Legal Basis

Unofficial consolidated version of the REACH legal text plus corrigendum and amendments to the REACH Legal Text and REACH Annexes published on the ECHA website.

This text has been produced for documentary purposes and the European Chemicals Agency does not assume any liability for its content. Please note that the text has no legal value. For legal purposes please refer to the texts published in the Official Journal of the European Union

ECHA Website - REACH Legislation

About Substance Information Exchange Forums (SIEF):

(54) In order to avoid duplication of work, and in particular to avoid duplication of testing, registrants of phase-in substances should pre-register as early as possible with a database managed by the Agency. A system should be established in order to provide for the establishment of Substance Information Exchange Forums (SIEF) to help exchange of information on the substances that have been registered. SIEF participants should include all relevant actors submitting information to the Agency on the same phase-in substance. They should include both potential registrants, who must provide and be supplied with any information relevant to the registration of their substances, and other participants, who may receive financial compensation for studies they hold but are not entitled to request information. In order to ensure the smooth functioning of that system they should fulfil certain obligations. If a member of a SIEF does not fulfil his obligations, he should be penalised accordingly but other members should be enabled to continue preparing their own registration. In cases where a substance has not been pre-registered, measures should be taken to help downstream users find alternative sources of supply.

Article 29
Substance Information Exchange Forums

1. All potential registrants, downstream users and third parties who have submitted information to the Agency in accordance with Article 28, or whose information is held by the Agency in accordance with Article 15, for the same phase-in substance, or registrants who have submitted a registration for that phase-in substance before the deadline set out in Article 23 (3), shall be participants in a substance information exchange forum (SIEF).

2. The aim of each SIEF shall be to:
(a) facilitate, for the purposes of registration, the exchange of the information specified in Article 10(a) (vi) and (vii) between potential registrants, thereby avoiding the duplication of studies; and
(b) agree classification and labelling where there is a difference in the classification and labelling of the substance between potential registrants.

3. SIEF participants shall provide other participants with existing studies, react to requests by other participants for information, collectively identify needs for further studies for the purposes of paragraph 2(a) and arrange for such studies to be carried out. Each SIEF shall be operational until 1st June 2018.

Article 30
Sharing of data involving tests

1. Before testing is carried out in order to meet the information requirements for the purposes of registration, a SIEF participant shall inquire whether a relevant study is available by communicating within his SIEF. If a relevant study involving tests on vertebrate animals is available within the SIEF, a participant of that SIEF shall request that study. If a relevant study not involving tests on vertebrate animals is available within the SIEF, a SIEF participant may request that study. Within one month of the request, the owner of the study shall provide proof of its cost to the participant(s) requesting it. The participant(s) and the owner shall make every effort to ensure that the costs of sharing the information are determined in a fair, transparent and non discriminatory way. This may be facilitated by following any cost sharing guidance which is based on those principles and is adopted by the Agency in accordance with Article 77(2)(g). If they cannot reach such an agreement, the cost shall be shared equally. The owner shall give permission to refer to the full study report for the purpose of registration within two weeks of receipt of payment. Registrants are only required to share in the costs of information that they are required to submit to satisfy their registration requirements.

2. If a relevant study involving tests is not available within the SIEF, only one study shall be conducted per information requirement within each SIEF by one of its participants acting on behalf of the others. They shall take all reasonable steps to reach an agreement within a deadline set by the Agency as to who is to carry out the test on behalf of the other participants and to submit a summary or robust study summary to the Agency. If no agreement is reached, the Agency shall specify which registrant or downstream user shall perform the test. All participants of the SIEF who require a study shall contribute to the costs for the elaboration of the study with a share corresponding to the number of participating potential registrants. Those participants that do not carry out the study themselves shall have the right to receive the full study report within two weeks following payment to the participant that carried out the study.

3. If the owner of a study as referred to in paragraph 1 which involves testing on vertebrate animals refuses to provide either proof of the cost of that study or the study itself to (an) other participant(s), he shall not be able to proceed with registration until he provides the information to the other participants(s). The other participant(s) shall proceed with registration without fulfilling the relevant information requirement, explaining the reason for this in the registration dossier. The study shall not be repeated unless within 12 months of the date of registration of the other participant(s), the owner of this information has not provided it to them and the Agency decides that the test should be repeated by them. However, if a registration containing this information has already been submitted by another registrant, the Agency shall give the other participant(s) permission to refer to the information in his registration dossier (s). The other registrant shall have a claim on the other participant(s) for an equal share of the cost, provided he makes the full study report available to the other participant(s), which shall be enforceable in the national courts. L 136/34 EN Official Journal of the European Union 29.5.2007

4. If the owner of a study as referred to in paragraph 1 which does not involve testing on vertebrate animals refuses to provide either proof of the cost of that study or the study itself to (an)other participant(s), the other SIEF participants shall proceed with registration as if no relevant study was available in the SIEF.

5. An appeal may be brought, in accordance with Articles 91, 92 and 93, against Agency decisions under paragraphs 2 or 3 of this Article.

6. The owner of the study who has refused to provide either proof of the cost or the study itself, as referred to in paragraph 3 or 4 of this Article, shall be penalised in accordance with Article 126