The two aforementioned regulations replace the previous provisions of Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases and Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer. The aim is to avoid duplication of regulations, create legal certainty and enshrine in national law the additions required by EU law, such as trade restrictions in the event of infringements or requirements for the subsequent procurement of quotas. At the same time, the law contributes to sustainability goal 13.1 of the 2030 Agenda, which specifically provides for climate protection measures.
A. Current status of proceedings
The Federal Government originally submitted the draft of a fifth law amending the Chemicals Act to the Federal Council for comment on 7 November 2025 (BR-Drs. 645/25). The committees’ recommendations followed on 5 December 2025 (BR 645/1/25). The Bundesrat then issued its opinion on 19 December 2025 (BR plenary minutes 1060, pp. 521-521, TOP 56) and concluded the procedure with a resolution (BR-Drs. 645/25(B)).
The Federal Government then submitted the draft of a fifth law amending the Chemicals Act (BT-Drs. 21/3511) to the Bundestag on 7 January 2026. The first consultation in the Bundestag took place on 15 January 2026. The committees are currently reviewing the draft. A final legislative decision by the Bundestag and further steps such as publication in the Federal Law Gazette are still pending.
B. Overview of the main changes under the ChemG-RefE
The following is a summary of the key changes introduced by the Fifth Act Amending the Chemicals Act (ChemG-RefE); this list is not exhaustive:
- Expansion of the definitions of terms, in particular “manufacturer”, “importer” and “use”
- Deletion of the prohibition on making available, Section 12i (1) ChemG
- Retention of national documentation and verification requirements, Section 12i (2) ChemG
- Elimination of the labelling requirement, Section 12i (6) ChemG
- Adjustment of information in the supply chain, in particular new insertion of Section 12j (8) ChemG with simplifications for the supply of F-gases for the purpose of final filling
- New insertion of Section 12k ChemG for the purpose of retrospective quota approval for F-gas products and equipment already on the market
- Adjustment of the SCIP reporting obligation, in particular deletion of Section 16f No. 2 ChemG
- Extension of the regulatory authority in Section 17(1) No. 1 letter c ChemG
- New insertion of Section 23a ChemG as the legal basis for a temporary ban on trade in F-gases
C. Explanations of the key changes under the ChemG-RefE
The above-mentioned changes according to the ChemG-RefE are explained in detail below:
I. Expansion of the definitions (Art. 1 No. 2 ChemG-RefE)
The definitions of “manufacturer” (Section 3 No. 7 ChemG) and “importer” (Section 3 No. 8 ChemG) are now expanded to include “facilities”. In addition, the term “release” in relation to F-gases and ozone-depleting gases is included in the definition of “use” (Section 3 No. 10 ChemG).
II. Deletion of the prohibition on making available, Section 12i (1) ChemG (Art. 1 No. 3 letter b ChemG-RefE)
The previous Section 12i(1) ChemG is deleted without replacement. Section 12i(1) No. 1 ChemG previously regulated a prohibition on provision, while Section 12i(1) No. 2 ChemG contained prohibitions on storage and emptying.
The previous Section 12i (1) No. 1 ChemG is now directly addressed by Article 11 (1) subparagraph 3 sentence 1 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573. Although this does not contain an explicit prohibition on acquisition, as was the case with the previous Section 12i (1) No. 1 ChemG, it is not necessary to retain it, as the new Regulation (EU) 2024/573 instead targets and prohibits subsequent actions, such as use.
The previous Section 12i (1) No. 2 ChemG is now directly regulated by Article 11 (3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573. Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 prohibits the import, subsequent supply for consideration or free of charge, making available to third parties in the Union, use and export of non-refillable containers for F-gases listed in Annex I and Annex II, Group 1, to Regulation (EU) 2024/573, which may only be stored or transported for subsequent disposal. Although Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 does not explicitly prohibit emptying, there is no gap in national law. This is because emptying is likely to be considered intentional release, which is prohibited under Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and will be punishable under the amended Section 27c(1) (Art. 1 No. 13 ChemG-RefE).
III. Retention of national documentation and verification requirements, Section 12i(2) ChemG (Art. 1 No. 3 letters c, d, e ChemG-RefE)
The documentation and verification requirements set out in Section 12i(2) ChemG remain essentially unchanged. However, the reference to Article 11(1) subparagraph 1 in conjunction with Annex IV of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 will be updated as required, instead of the previous reference to Article 11(1) in conjunction with Annex III of Regulation (EU) No 517/2014.
The national documentation and verification requirements go beyond the EU requirements in Article 11(1)(5) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and specify them in more detail with regard to both the relevant point in time and the required verification content.
Firstly, the EU documentation and verification requirement under Article 11(1)(5) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 only takes effect one year after the respective prohibition date in Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and thus later than the prohibitions in Article 11(1)(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573, which apply immediately after the prohibition date in Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2024/573. In contrast, the national documentation and evidence requirement demands the necessary evidence at the time of delivery.
