Under Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, known as the REACH Regulation, an Only Representative (also referred to as ‘OR’) is a natural or legal person established within the Community, appointed by a natural or legal person established outside the Community who manufactures a substance on its own, in a mixture or in an article, formulates a mixture or produces an article that is imported into the Community, in order to fulfil, in the capacity of an Only Representative, the obligations incumbent on importers.
An OR must therefore:
- A natural person or legal entity established physically in the European Economic Area (EEA)
- Equipped with sufficient knowledge in the practical handling of the substances and information related to them
- Be appointed by a manufacturer, formulator or producer of articles established outside the EEA to represent them;
- Responsible for complying with the legal requirements for importers under REACH
The OR represents the interests of non-European companies in Europe in dealings with the authorities, ensures compliance with REACH and assumes all legal responsibilities.
Why do I need to appoint an Only Representative?
In order to gain market access, substances must comply with the REACH requirements; however, only an entity based in the EEA can take responsibility for ensuring compliance.
Furthermore, appointing an Exclusive Representative enables your European customers to become downstream users. They therefore lose their status as importers and do not have to bear the cost of compliance. This gives you a significant commercial advantage.
There are two possible scenarios:
- Your EU client is already REACH compliant and they accept to take into consideration the tonnage that you sell to them, i.e. you are covered by your client's REACH registration.
- Your EU client is not compliant, or does not want to register for any supplier: you cannot do business with such client unless you designate an OR and take care of your own REACH compliance.
Follow our example:
Company A, based outside the EEA, sells 95 tonnes of a substance to Company B, which is based within the EEA. Company B holds a REACH registration for the 10–100-tonne band. When Company A begins to sell a further 10 tonnes of this substance, two options arise:
- Company B can update its REACH registration dossier to include the tonnage from company A. In this case, it must ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements for the 100-1000 ton range per year. This results in a cost for Company B and makes the commercial relationship with Company A less favourable than that with a company from the EEA.
- Company B can ask company A to use an OR so that they are not required to update their registration for the higher tonnage. The registration fee is therefore borne by Company A, and the business relationship with Company B is maintained.
Designating an Exclusive Representative is a beneficial solution for both parties:
- Company B avoids the additional costs of updating its REACH registration dossier.
- Company A secures its business relationship with company B and will be able to find new customers within the EU.
By designating an OR, you gain a competitive advantage through your regulatory compliance. EEE clients will be more likely to do business with you!"
There are two options for being represented:
- Set up a company in Europe that will act as your OR. This option requires legal and administrative preparation. The entity must be a genuine business and not merely a postal address. This means that the authorities should be able to speak to a representative directly.
- Appoint a regulatory consultant such as EcoMundo. This option allows you to place your trust in a neutral company with expertise in REACH regulatory compliance.
EcoMundo can become your Only Representative
EcoMundo guides you through every step of the REACH registration process. Discover our expertise:
- OR services
- Regulatory consulting
- Registration dossiers
- Market launch strategy
Want to learn more about REACH registration?
For more information, feel free to contact our experts.
Under Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, known as the REACH Regulation, an Only Representative (also referred to as ‘OR’) is a natural or legal person established within the Community, appointed by a natural or legal person established outside the Community who manufactures a substance on its own, in a mixture or in an article, formulates a mixture or produces an article that is imported into the Community, in order to fulfil, in the capacity of an Only Representative, the obligations incumbent on importers.
An OR must therefore:
- A natural person or legal entity established physically in the European Economic Area (EEA)
- Equipped with sufficient knowledge in the practical handling of the substances and information related to them
- Be appointed by a manufacturer, formulator or producer of articles established outside the EEA to represent them;
- Responsible for complying with the legal requirements for importers under REACH
The OR represents the interests of non-European companies in Europe in dealings with the authorities, ensures compliance with REACH and assumes all legal responsibilities.
Why do I need to appoint an Only Representative?
In order to gain market access, substances must comply with the REACH requirements; however, only an entity based in the EEA can take responsibility for ensuring compliance.
Furthermore, appointing an Exclusive Representative enables your European customers to become downstream users. They therefore lose their status as importers and do not have to bear the cost of compliance. This gives you a significant commercial advantage.
There are two possible scenarios:
- Your EU client is already REACH compliant and they accept to take into consideration the tonnage that you sell to them, i.e. you are covered by your client's REACH registration.
- Your EU client is not compliant, or does not want to register for any supplier: you cannot do business with such client unless you designate an OR and take care of your own REACH compliance.
Follow our example:
Company A, based outside the EEA, sells 95 tonnes of a substance to Company B, which is based within the EEA. Company B holds a REACH registration for the 10–100-tonne band. When Company A begins to sell a further 10 tonnes of this substance, two options arise:
- Company B can update its REACH registration dossier to include the tonnage from company A. In this case, it must ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements for the 100-1000 ton range per year. This results in a cost for Company B and makes the commercial relationship with Company A less favourable than that with a company from the EEA.
- Company B can ask company A to use an OR so that they are not required to update their registration for the higher tonnage. The registration fee is therefore borne by Company A, and the business relationship with Company B is maintained.
Designating an Exclusive Representative is a beneficial solution for both parties:
- Company B avoids the additional costs of updating its REACH registration dossier.
- Company A secures its business relationship with company B and will be able to find new customers within the EU.
By designating an OR, you gain a competitive advantage through your regulatory compliance. EEE clients will be more likely to do business with you!"
There are two options for being represented:
- Set up a company in Europe that will act as your OR. This option requires legal and administrative preparation. The entity must be a genuine business and not merely a postal address. This means that the authorities should be able to speak to a representative directly.
- Appoint a regulatory consultant such as EcoMundo. This option allows you to place your trust in a neutral company with expertise in REACH regulatory compliance.
EcoMundo can become your Only Representative
EcoMundo guides you through every step of the REACH registration process. Discover our expertise:
- OR services
- Regulatory consulting
- Registration dossiers
- Market launch strategy
Want to learn more about REACH registration?
For more information, feel free to contact our experts.
