Guidance

Using and trading fluorinated gas and ozone-depleting substances: rules and processes from January 2021

Updated 21 October 2019

This guidance was withdrawn on 6 February 2020

This guidance is out of date. See current guidance on F gas and ODS rules from 1 January 2021 and guidance on F gas and ODS rules in the transition period.

The UK will regulate fluorinated greenhouse gases (F gas) and ozone-depleting substances (ODS) from 1 January 2021.

F gas and ODS are substances used mainly as refrigerants, but also in other products including:

• medical inhalers
• fire extinguishers
• insulation foams
• solvents
• feedstocks for the manufacture of other chemicals

This guide is for businesses and individuals who currently need to follow EU regulations:

• 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases
• 1005/2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer

This affects you if you:

• produce, supply, import, export or use bulk F gas or ODS
• manufacture or import equipment containing F gas or ODS

You can use this guide if you service:

• commercial, industrial and transport refrigeration and air conditioning systems
• other products containing F gas or ODS

UK regulation of F gas and ODS

EU F gas and ODS regulations will no longer apply in the UK from 1 January 2021.

New UK ODS and F gas regulations transfer most of the requirements of the EU regulations into UK law.

The UK will continue to:

• restrict ODS
• use the same schedule as the EU to phase down HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons, the most common type of F gas) by 79% by 2030 relative to a 2009 to 2012 baseline

That means UK F gas quotas will follow the same phase down steps as the EU:

• limited to 63% of the baseline in 2019 and 2020
• reducing to 45% of the baseline in 2021

Most of the rules for F gas and ODS will not change. However, you will need to use new UK IT systems to:

• manage quotas
• report on use

You’ll still need to comply with EU regulations on F gas, ODS and products containing them that you place on the EU market after 1 January 2021.

Devolved administrations

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all decided to remain part of a single, UK-wide system.

The Environment Agency will administer the systems for the whole of the UK.

New F gas (hydrofluorocarbons - HFCs) quota system

The UK will leave the EU F gas system and will manage its own F gas quota system.

If you produce, import or export HFCs (the main class of F gases) or products containing HFCs you’ll need to apply for a:

• UK quota to place them on the UK market
• EU quota to place them on the EU market

Until exit day you should continue to use your EU quota to place HFCs on the UK market.

After exit day you’ll need a UK HFC quota if your business places on the UK market HFCs equivalent to 100 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year. This total includes any imports to the UK from the EU.

The Environment Agency will manage a new UK F gas system, including UK HFC quota allocation which you’ll use to:

• apply for a UK quota
• report on your activities

If you’re registered as a UK-based organisation on the EU portal, you should have received an email about registering you on the new UK system. If you haven’t been contacted, email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk.

If you prefer, you can register on the new UK F gas system yourself.

Uses of F gas exempt from quota

You’ll still need to register on the new UK F gas system, but you will not usually need a quota for HFCs if you:

• import to destroy
• recycle or reclaim them from within the UK
• produce or import for subsequent export from the UK, including to the EU
• produce or import for feedstock, military equipment, semiconductor materials or metered dose inhalers

Stocks of HFCs that you hold in the UK on exit day

If you intend to supply your existing UK-based HFC stocks to a third party in the UK after 1 January 2021, you:

• do not need to use UK quota if they have already come out of your pre-1 January 2021 EU quota or have been in stock since before 2015
• do need to use UK quota if you produced or imported them after 31 December 2014 and they have not already come out of pre-1 January 2021 EU quota

If you intend to supply your UK-based HFC stocks to a third party in the EU after 1 January 2021, you or your customer need to use post-1 January 2021 EU quota to import them to the EU. This applies even if you had already used pre-1 January 2021 EU quota to bring them to the UK.

Stocks of HFCs that you hold in the EU on exit day

If you intend to supply your EU-based HFC stocks to a customer in the UK after 1 January 2021, you’ll need to use post-1 January 2021 UK quota. This applies even if you had already used pre-1 January 2021 EU quota and the HFCs are were in free circulation in the EU before 1 January 2021.

Applying for UK HFC quota as an incumbent quota holder

The Environment Agency will register you on the new UK F gas system and allocate quota to you if all of the following apply:

• you placed HFCs on the UK market legally in the years 2015, 2016 or 2017
• you provided data to the Environment Agency, verified by an independent auditor, giving the quantities of HFCs you placed on the UK market in those years
• your business is established within the UK or has appointed an ‘only representative’ which is established in the UK

The Environment Agency will take the view that you’ve placed HFCs on the UK market if you:

• used your existing EU quota to import HFCs to the UK
• used your existing EU quota to supply HFCs to someone in the UK
• did not need to use EU quota to supply HFCs to someone in the UK because it was already in free circulation in the EU27 market and you owned the gas at the point it entered the UK

When you are registered, the Environment Agency will:

• email you with an organisation ID
• contact you again to tell you how much UK quota you’ll receive from the day after the UK leaves the EU to 31 December 2019 - this will be the amount of HFCs that you can place on the UK market in that period

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) asked all incumbent EU quota holders to provide data in January 2018. Email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk if you did not get a letter asking you to report data, and both of the following apply:

• you’re an EU incumbent quota holder
• you placed HFCs on the UK market in 2015, 2016 or 2017

If you put HFCs on the market for the first time in 2017, you may still be classified as a new entrant rather than an incumbent quota holder. This means you’re not automatically eligible for a UK quota and must apply as a new entrant.

