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REACH

Data Sharing

A. Data sharing, general

How can communication within a joint submission be facilitated?

At an early stage, the co-registrants can already agree that one company takes over the organisation of the information exchange and the preparation of the joint submission. This is not, however, compulsory, as REACH does not set any conditions in this respect.

Where the information for exchange is considered commercially sensitive by one or more potential registrants (e.g. because of an impurity content that can indicate a production process), they can, for example, propose a confidentiality agreement or the use of an independent third party or trustee who can handle the confidential information on behalf of the potential registrants. Any other form of organisation is equally possible, as long as it is agreed by all existing and/or potential new co-registrants.

Detailed information on how to organise and improve communication between co-registrants can be found in the Guidance on data sharing.

Can I continue using SIEFs after the registration deadline of 2018 and what is the difference between a substance information exchange forum (SIEF) and a consortium?

There are several possible ways in which companies can organise their cooperation under REACH. These forms of cooperation can vary from loose ways of cooperating (e.g. IT tools to communicate between all members of a joint submission) to more structured and binding models (e.g. consortia created by means of contracts).  

Participation in a SIEF (substance information exchange forum) was mandatory for phase-in substances until the last REACH registration deadline of 31 May 2018. After the end of the phase-in period, however, the Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/1692 of 9 October 2019 encourages co-registrants to use similar informal communication platforms to enable them to meet their continuing registration and data sharing obligations under REACH and Commission Implementing Regulation 2016/9. 

Membership of a consortium is, on the other hand,  entirely voluntary. If some or all participants of one or more informal communication platforms decide to form a consortium, they are free to decide the arrangements regarding scope, purpose, duration, conditions for membership or leaving etc., as long as these do not contravene EU competition rules. 

Additional information on forms of cooperation can be found in the Guidance on data sharing.

What is a letter of access (LoA) under REACH?

When a registrant does not own a study report that they require for their registration, they need to agree with its owner on the conditions of using the study report for REACH registration purposes. The owner of the data and the registrant are free to define the rights that will be granted.

If the robust study summary of a study has already been submitted to ECHA, a registrant can, for instance, refer to that study in their dossier, provided that they have permission to do so. In that context, the registrant and the data owner must agree on the conditions of the right to refer. The LoA is a term often used to describe the agreement on the sharing of data and granting a right to refer. The intellectual property rights of the data owner must in any case be respected by the potential registrant.

I am having difficulty cooperating with a previous registrant. What can I do?

It is the common responsibility of the potential and the existing registrant(s) to negotiate and agree on the content of the joint registration dossier, submitted by a lead registrant. In the case of information submitted less than 12 years prior to the inquiry, Article 27 of the REACH Regulation requires that both potential and previous registrants make every effort to reach an agreement on the sharing of the data and its costs in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory way. You can find here practical advice on data sharing negotiations. 

In case you fail to reach such an agreement, you may, as a last resort measure, contact ECHA in accordance with Article 27(5) of the REACH Regulation. Please find more details under point 5 here.

How are the costs of data shared and can I receive support from ECHA if costs do not seem justified?
The costs of shared data for each substance may vary significantly, depending on the costs of the studies involved, the number of registrants sharing the data and other factors.
 
An agreement on cost sharing usually requires parties to agree on:
Reliability, relevance and adequacy of the data ("data quality");
Economic value of the data ("data valuation"); and
How the agreed value is shared among parties ("cost allocation and compensation").
 
Registrants need to make every effort to reach an agreement on data sharing and its costs in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. Registrants need to share the costs of information that they are required to submit to satisfy their registration requirements. Companies cannot be forced to pay for studies that they do not need. 
 
ECHA has published generic advice on what to take into account during the data-sharing negotiations. Additionally, practical advice for data sharing negotiations is available.
 
ECHA will not participate in the discussions between (potential) registrants and has no remit in regulating or assessing the costs of sharing data. ECHA cannot assist a potential registrant in its negotiations with previous registrants or data owners. As a last resort, ECHA can assist in resolving data sharing disputes between existing and potential registrants. For further detail on data-sharing disputes, please refer to the corresponding page on ECHA’s website.
 
The Guidance on data sharing provides more details. 
To proceed with my registration, I need data previously submitted by a legal entity subject to EU restrictive measures (sanctions), or anyhow associated with a legal entity included in such a list. What should I do?

