Do hazardous chemicals need to follow the same registration procedure as Substances listed in Schedule II?
Hazardous substances are those that are listed in Schedules X, XI, and XII, or that satisfy the criteria in Part A of Schedule X.
After the entry into force of the ICMS Rules and the registration of Substances listed in Schedule II, the implementing authority will evaluate registered Substances to determine their risks to human health and the environment. As a result of this risk assessment, Substances can be put forward for entry into Schedules X, XI or XII.
Therefore, the key difference is whether a Substance is in one of said Annexes as a result of Substance evaluation or because it was initially included in them.
In the first case, any Substance ultimately being classified as hazardous will have undergone registration at an earlier stage. In this sense, hazardous Substances can be regarded as a subset of Substances requiring registration.
The second case relates to hazardous Substances initially considered as such. The current Draft of the ICMS Rules does not provide clarification on whether these will require registration.
The situation of a Substance listed in Schedule X, XI, and XII but not in Schedule II (Substances requiring registration) is therefore unclear. This is uncertainty is expected to be clarified in the final version of the ICMS Rules.