Labelling

Suppliers to the packaging industry will have to pay up to EUR31,000 (£25,000) to register their chemicals with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to comply with tough new EU laws.

The basic registration fees for the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (Reach) legislation will range from €1,600 for substances produced in volumes below ten tonnes, to €31,000 for those above 1,000 tonnes.

There will be discounts of up to 90% for "micro" firms with fewer than 10 staff and a reduction of 25% for firms that apply for joint registrations.

Firms with fewer than 50 staff and a turnover of less than €10m will receive a 60% discount, and those with fewer than 250 staff and a turnover of not more than €50m will be able to claim a 30% discount.

A lower registration fee has also been set for the registration of intermediates because the associated workload for the ECHA would be lower.

Tim Jessel, commercial director of REACHReady, the subsidiary of the Chemical Industries Association that runs seminars and offers guidance on the Reach legislation, said: "This is a lot of money for many businesses, but compared with the other costs involved, for example for testing and data searching, it is a relatively small proportion."

Get more information about Reach from the European Commission website