PIC Regulation concerning the export and import of hazardous chemicals
The
Prior Informed Consent Regulation (EU) 649/2012, known as the PIC Regulation, is the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the export and import of hazardous chemicals. It applies to industrial chemicals and pesticides (including biocides) that are banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons. It places obligations on companies that wish to export these chemicals to non-EU countries. The Regulation aims to promote shared responsibility and cooperation in the international trade of hazardous chemicals, and to protect human health and the environment by providing developing countries with information on how to store, transport, use and dispose of hazardous chemicals safely.
The PIC Regulation entered into operation on the 1
st of March 2014 and implements the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade of the Rotterdam Convention, within the European Union.
The PIC Regulation applies to banned or severely restricted chemicals that are listed in
Annex I, which includes industrial chemicals, pesticides and biocides, such as benzene, chloroform, atrazine and permethrin. For the export of these chemicals, two types of requirements apply: Export Notification and Explicit Consent. The PIC Regulation also applies to specific chemicals that are banned for export as listed in Annex V and to all exported chemicals for their packaging and labelling that should comply with the relevant EU legislation.
More information on the PIC procedure can be found in the
relevant Guidance Document.
Further information can be found in the
European Chemicals Agency's website (ECHA). The Agency's main task is to control the whole process of sending export notifications to the importing countries and of keeping a database of the notifications and the explicit consents of the importing countries.
The ePIC is an IT tool established and maintained by ECHA to ensure that requirements of the PIC Regulation are supported by appropriate IT systems. ePIC allows information to be securely exchanged between industry, authorities and customs.
e-PIC
Chemicals subject to PIC
Annex I Amendments to PIC Regulation