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Manual of Decisions repealed: check the status of products formerly excluded from biocides legislation with the national helpdesk

Manual of Decisions repealed: check the status of products formerly excluded from biocides legislation with the national helpdesk

ECHA/NA/15/34

The European Commission and Member States have repealed the Manual of Decisions concerning the old Biocidal Products Directive. Companies who, on the basis of the manual, considered their product to be excluded from the scope of the biocides legislation can contact their national helpdesk to check whether the status has changed. If the product could now fall under the new Biocidal Products Regulation, companies can submit a declaration of interest to notify to ECHA until 3 October 2016.

Helsinki, 23 October 2015 – The Member State competent authorities and the European Commission repealed the Manual of Decisions for implementation of Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing on the market of biocidal products on 1 October 2015.

Companies that, on the basis of the manual, considered that their product was excluded from the scope of the former biocides legislation, or was covered by a different product-type, can check with their national helpdesk whether their product could now fall within the scope of the Biocidal Products Regulation.

If the national authority or the European Commission indicates that the product can be considered biocidal, the company can declare an interest to notify an active substance/product-type combination for inclusion in the Review Programme to ECHA until 3 October 2016, through the relevant form on ECHA's website.

The Commission will then assess the received declarations of interest and provide ECHA with a list of notifiable active substance/product-type combinations. Once the list is published by ECHA, companies will have six months to notify their intention to submit an application to get their active substance/product-type combination in the Review Programme.

If an active substance/product-type combination is notified successfully, the full application for approval must be submitted within two years.

The corresponding biocidal products will benefit from transitional measures: it will be possible to make them available on the market and use them in accordance with national laws, until the Commission decides on the approval of the active substance/product-type combination.