On June 2, 2021, the European Commission issued a revised directive (EU) 2021/884 in its Official Journal (OJ). This revised directive revised Article 42 of Annex IV of the RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU) and extended the use of The validity period of the exemption for mercury in electrical rotary connectors in intravascular ultrasound imaging systems with high operating frequency (>50MHz) operating modes.

According to (EU) 2021/884, Annex IV of the RoHS Directive updates the following clauses:

All member states need to adopt and publish relevant laws, regulations or administrative regulations before June 30, 2022, and implement them from July 1, 2022.

Note: The RoHS2.0 directive exemption list is listed in Annex III and IV of 2011/65/EU respectively. Annex IV is an exemption clause specifically for medical and monitoring equipment applications, and Annex III is an exemption for all electrical and electronic equipment applications. Terms.

In the Authorization Directive (EU) 2015/574(2), the European Commission approved an exemption for the use of mercury in intravascular ultrasound imaging systems. According to the RoHS2.0 directive on the validity period of the exemption for medical equipment and monitoring and control equipment, the exemption is in 2019 It expired on June 30, 2017, and on October 6, 2017, before the expiration of the exemption period, the European Commission received an application for renewal of the exemption. In order to adapt to scientific and technological progress, on March 8 this year, the European Commission formally revised the validity period of the exemption and published it in the Official Journal (OJ) on June 2, with the effective date being the 20th day after the announcement.

Exemption rules

Rules for the longest exemption period-2011/65/EU Article 5(2)

For the exemptions listed in Annex III on July 21, 2011, the maximum exemption period for products in categories 1-7, 10 and 11 in Annex I is 5 years, and the maximum exemption period for products in categories 8 and 9 is 7 Years, unless a shorter period is specified.

For the exemptions listed in Annex IV on July 21, 2011, the maximum exemption period is 7 years, unless a shorter period is specified.

Exemption extension application rules-2011/65/EU Article 5(5)

The updated application should be submitted 18 months before the expiration of the exemption period.

Until the update decision is issued, the existing exemptions remain valid.

Rules for the exemption and revocation of the transition period-2011/65/EU Article 5(6)

When an application for an exemption is rejected or an exemption is revoked, the validity period of the exemption expires within 12 months from the date of the decision at the earliest, and expires at the latest 18 months from the date of the decision.

Reminder

The update of RoHS exemption clauses has a great impact on the electrical and electronic industries, especially whether some exemptions frequently used by enterprises will be postponed, which may directly affect the production process and business activities of the enterprise. In order to ensure compliance in the EU market, ZRLK recommends that relevant companies always pay attention to the exemption of the ROHS directive, and replace the exempt materials that are about to expire or have expired in advance to avoid compliance problems caused by the expiration of the exemption for products exported to Europe.