data sheets. Pleas e refer to the Commission guidelines (PDF - eur-lex.eu) .

Import

There is no requirement for prior notification in Regulation 649/2012, while the import of ozone-depleting substances requires permission

Developing countries should be able to make decisions about dangerous chemicals

The purpose of the rules is to give - especially developing countries - the opportunity to decide on the import of chemicals that are so dangerous to health or the environment that they are either banned or strictly regulated in the exporting country.

Exporters and importers are responsible

Exporters and importers of dangerous chemicals and pesticides are responsible for respectively notifying and informing. The Environmental Agency is the responsible authority and the contact point for businesses. The Environmental Agency cooperates with the EU Commission on the practical implementation.

Control

Control is carried out by the Danish Tax Agency (SKAT). Therefore, in box 44 of the administrative unit document or a similar box, an electronic export notification should indicate the export reference id number that the company gets at notification when notifying EDEXIM. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency's Chemical Inspection ensures that the rules are complied with. If a company violates the rules, they can risk a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.