Potential registrants may become aware that the previous registrant who submitted the data they need for registration purposes has been included in a list of entities subject to restrictive measures or is otherwise subject to such measures. The sanctions in place may include a prohibition to make economic resources available to the sanctioned party, which may ultimately prevent the conclusion of a data sharing agreement. If the potential registrant believes to have made every effort to achieve an agreement, they may, as a last resort, submit a data sharing dispute with ECHA. To read more about data sharing disputes, check our Guidance on data sharing.

For more information on the impact of the sanctions, please see the FAQs published by the European Commission at this link.

B. Data sharing, registration

How do I get access to (robust) study summaries submitted more than 12 years ago?
When submitting an inquiry, you indicate the data requirements needed for the tonnage band you intend to register. You will then receive access to the co-registrant’s page in REACH-IT, which gives you information on the previous registrants and potential registrants (inquirers). Additionally, ECHA specifies whether (some of) the (robust) study summaries have been submitted more than 12 years ago. 
 
The (robust) study summaries which were submitted in the framework of a registration of the same substance at least 12 years previously are indicated in the co-registrant’s page.  
 
The quality of the (robust) study summaries submitted 12 years previously needs to be assessed by the potential registrant. You should contact the data submitters to get access to (robust) study summaries and to discuss the quality of their reliability. The previous registrants must not claim compensation from the potential registrant for using those robust study summaries for the registration purposes.
 
If you are interested e.g. in developing a read-across and grouping adaptation in your registration dossier on a substance, you may use robust study summaries submitted more than 12 years ago in a dossier on another substance. In that case, you can contact ECHA to request information on such data in accordance with Article 25(3) of REACH. You are required to:
 
  • Show your real intentions to register or update your registration dossier, by providing ECHA with the registration numbers or inquiry numbers and the EC number of the substances you manufacture or import;
  • Provide a description of why you need the data and how you intend to use it (e.g. for read-across);
  • Submit a declaration that "The robust study summaries provided shall be only used for registration purposes under the REACH Regulation";
  • Provide the EC numbers of the substances for which you need the robust study summaries submitted more than 12 years previously
  • List the endpoints that you would require information for.

According to REACH, any robust study summaries submitted more than 12 years previously can only be used for the purposes of registration. Furthermore, the provision by ECHA of copies of robust study summaries does not provide ownership rights on this data.

Do I have any data-sharing obligations after I have submitted my registration?
You can have further duties to share data even after you have submitted your registration. This can happen in the following cases:
 
  • When potential registrants are informed of the previous and other potential registrants (and vice versa) by ECHA following an inquiry pursuant to Article 26 REACH;
  • After the successful submission of the registration dossier, whenever new information becomes available. In such cases, according to Article 22 REACH, registrants have to update the joint registration dossier. This may require prior data sharing and may have an impact on decisions on the classification and labelling. It can also lead to the need to change the chemical safety report;
  • As a consequence of dossier evaluation by ECHA (compliance check or the assessment of a testing proposal) or substance evaluation. These processes may lead to a request to submit further information, which would need to be addressed among all registrants of the same substance. For substance evaluation cases, these are not necessarily limited to the tonnage band related information requirements. Registrants should agree on the generation of requested information and on the sharing of the data and costs. In certain cases, also registrants who ceased manufacture may be requested to provide additional information. Therefore, data sharing does not only apply to "existing" studies but also to studies which will be needed to ensure that the registration is compliant with REACH.
How to obtain data submitted less than 12 years previously from a previous registrant?

The substance has been registered but the relevant studies were submitted less than 12 years before the inquiry. ECHA informs the potential registrant of the names and addresses of the previous registrants. 

If he needs information involving tests on vertebrate animals, the potential registrant must contact the previous registrants (and/or the other inquirers) identified by ECHA. If he needs information not involving tests on vertebrate animals, the potential registrant may contact these previous registrants (and/or the other inquirers).

A request for sharing information must be made for any studies involving vertebrate animals. However, a potential registrant has to request data from the previous registrants if that data does not involve testing on vertebrate animals. The previous registrant and the potential registrant have to make every effort to reach an agreement on the sharing of the data requested and its costs. They must also apply the obligations set out in the Implementing Regulation 2016/9 on joint submission and data sharing. The obligations to make every effort and those set out in the Implementing Regulation apply to any information requested, whether it concerns vertebrate or non-vertebrate animal studies.

