Your role is that of a Importer:

General obligations:  The following apply to importers of substances alone, or in preparations, in quantities totalling over 1 tonne per year and that are not exempt from the scope of REACH (click here for exemptions); importers of articles, please see specific provisions included below:

 

Pre-registration	If you wish to take advantage of the phase-in period (for a definition of a 'phase-in substance,' see Key Terms) you are obliged to pre-register your substances  between 1 June 2008 and 30 November 2008
Registration of new substances or of existing substances without pre-registration	After 1 June 2008, you are obliged to register all such substances before they can be imported.  For exemptions to these obligations please click here
Registration following Pre-registration	You are obliged to register all of the substances that you import by a deadline determined by the amount that you produce each year, as given below:
	> 1,000 tonnes per year	1 December 2010
	> 100 tonnes per year	1 June 2013
	> 1 tonne per year	1 June 2018
	Substances classified CMR Cat 1 or 2 > 1 tonne per year	1 December 2010
	Substances classified as very toxic to aquatic organisms (R50-R53) > 100 tonnes per year	1 December 2010
	Registration will involve the following:
	1)  gathering hazard information, assessing risks (based on information about use), classify and label all chemicals (the extent of information required will increase in line with the annual tonnage you manufacture ); and
	2)  for chemicals that are manufactured in quantities above 10 tonnes per year: producing a chemical safety report including use scenarios, human and environmental exposure assessments and recommended risk management measures
Authorisation	If a substance/s is deemed to be of very high concern (for example, CMR and PBT/vPvB) you will be obliged to seek authorisation for each use for which you wish to import that substance
Substance information exchange forum (SIEF)	You are obliged to be part of the SEIF for your substance. This in turn places data sharing obligations upon you. Specifically; SIEF participants shall provide other participants with existing studies, react to requests by other participants for information, collectively identify needs for further studies and arrange for them to be carried out (Article 29.3)
Data sharing	See SIEF obligations above
Data retention	You are obliged to assemble and keep available for inspection all information relating to carrying out your duties under REACH for at least 10 years after you last manufactured a substance or preparation
Communication	You are obliged to communicate relevant exposure information to downstream users including via safety data sheets
	You are obliged to inform the European Chemicals Agency of any changes required to update your registration or authorisation
Classification and labelling	For substances classified as dangerous in accordance with Directive 67/548/EEC, and present above the concentration limits specified in Directive 1999/54/EC, you are obliged to notify the European Chemicals Agency of any new data that may be pertinent to confirming or revising such a classification; and
	You are obliged to notify the European Chemicals Agency of any new data that may result in the classification of a substance as dangerous in accordance with Directive 67/548/EEC
	The classification refered to here is that of the current system (under the framework of Directive 67/548/EEC) which will be superceded, in due course, by the Globally Harmonised System of classification and labelling (GHS)
Safety Data Sheets	You are obliged to supply safety data sheets as set out in Article 31 (the phase-in deadlines above, do not apply to this obligation which came into force on 1 June 2007
Contracting to or from third parties	If you are contracted to import a substance for a third party, then you have the role of an importer.  If you contract others to import substances on your behalf, then they have the role of the importer.  However, they may need your assistance to fulfill their role
Importers of articles
General	Any importer of articles shall submit a registration to the Agency for any substance contained in those articles (see obligations above), if both the following conditions are met: (a) the substance is present in those articles in quantities totalling over 1 tonne per producer or importer per year; and (b) the substance is intended to be released under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use
Substances of very high concern	If a substance is present in concentrations greater than 0.1 % w/w and in quantities greater than 1 tonne per year;  you are obliged to notify the European Chemicals Agency even if the substance is not intended to be released. This obligation does not apply if you can exclude exposure to humans or the environment during normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use of the article, including disposal. In such cases, you will need to supply appropriate instructions to the recipient of the article
Registered substances	The registration and notification obligations of substances in articles do not apply if such substances have already been registered for the use in question
Only representative	A natural or legal person established outside the Community who manufactures a substance on its own, in preparations or in articles, formulates a preparation or produces an article that is imported into the Community may by mutual agreement appoint a natural or legal person established in the Community to fulfil, as his only representative, the registration obligations on importers under Title II of REACH. If you import from such a manufacturer, formulator or producer, then your obligations are those of a downstream user rather than those of an importer
Exemptions	As before
For substances imported in quantities less than 1 tonne per year	You have no obligations under REACH