Manufacturers and importers of chemicals in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are not in an easy situation when it comes to meeting regulatory requirements. They must balance between old poison regulations, which are still in effect, and b that have not yet come into force.
Today, I want to draw attention to a regulation that is not based on either the Law on the Traffic of Poisons or the Law on Chemicals, but still regulates an important issue in the field of chemicals.
It concerns a regulation that bans or restricts the marketing and use of certain hazardous chemicals used in industry.
The Decision on the Ban or Restriction of Import, Production, Marketing, and Use of Certain Hazardous Industrial Chemicals in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH", nos. 52/16 and 47/19) was adopted before the new Law on Chemicals was enacted.
This decision regulates specific hazardous industrial chemicals that fall under the Rotterdam Convention, which I discussed in one of my previous articles. Therefore, the basis for adopting this decision was directly the Rotterdam Convention, which, as an international treaty, is directly applicable in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Restrictions and bans are defined for chemicals covered by Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, meaning chemicals subject to the PIC (Prior Informed Consent) procedure.
Additionally, conditions specified in the European Union’s REACH Regulation for these chemicals are also defined. In this way, a basis was created for deciding on the approval or refusal of the import of these chemicals into Bosnia and Herzegovina when implementing the PIC procedure.
The REACH Regulation, in its Annex XVII, prescribes bans and restrictions on the manufacture, marketing, and use of a large number of chemicals, not just those regulated by the Rotterdam Convention.
For this reason, it will also be necessary to adopt a special rulebook in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as foreseen by the Law on Chemicals.
Such a rulebook already exists in the Republic of Srpska: the Rulebook on Restrictions and Bans of Chemicals.
Similarly, the Law on Chemicals of the Federation of BiH provides for the adoption of a rulebook on the import and export of certain chemicals, which will implement the European Union’s PIC Regulation.
Until these, and other rulebooks enabling the implementation of the Law on Chemicals, are adopted, the Decision on the Ban or Restriction of Import, Production, Marketing, and Use of Certain Hazardous Industrial Chemicals serves as a good transitional solution.
However, don’t forget: the old poison regulations are still in force, and you must take them into account when planning the import of chemicals into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Does all this seem complicated to you? Until the full application of the Law on Chemicals of the Federation of BiH — which will unify all key issues regarding chemicals — you really have to keep track of a lot.
I hope that the new rulebooks will be adopted soon. This will simplify monitoring and applying regulations and will also harmonize the rules across the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently a practical problem.
If you are preparing for the application of future regulations, this article outlines what you can already start doing today.
Do you have more questions on this topic or don't know how to solve the challenges you are facing in practice? Feel free to write to me at nina.pajovic@bens-consulting.eu.
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