Trade and Industry Department Commerical Information Circular No. 309/2008

Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

Ref : EIC 230/6/14

4 June 2008

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 309/2008

European Union (EU)* : Testing Methods Pursuant to REACH

The European Commission (the Commission) has recently adopted a Regulation on the testing methods pursuant to REACH. Details are set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No. 440/2008 (the Regulation). The Regulation can be accessed through the following link :
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:142:0001:0739:EN:PDF

DETAILS

The Regulation lays down the testing methods adopted at Community level for the purposes of tests on substances where such tests are required to generate information on intrinsic properties of substances (i.e. physico-chemical properties, toxicity and ecotoxicity of substances) for registration purposes pursuant to REACH. Nevertheless, this Regulation does not exclude the use of other testing methods, provided that their use is in accordance with Article 13(3) of REACH Regulation 1907/2006. Details of the testing methods are set out in the Annex to the Regulation.
The Commission shall review, where appropriate, the testing methods contained in this Regulation with a view to replacing, reducing or refining testing on vertebrate animals.

ENQUIRIES

For enquiries concerning the contents of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5684.

Yours faithfully,

(Cyrus NG)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Electronic services for Production Notification, Certificate of Origin, Textiles Notifications, and Cargo Manifests enable traders to lodge/make the relevant applications directly through their office computer faster and easier. Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited currently runs services for the above documents, and Global e-Trading Services Limited is providing electronic services for Cargo Manifests. Please call the service providers for enquiries on their services:

Global e-Trading Services Limited (Tel. : 8109 1820)
Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited (Tel. : 2599 1700)

Note 1:	While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.
Note 2:	The biweekly newsletter "Business Alert - EU" of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council provides up-to-date information on the latest developments in EU trade policy and trade regulations. The newsletter is available for free e-subscription and can be accessed through http://www.tdctrade.com/alert/eualert.htm.