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On May 31, 2022, Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce (MINCIT) issued the Circular 18 announcing the launch of the online registration system for industrial chemical substances identified as hazardous according to GHS. The deadline for companies to register their chemicals is May 30, 2025. The first National Inventory of Industrial Chemical Substances will be created based on the chemicals registered over the three years.
The requirement for registering chemical substances in Colombia was introduced by Decree 1630/2021 (hereinafter referred to as the Decree) which was published by Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development on Nov. 30, 2021. For industrial chemical substances that are identified as hazardous according to GHS, if they are manufactured in or imported into Colombia more than 100kg per year, whether mono-constituent, multi-constituent or incorporated into mixtures, they must be registered through the online registration system by providing the below information, including:
Identity of the manufacturer/importer
Annual production or import quantity of the chemical
Identification of the chemical substance, including CAS number (when applicable)
Substance’s hazard classification
Identified uses
*Colombia has adopted GHS Rev.6 on August 6, 2018 by Decree 1496/2018
The following chemicals are exempt from the obligations:
Substances regulated under specific regulations relating to their use or those predicted to be covered by a specific regulation in the future
Substances of unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products or biological materials (UVCB)
Articles
Impurities
Chemical substances of natural origin without chemical processing
Substances that result from a chemical reaction due to their exposure to environmental factors or from the storage of another product, as well as sub-products that have not been manufactured, imported or marketed as such
Hydrated substances or irons.
Polymers, including monomer units and additives that are part of them
Substances that are in customs transit
Non-isolated intermediates
Samples without commercial value
Registrants need to provide a Colombian taxpayer identification number to access the online registration system, thus non-Colombian manufacturers shall seek assistance from local importers or appoint an Only Representative (OR) to fulfil the obligations.
The Decree also requires importers and manufacturers to update the above information annually and provide any other information when there has been a change compared to the information available in the National Inventory.
Based on the information provided in the National Inventory, the health and environment ministries will define "priority substances" for the protection of health and the environment. Manufacturers and importers of the "priority substances" are subject to additional requirements including chemicals risk evaluations and risk reduction programs.
