Notification to PCN by non-EU supplier

In case of import, UFI can be used in the communication with a non-EU supplier. The following way can be considered to work around possible communication problems (e.g. if the non EU supplier intends to protect the confidentiality of the mixture information).

The non–EU supplier has a legal entity based in the EU (or a contractual agreement with an EU-based legal entity), which creates a UFI and makes a submission voluntarily 33 to the Member States where the EU importer intends to place the mixture on the market. The non-EU supplier informs their customer (the EU-importer, directly or via the EU-based legal entity) about this UFI and confirms that the submission is done. Subsequently, the EU importer, who is the actual duty holder, makes their own submission with a reference to this UFI in relation to the compositional information. The importer could therefore make a submission for a mixture containing 100% of the MiM supplied by the non-EU supplier. This option could be useful also when the EU importer uses the mixture to formulate another mixture, and the non-EU supplier wants to protect the confidentiality of the information on the mixture they supply to the EU importer. The obligation to place UFI on the label lies with the EU importer. It is possible for the non-EU supplier to already label their product with the correct UFI before supplying it to the EU importer.

The EU importer and non-EU supplier are strongly recommended to enter into a contractual agreement to cover the details of the submission approach chosen. It should be kept in mind that the EU importer remains in any case the duty holder and therefore responsible in front of the enforcement authorities. Furthermore, the EU importer remains responsible for the fulfilment of other obligations under CLP (e.g. classification of the mixture).