For 2020 and all following years you’ll get a:

• UK quota automatically based on your UK reference value
• notification each year of your allocation for the following year

As under the EU system, quota reference values will be re-calculated every 3 years based on HFC quantities placed on the UK market.

Applying for UK HFC quota as a new entrant or for additional HFC quota

As with the EU system, a portion of the total quota allocation for the UK will be allocated to those applying for new or additional quota each year.

You can apply for quota from this reserve to use from the day after exit day if you’re:

• a new entrant - you did not place HFCs on the UK market in the years 2015, 2016 or 2017
• an incumbent quota holder and need additional quota

You’ll need to apply for UK new entrant quota even if you had new entrant quota for 2018 from the European Commission. You can use your EU new entrant quota to place HFCs on the UK market only until the date the UK leaves the EU.

The amount of UK new entrant quota you get may not be the same as the EU quota you had for 2018.

If you’re registered as a UK-based organisation on the EU quota portal, you should have received an email about registering you on the new UK system. If you haven’t been contacted, email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk.

If you were not registered on the EU quota portal, you’ll need to register on the UK F gas system yourself.

When you’ve registered, you can apply for F gas quota. In your application you’ll need to specify the types of HFCs and the quantities you’d like to place on the market.

The registration and application window will close two weeks after exit day.

The Environment Agency will then tell you the amount of UK quota you have been allocated. You may get less than you applied for if the total amount which applicants request is more than the reserve.

If you want to apply for UK quota again for subsequent years, you must do this on the UK F gas system. The Environment Agency will issue a notice each year of the dates when you can apply.

If the Environment Agency approves your application, it will publish the quantity you have been allocated on the UK F gas system.

How new entrants become incumbent quota holders

From 2021 and every 3 years after, new entrants will become incumbent quota holders if they:

• placed HFCs on the UK market
• have reported the quantities on the UK reporting system

The Environment Agency will issue new quota holders with a UK reference value which will automatically entitle them to a UK quota in future years.

Transferring and authorising quota from 1 January 2021

You’ll be able to use the new UK F gas system to:

• transfer some or all of your UK quota to another producer or importer based in the UK, or who has an only representative in the UK
• authorise another company to use some or all of your UK quota for placing pre-charged equipment on the UK market

The type of data you’ll need to enter will be similar to the EU registry requirements.

Importing HFCs in pre-charged equipment

If you import each year pre-charged equipment containing a quantity of HFCs equivalent to 100 tonnes or more of CO₂, you must have sufficient UK quota authorisations. This includes imports from the EU.

If you do not, you must get one of the following:

• quota authorisation from a UK quota holder
• delegated authorisation from another authorisation holder

You’ll need to register on the UK F gas system to receive quota authorisations and delegations.

Importing bulk HFCs to pre-charge equipment for export

If you want to import to the UK bulk HFCs to pre-charge equipment you’ll need:

• a UK quota to import the bulk gas to the UK
• EU quota authorisations to export the pre-charged equipment to the EU

If you import F gas to the UK solely for re-export and not for the UK market, you may be able to use the inward processing procedure. This would mean you do not need UK quota.

If you get bulk gas from an EU-based producer or importer, they could authorise you to use their EU quota to export equipment back to the EU. This is because they will not need to use their EU quota to send the gas to you.

Other aspects of the requirements for placing pre-charged equipment on the market will be similar to the EU regulation. These include documenting and verifying quota compliance, and a declaration of conformity.

Converting EU quota authorisations into UK authorisations

You can apply to exchange your unused EU authorisations, including delegated authorisations, for UK authorisations to place pre-charged equipment on the UK market from the day after exit day.

You can only exchange EU authorisations held until the date the UK leaves the EU.

To do this you’ll need to:

• register on the new UK F gas system to get an organisation ID
• email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk with the amount you want to convert

If the Environment Agency approves your application they will register the UK authorisations on the UK F gas system in your name.

You must tell the European Commission the quantity that you have exchanged. You must not use the same authorisations in both the UK and EU markets

By 31 March 2020 you must provide independently verified evidence to the Environment Agency that you:

• held a sufficient quantity of unused EU authorisations
• have notified the European Commission of the quantity exchanged

This evidence must include:

• copies of transactions in 2019
• your annual F gas report for 2018 as submitted in the EU reporting system
• confirmation that you notified the European Commission of the amount of quota you will exchange

If you do not provide this evidence to the Environment Agency by 31 March 2020, your UK authorisations may be cancelled.

Holding EU quota to place HFCs on the EU market after 1 January 2021

If you hold, or want to apply for, EU quota to place HFCs on the EU market, you should continue to follow the EU F gas regulation.