See Q&A 102 for access to data submitted more than 12 years previously.

What can I do to extend the waiting period of the new registrant to benefit from the provisions of Article 27(8)?

The situation:

After an inquiry submitted under REACH Articles 26 (inquiry for a substance before its registration) or 12(2) (inquiry for a tonnage band increase), the previous registrant (be it the lead or a member) may, pursuant to Article 27(8), ask ECHA to extend the registration waiting period by an additional four months. Accordingly, the inquirer upon receipt of confirmation of the successful registration, will have to wait for an extra period of four months before being entitled to manufacture or import the substance (in a higher tonnage band, if relevant) on the European market.

The process:

The previous registrant can make the request to ECHA Helpdesk by using the web form and should include the following information:

  1. Statement "Request for Extension of the registration waiting period under REACH Article 27(8)"
  2. The inquiry submission number (such as AB123456-78)* 
  3. The EC/List/CAS number of the inquired substance*

*both are included in ECHA’s REACH-IT messages received by the previous registrant following an inquiry. 

As a result, ECHA will inform the potential registrant, through REACH-IT, that the previous registrant requested to extend the registration waiting period by an additional four months.

If the previous registrant intends to request an extension of the registration waiting period, they should contact ECHA as soon as they become aware of any new successful inquirers, given that registrations can be issued, in some instances, within a relatively short period of time.

If I have pre-registered but cease to manufacture or import before the deadline, do I still have obligations?

The objectives of data-sharing are to avoid the duplication of work and in particular to reduce testing involving animals. These objectives are still fully relevant after the end of the phase-in scheme. Therefore, it is in line with the objectives of data sharing under REACH, as well as in the interest of potential registrants and in your own interest (as you will get compensated) to share data with potential registrants.

Can I use existing study reports for my registration without having the owner’s consent?

The use of published data to satisfy your information requirements requires you to have the right to refer to the full study report. Therefore, if you want to refer to a published full study report in your registration dossier, you have to check with the copyright owner to what extent you are allowed to use it in your own dossier.

In this case, you should negotiate a license or other form of agreement (e.g. letter of access) that will allow you to refer to the published data. For efficiency reasons, such an agreement should ensure that all the members of the joint submission have the right to refer to the data.

Copyright covers only the form of expression but not the facts and data included in the work. Therefore, facts and data can be included in the dossier without the consent of the copyright owner provided that the text of the study is not copied as such into your registration dossier. In other words, you can use the data to produce your own study summary but you have to make appropriate references and quotations to the original study to acknowledge the source of information. In addition, also in cases where you produce the study summary yourself, you must have the right to refer to the full study report for your registration. For more information, see the Guidance on data sharing, section 3.3.3.8.

Do potential registrants of a substance in a low tonnage band need to apply the classification and labelling attributed to the same substance at a higher tonnage band, if they have no access to the relevant study? Do they have to contribute to the cost of this study?

All potential registrants of a substance must examine all available information and apply the relevant classification and labelling for their substance as it has been mutually agreed within their SIEF. 

If they disagree with this classification, they may decide to ‘opt-out’ from this information requirement and propose a different classification, as long as they appropriately justify their decision (Article 11(3)(c), REACH).

Nevertheless, potential registrants of a substance in a low tonnage band do not have to contribute to the cost of a study if this study is not required for a registration in their tonnage band (Article 11(2), REACH).

I need data for a read-across. How can I contact the Lead Registrant of another joint submission?

There is no formal procedure to get in contact with the joint submission of another substance for read-across purposes. You can look up the details in our dissemination portal for registered substances, and contact any of the registrants whose name appears, asking for the lead registrant’s contact details. You can then contact them in order to find a data sharing agreement.
Alternatively, you can use our contact forms and request ECHA to share your contact details with the lead registrant of the joint submission of interest. We will then contact the said lead registrant and encourage them to contact you.

Please note that data sharing between different substances for read-across purposes is not mandatory. However, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/9 of 5 January 2016 on joint submission of data and data sharing underlines the benefits of data sharing between different substances. Therefore, data sharing between similar substances is strongly recommended, but it cannot be imposed by ECHA.

