On 31 January 2020 in Helsinki, ECHA announced that they will be verifying the size of micro, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) that have registered substances between 2016 and 2019 under REACH and benefitted from reduced fees.

If the ECHA identifies you have claimed an incorrect size, you will have to pay the balance of the accurate fee and an administrative charge of up to EUR 19 900. So, if you are an SME registrant, you should check that the size you claimed when registering or updating your details is correct, and that you have uploaded the required support documents in REACH-IT.

By declaring and rectifying your size before ECHA begins the verification check, you will benefit from a full administrative charge waiver and only have to pay the difference to the applicable registration fee. If later, during the verification process, ECHA identifies that you have claimed an incorrect size, you will have to pay the balance of the accurate fee and an administrative charge of up to EUR 19 900.

A stepwise approach on how to determine and declare the correct size of your enterprise is available here on ECHA’s website. It is also important to regularly check your REACH-IT accounts for any messages and tasks from ECHA, keep your contact details up to date and react to ECHA’s requests.