Consultation on options for charging the General Industry Charge (GIC) to enable the Health and Safety Executive to recover costs of activities under the Biocidal Products Regulations 2000

Consultation period expired 31 August 2000

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1. The purpose of this paper is to consult stakeholders on the options for charging a General Industry Charge (GIC) under the biocides regime. The GIC is the mechanism by which we are proposing to recover the costs of certain functions which fall to HSE under the BPD and which cannot be recovered by fixed fees. This paper also addresses the need for a Biocides Charging Review Group.
   
2. Article 25 of the Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EC) requires Member States to establish systems for recovering costs from those placing or seeking to place biocidal products on the market, or supporting entries onto Annex I, IA or IB. These charges will correspond as far as possible to the costs incurred in carrying out all the different procedures associated with the provisions of the Directive.
   
3. Under this article charges can be split into two broad areas:
   • those clearly associated with a specific piece of work for a clearly identified customer. In the UK this type of work will be charged to the relevant person by fees, which relate to the amount of work involved in assessing each application. Fees are already provided for in BPR. This document does not address any issues associated with the charging of fees; and
     
   • those where there is no clearly identified customer.
     
4. In carrying out some of the procedures associated with the provisions of the Directive the Member State will incur general costs which cannot be attributed to an individual or company. A good example of this type of work is the costs associated with monitoring for health and environmental effects.
   
5. For work of this type a charge needs to be levied across all companies supplying biocidal products onto the UK market. Ministers have decided that these costs should be recovered by means of a GIC. Ministers have also agreed that these charges will commence on 1 April 2001, corresponding with the first full financial year of operation under the new biocides regime. This also aims to give industry time to prepare and for key underpinning aspects of the BPD, such as scope and data requirements, to have been progressed.
   
6. We are therefore consulting stakeholders on the options for the equitable and efficient implementation of this charge. We are not consulting about what costs are included within the GIC.