C. Third Party Representative (TPR)

Can a third party representative register?

No, under REACH, a third party representative (TPR) cannot register. A TPR can be appointed by a manufacturer, importer or downstream user for data sharing issues and discussions with other manufacturers, importers or, where relevant, downstream users. Unlike an only representative, a TPR only plays a part in the negotiations between the (potential) registrants, while the appointing company remains responsible for complying with its registration obligations.

What should I do if I change my Third Party Representative (TPR)?

If a (potential) registrant changes its Third Party Representative (TPR), the new TPR will have to create a REACH-IT account (provided he does not have one yet).
In case of a change of TPR, the following steps have to be taken by the (potential) registrant in order to update the details of its TPR:

To update a TPR in a registration submission: Go to menu -> Search -> Reference numbers -> Input the number in the search criteria -> Click on the results -> Click on Edit under Third party representative -> Add the new TPR.

No fee is required if the TPR is updated in a registration dossier.

Can I hide my identity in the registered substances page on the ECHA website using a third party representative?

No. The identity of the registrant will be published unless a confidentiality claim on the identity of the registrant is included in the registration dossier and the justification accepted as valid by the Agency.

A third party representative (TPR) can only be used to represent potential registrants in discussions with other manufacturers, importers and downstream users on data sharing and the joint submission of data as specified in Article 4 of REACH. The identity of the TPR is not published on the ECHA website. It will only be visible in:

  • the potential registrants tab in the REACH-IT co-registrants page, if included in a successful inquiry notification;
  • the registrants tab in the REACH-IT co-registrants page, if included in a successful registration dossier;
  • and in the joint submission, if included during creation (lead registrant) or confirmation (member registrant) of the joint submission in REACH-IT.
What should I do if I do not want to reveal my identity to my competitors?

You can nominate a Third Party Representative (TPR) to represent you in the joint submission discussions and in data sharing activities. This will keep your company name confidential vis-à-vis other co-registrants.

NB: The manufacturer or importer legally remains the registrant. The TPR must not be confused with the third party holding information (i.e. data holders), nor with an Only Representative. The TPR must also not be confused with the possibility to keep confidential the registrant’s name for registration purposes (Article 10(a)(xi) REACH).

For more information, see the Guidance on data sharing, section 3.2.3.1. Q&A 352 explains how to assign a TPR in REACH-IT.

During the Inquiry process: We display on the co-registrants page in REACH-IT the contact details of the TPR to registrants and successful inquirers. However, we communicate the result of the inquiry process to the inquirer and not to a designated TPR.

After the Inquiry result/ after Registration: It is also possible to appoint a TPR acting on behalf of the registrant after having registered a substance for data-sharing negotiations. You can appoint or change your TPR by updating your registration dossier. See Q&A 0063.

A TPR ensures that the potential registrant does not appear on the co-registrants page. To ensure confidentiality of the same company after the registration number has been granted, see Q&A 401.

D. Data sharing, downstream user

Can a downstream user share data?

Yes, they can, and are encouraged to do so if they hold significant data that will be valuable for registrants when compiling their registration dossiers. In practice, downstream users have to submit certain information (substance identification, contact details) to ECHA to be recognised as a data holder for a substance, after which ECHA puts them in contact with the potential registrants.

Data holders are entitled to be compensated for their data used for registration. More detailed information is available in the Guidance on data sharing, Section 3.2.3.2.

How do I proceed if I have concerns about confidential business information (CBI) when discussing substance sameness?

Consider taking specific measures in the SIEF to protect information that you consider CBI, but you nevertheless need to share with the SIEF to conclude on the substance sameness. You can, for example:

  1. Have confidentiality agreements that limit access to documents or other information to specific named persons, or departments; and
  2. Allow access to certain documents in a ‘reading room’ only (where copying is not allowed); and
  3. Agree to have certain documents reviewed and/or assessed only by a third party expert (independent consultant) or a trustee.

You can strengthen this by having additional personal confidentiality agreements for those who get access to the CBI documents. 

As a minimum, you should specify to the other SIEF members that the information is indeed CBI and, therefore, you communicate it and it can be used only for purposes of the verification of substance identity under REACH.

For more information on CBI, see the Guidance on Data-sharing, section 9.