Biocides are:

- all substances or mixtures that, in the form in which they are supplied to the user, contain one or more active substances or generate such substances to destroy, deter, eliminate, prevent the impact of or combat (in any other than a purely physical or mechanical way) the effects of a harmful organism;

- all substances or mixtures that are generated by substances or mixtures that do not come under the first indent, and that are used to destroy, deter, eliminate, prevent the impact of or combat (in any other than a purely physical or mechanical way) the effects of a harmful organism.

Treated articles that have a primary biocide function shall be considered as biocides.

Royal Decree amending the Royal Decree of 8 May 2014 on the placement on the market and use of biocides

1. Reporting will be required at least once a year instead of at the end of each trimester.

2. There will no longer be a reporting obligation for users. The obligation to register as a user and to confirm the use of the biocides will still apply. Since there is no longer a reporting obligation, a provision needs to be laid down to allow the user database to be kept up to date. The proposal provides that users are, on 1 November each year, to confirm their status as user as well as the list of products used by them. We intend to send out automatic e-mails on 15 October each year to remind users of their obligation. The reporting obligation will, however, continue to apply to sellers, distributors and manufacturers. The end of the chain will be exempt.

3. We also propose that the following text in Article 47, § 1(3) be deleted: ‘a registered seller shall make a visual distinction between biocides classified under the registered circuit and biocides classified under the free circuit if the public has access or may have access to these biocides’. This provision is unrealistic and difficult to enforce.

4. We also intend to ask registered sellers to place the designation ‘biocide classified under the registered circuit’ on their invoices. Entities in various sectors have pointed out that there is a problem in identifying biocides, particularly biocides under the registered circuit. The physical separation as originally foreseen (see point 3 above) will be difficult to implement, and is not feasible for deliveries (frequently seen in the agriculture and hospitality sectors).

5. The obligation to send documents by post and to submit original signatures is modified so that the entire process can be digitised. We propose moving to a system with an interactive database that uses electronic signatures and where documents are uploaded electronically.

These changes stem from the desire of the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment to improve the effectiveness of its processes by introducing a paperless policy. The changes to the text aim to remove the obligation for businesses to send information in paper form when submitting applications, replacing these with electronic exchanges. This simplifies the process of submitting applications for businesses so that the processing time for documents can be reduced. In this manner, any employee at the Biocides department can consult the relevant information anywhere and at any time.