On April 19, 2024, the Australian Government announced that two infringement notices totaling $37,560 (a total of 120 penalty points) had been issued to an Australian fragrance, toiletries, and cleaning products importer.
According to the announcement, this Australian enterprise is alleged to have:
imported industrial chemicals from the US without holding an AICIS registration, which contravenes section 13 of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (hereinafter referred to as the Act);
failed to submit an annual declaration required under section 99 of the Act.
Year-round monitoring activities are carried out to ensure introducers of industrial chemicals fulfill their obligations under the Act. The Australian Government reminds introducers (manufacturers or importers) of industrial chemicals to be registered with AICIS and submit an annual declaration timely. Severe punishments will be imposed for non-compliance.
AICIS registration of business
A business that imports industrial chemicals into Australia or locally manufactures industrial chemicals must register with AICIS before the import or manufacture in any given registration year (goes from 1 September ~ 31 August). The business should be registered, not the chemical or product, and there’s no threshold limit. Introducers should register or renew the registration if any introduction of industrial chemicals happens.
Annual declaration
Every industrial chemical importer or manufacturer in Australia must submit an annual declaration through AICIS Business Services for each year that they import or manufacture an industrial chemical for commercial purposes. It's a declaration to confirm that all the industrial chemicals imported or manufactured during the previous AICIS registration year were authorized under the Act. This obligation also applies to those making and selling soap, importing cosmetic products for sale in Australia and those introducing small amounts of industrial chemicals. The submission period is of four months from August 1 to November 30 each year.
To help you understand how to confirm the compliance obligations under the AICIS, ChemLinked will stage a free webinar tomorrow (i.e., April 19, 2024), focusing on the regulatory updates, current requirements, and compliance strategies. The webinar is now open for registration. Please click here to save your seat.
