If you intend to import or export a biocidal product you must comply with the relevant legislation. Biocidal products are regulated in the EU by the EU Biocidal Products Directive (BPD), which is implemented into UK law through the Biocidal Products Regulations (BPR) and the Biocidal Products Regulations (Northern Ireland).
If you are unsure as to whether the product you wish to import/export is a biocidal product, you should look at our law page.
Importing biocidal products into the EU Custom Territory is classed as ‘placing a product on the market’ in the BPD/R. Therefore, you must ensure the biocidal product you intend to import into the UK complies with the requirements of the BPD/R before it is imported.
Further information on what you need to do is available on the placing biocidal products on the market webpage of this site.
The REACH regulation may also apply to your importation of the product, especially the non-active components of the formulation. Further details can be found on the REACH website.
If you are exporting from the UK to another EU country you must meet the requirements of the BPD and any other national legislation in that EU country.
If you are exporting directly from the UK to a non EU country the requirements of the BPD do not apply, but there may be other legislation you need to comply with such as that on Prior Informed Consent (PIC) or specific customs and export rules. In order to be exempt from the requirements of BPD there must be no supply of the product within the UK/EU prior to being exported.
If an article/material is treated with a preservative (e.g. a wooden bench painted with wood preservative) with the sole intention of controlling organisms harmful to the treated article/material itself (on the surface or inside the article), then the article is considered to be a treated article under the BPD and not a biocidal product. However, the active substance (by itself or in a formulation) that has been used to treat the article is considered to be the biocidal product. The preserved article does not need to meet any requirements of the BPD (though other legislation such as the REACH regulation may apply to your importation of the article - further details can be found on the REACH website).
If an article is treated with a biocide with the intention that the biocidal active substance is to be released from the treated article to control harmful organisms outside the treated article or organisms that are not harmful to the treated article itself (e.g. a mosquito net), the article has the function of a delivery system for the active substance and the article is considered to be a biocidal product under the BPD. The article therefore must comply with the requirements of the BPD as outlined above in the ‘Importing Biocidal Products’ section.
If a treated article (product has been treated with a preservative with the intention to control organisms harmful to the product itself) is being imported into the EU the BPD does not currently regulate such treated articles imported from non-EU countries, so does not restrict which active substances are used to preserve the article.
If a biocidal product is being imported into the EU it must contain an active substance that does comply with the requirements of the BPD. As outlined above, products treated with a biocide (by itself or in a formulation) with the intention that the biocide is to be released from the treated article e.g. to control harmful organisms outside the treated article or that are not harmful to the treated article itself, are considered to be biocidal products.
Yes. As you may be aware the BPD is in the process of being repealed and replaced by a new EU Regulation. This Regulation aims to bring treated articles into the scope of the legislation and require that any treated materials or articles that incorporate one or more biocidal products shall not be placed on the EU market unless the biocidal product(s) used for treating the materials or articles are authorised for that use in the EU or in at least one Member State.
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