The objective of the Malaysian HS Notification and Registration Scheme is to collect information from industry about the hazardous substances that are on the Malaysian market by introducing a notification requirement for such substances manufactured in or imported to Malaysia.

Purpose

The purpose of the notification and registration scheme in Malaysia is to provide the necessary information to the Malaysian Government that will enable the Department of Environment and other agencies involved in chemicals management to identify substances of concern in the country and make decisions about how to manage these substances in a safe and sound manner.

Based on the information submitted by industry, Department of Environment (DOE) will establish the Malaysian Chemicals Register. The Malaysian Chemicals Register will contain information about the identity of substances that have been notified to DOE, their uses in Malaysia, their hazard classification and the accumulated amounts placed on the market in Malaysia.

Information in the Chemicals Register will be available to the public through the Internet. Accumulated amounts manufactured or imported will only be publicised for substances notified by three or more manufacturers or importers. A particular use of a substance will likewise only be publicised if notified by three or more manufacturers or importers.

Scope

The notification scheme covers:

§         All substances not covered by other notification/registration schemes in Malaysia and fulfilling the criteria for classification as hazardous according to the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling (GHS), or until GHS is fully implemented, the classification according to the current classification requirements for chemicals in Malaysia.

§         Other substances that are considered substances of concern due to properties not covered by the GHS classification scheme.

The notification requirement does not apply to substances for which information is already submitted to a Government agency in Malaysia by means of other legislations. This regards substances notified/registered under the following legislations:

§         The Pesticides Act 1974 (Act 149)

§         The Poisons Act 1952 (Act 366)

§         Chemical Weapons Convention Act 2005 (Act 641)

Only substances manufactured or imported in certain amounts by the individual manufacturer/importer will require notification. For other exemptions to the notification requirement, please refer to the Guidance Document for Industry.

The notification requirement will be phased in over a number of years. The first phase will include substances that are defined as environmentally hazardous substances (EHS) under The Environmental Quality Act (1974). Please refer to Definition of EHS and Implementation of HS Notification and Registration.

Output

Parallel to the notification and registration scheme, the Department of Environment is also introducing a scheme for risk assessment of chemical substances of concern in Malaysia. The chemicals of concern that will be considered in the risk assessment scheme will be prioritised based on their classification according to the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling (GHS) or until GHS is fully implemented, classification according to the current classification requirements for chemicals in Malaysia, and in addition the total annual tonnage of substance manufactured or imported to Malaysia. Substances of concern due to effects which are not covered by the GHS classification criteria will be prioritised based on annual tonnage and use in the country.

Based on the outcome of the risk assessment, DOE and other agencies in chemicals management will decide upon the risk reduction strategy and the risk reduction actions to be implemented.