The European Commission will allocate your quota, adjusted to deduct your UK market share, from the point at which the UK leaves the EU system.

To continue to be eligible for EU quota to place HFCs on the EU market, you’ll need to do one of the following before the UK leaves the EU:

• set up an office in the EU
• appoint an ‘only representative’ in the EU

To find out how to specify or change an only representative on the EU system:

• email the European Commission helpdesk CLIMA-HFC-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu
• read the European Commission’s guide on quota allocation, authorisation and reporting

If you’re based outside the UK and EU and have an only representative based in the UK, you must appoint an only representative in the EU to continue to be eligible for EU quota after exit day.

Reporting F gas activities

You must report on the UK F gas reporting system if each year you:

• produce, import or export one or more metric tonnes of F gas, or a quantity of F gas equivalent to 100 tonnes or more of CO₂
• destroy F gas equivalent to one metric tonne or 1,000 tonnes of CO₂or more

The deadline for reporting and the verification you need to submit to the Environment Agency will not change.

You must report:

• EU and UK F gas activity between 1 January 2019 and exit day on the EU system by 31 March 2020 (as the UK will still be in the EU during that period)
• UK F gas activity between 1 January and 31 December 2019 on the UK reporting system by 31 March 2020

The type of data you’ll need to enter will be similar to the EU registry.

The Environment Agency will publish guidance on how to use the UK F gas reporting system once the UK leaves the EU.

Other F gas requirements

When the UK leaves the EU, many of the rules for F gases will not change, including requirements or restrictions:

• to prevent intentional release of F gases
• to prevent the unintentional release of F gases during production and use
• to minimise and repair leakages
• to check leaks and keep records
• to use leakage detection systems
• to provide evidence that trifluoromethane produced during the production of F gases has been destroyed
• to recover F gases from equipment for recycling, reclamation or destruction
• on placing certain products and equipment on the market
• on sales of F gases to businesses which do not hold the relevant certificates or attestations
• for product and equipment labelling
• on the use of certain F gases for magnesium die-casting, vehicle tyres or servicing certain refrigeration equipment

Requirements in the UK will also not change on:

• the individual qualifications and company certifications you need to install, service, maintain, repair, decommission or check for leaks in certain equipment or the recover F gas
• the content and requirements of training and certification programmes
• the validity of existing certificates and training attestations, including those issued by EU member states both before and after the UK leaves the EU

ODS

From 1 January 2021, the rules will stay the same for ODS that you:

• import
• supply
• use
• recover
• destroy

You’ll have the same responsibilities to:

• maintain equipment
• control leaks

Rules on how you can supply and use ODS will remain the same, including for:

• feedstock
• process agents
• destruction
• reclamation
• essential laboratory and analytical use
• halons for certain critical uses

New ODS quota system

When the UK leaves the EU, it will manage its own ODS quota system.

If you produce, import or export ODS, or products containing ODS, from exit day you’ll need to apply for a:

• UK quota to place them on the UK market
• EU quota to place them on the EU market

To apply:

1. Register on the UK ODS system to get an organisation ID. If you’re registered as a UK-based organisation on the EU portal, you should have received an email about registering you on the new UK system. If you haven’t been contacted email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk
2. Apply for quota on the UK ODS system. The registration and application window will close two weeks after exit day.

If your application is successful the Environment Agency will notify you how much UK quota you have been allocated from the day after the UK leaves the EU.

To get quota for subsequent years you must apply on the UK ODS system.

You’ll need to apply by 8 June every year for a quota for the following year. For example, if you want a quota to use in 2021, you must apply on the ODS system by 8 June 2020.

If approved, the Environment Agency will put your allocation on the ODS system.

The Environment Agency will publish further guidance on how to use the ODS system once the UK leaves the EU.

Importing and exporting ODS

You’ll need to use the new Environment Agency system, instead of European Commission systems, to apply for a UK licence to import or export ODS, including to and from the EU.

The information that you’ll need to provide to get a licence will not change.

To apply for a licence to import or export ODS you’ll need to:

1. Register on the UK ODS system to get an organisation ID. If you’re registered as a UK-based organisation on the EU portal, you should have received an email about registering you on the new UK system. If you haven’t been contacted email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk
2. Apply for the ODS import or export licence that you need.

You still must not trade with countries or territories which are not party to, or do not comply with, the United Nations Montreal Protocol.

Reporting ODS use

You must report your ODS use by 31 March each year. You must report:

• activity between 1 January 2019 and exit day on the EU system by 31 March 2020
• UK activity for the whole of 2019 on the UK’s new reporting system by 31 March 2020

The Environment Agency will publish guidance on how to use the ODS reporting system once the UK leaves the EU.

The information you need to report will be similar to that reported under the EU regulation.

Using ODS for laboratory and analytical purposes

If you use ODS for laboratory and analytical uses you must register on the UK laboratory ODS system and submit a declaration.

If you’re registered as a UK-based organisation on the EU portal, you should have received an email about registering you on the new UK system. If you haven’t been contacted email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk.