On 5 Oct 2015, Taiwan EPA issued the offline chemical registration tool, CHEMIST 3.0, which improves upon the previous version and fixes some key problems. The function for offline preparation of phase 1 existing chemical registration dossier has been newly incorporated into the new version of CHEMIST. In addition, the current online dossier submission platform was improved to accept phase 1 existing chemical registration dossier in XML format exported directly through CHEMIST 3.0.
The Phase 1 existing chemical substance registration scheme began on the 1st of Sep 2015 (ChemLinked news). Chemical substances listed on the updated Taiwan Existing Chemical Substance Inventory (TCSI) (ChemLinked news) should comply with Phase 1 existing chemical substance registration if imported or manufactured above 0.1 t/y.
A half a year grace period has been granted which began on 1th of Sep 2015 and will end on the 31st of Mar 2016. Obtaining a registration number within this timeframe is not expected to be overly difficult for the majority of stakeholders, however, for some companies facing registration of hundreds of existing substances and network traffic issues are expected to make registration within this deadline challenging. In addition to this, the preparation of dossiers will also pose problems particularly for Taiwanese importers who are obliged to fulfill the registration requirements and are likely to spend considerable efforts ascertaining the requisite chemical substance information from the manufacturers in the country of origin.
With all these problems facing smooth industry compliance, the issuance of CHEMIST 3.0 will come as a breath of fresh air for industry. Registration dossiers for phase 1 existing chemical can be easily prepared offline. Chemist 3.0 has also solved problems associated with network server instability and excessive server traffic resulting in delays. The offline feature offered by CHEMIST 3.0 will also allow companies to more easily assign dossier preparation work and divide dossier preparation work in a more efficient manner. Once all dossiers are complete they can be exported and transferred to one person who is in charge of the online submission account for direct uploading.