Secondly, the EU documentation and verification requirement does not contain any requirements regarding the content of the verification. This is in contrast to the national documentation and verification requirement, which will probably require the following information in future:
- Name and address of the supplier
- confirmation that the product or facility was first placed on the market before the prohibition date specified in Annex III (editorial error, meant to be: IV) to Regulation (EU) 2024/573, and
- identification features of the product or facility that enable the product or facility to be clearly assigned to the declaration.
The obligation to retain evidence (Section 12i (4) ChemG), the presumption rule (Section 12i (5) ChemG), and the exemption from the documentation and evidence requirement (Section 12i (5) ChemG) remain unchanged in terms of content, apart from an update of the references to Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and a purely formal restructuring.
IV. Elimination of the labelling requirement, Section 12i (6) ChemG (Art. 1 No. 3 letter f ChemG-RefE)
The previously purely national labelling requirement in Section 12i(6) ChemG is also no longer applicable, as it is replaced by the EU requirement in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573. The EU labelling requirement regulated therein applies both to the placing on the market and to subsequent deliveries, as well as to the provision to third parties.
V. Adjustment of information requirements in the supply chain (Art. 1 No. 4 letter d ChemG-RefE)
As part of the planned amendment to Section 12j ChemG, references to the old Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014 are to be replaced by references to Regulation (EU) 2024/573.
In addition, in Section 12j(3) sentence 1 (Art. 1 No. 4 letter d ChemG-RefE), the deletion of the word “own” clarifies that the obligations of Section 12j ChemG apply to every importer of F-gases, regardless of whether the gas is subsequently used by the company itself or by a third party. This explicitly covers the case where a service provider imports F-gases and subsequently uses them in a third party’s facility.
Furthermore, Section 12j (8) ChemG (Art. 1 No. 4 letter g ChemG-RefE) is newly inserted. According to this, the provisions of Section 12j (2), (3) sentence 2 and (4) ChemG do not apply if the transfer is for the purpose of the final filling of a product or equipment for its intended use, e.g. motor vehicle air conditioning systems. The reporting obligations introduced by the Third Act Amending the Chemicals Act serve to combat the illegal trade in F-gases by tightening controls on dealers. However, it was not intended that the declaration should be forwarded to the operators of stationary and mobile equipment. Such a comprehensive reporting obligation on the part of the supplier, which would also trigger a storage obligation on the part of the purchaser under Section 21j(6), would be disproportionate, particularly for operators of mobile equipment, such as motor vehicle owners, and for operators of smaller stationary equipment. The situation is different for larger stationary installations, as official control of maintenance operations and refilling with F-gases is already possible via the records required under Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573.
VI. New insertion of Section 12k ChemG – Retrospective quota approval for F-gas products and equipment already on the market (Article 1(4)(h) ChemG-RefE)
Section 12k ChemG is newly added (Art. 1 No. 4 letter h ChemG-RefE). The provision closes a previously existing gap in the EU quota system for F-gases. This is because the EU ban in Art. 11 Regulation (EU) 2024/573 only applies to products placed on the market for the first time without an existing quota. For products already on the market, however, there is neither a ban on supply nor an obligation to obtain retrospective quota approval. Section 12k ChemG remedies this situation: anyone who makes such a product available again must in future ensure that the necessary quota authorisation is in place. This means that previous infringements can be remedied retrospectively and the facilities concerned can be brought into line with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/573.
VII. Adjustment of SCIP reporting obligations (Art. 1 No. 5 ChemG-RefE)
Section 16f No. 2 ChemG is deleted because companies are simply not required to state why a substance has been included in the candidate list pursuant to Article 59(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 when submitting their SCIP notification to the European Chemicals Agency. In addition, it should be noted that the EU Commission proposes in the Environmental Omnibus – Omnibus Package VIII – to remove the obligation to submit SVHC data in future (see also our blog post What’s changing in 2026: Chemicals legislation, section B. CLP).
VIII. Extension of the regulatory authority (Art. 1 No. 6 ChemG-RefE)
The regulatory authority in Section 17(1)(1)(c) ChemG is being extended so that in future it will also be possible to issue requirements for the sale and purchase of certain substances, mixtures, articles and equipment, including possible restrictions for certain groups of people, thereby ensuring the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and Regulation (EU) 2024/590.
IX. Enactment of Section 23a ChemG – New temporary trade ban (Art. 1 No. 10 ChemG-RefE)
Section 23a ChemG is newly added (Art. 1 No. 10), thereby transposing Art. 27(3)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2024/590 and Art. 31(3)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 into national law. These two provisions stipulate that authorities may impose temporary bans in the event of serious or repeated infringements – for example, on the manufacture, use, import, export or placing on the market of ozone-depleting substances or F-gases. As an independent administrative measure, Section 23a ChemG is independent of any criminal or administrative fine proceedings and primarily pursues the goal of preventing further infringements. The prerequisite for such a ban on activities is a serious or repeated infringement. The severity of a violation is assessed in particular on the basis of the quantity of gases placed on the market or used in violation of the aforementioned regulations and their impact on the environment. A serious violation is to be assumed if F-gases are intentionally released or placed on the market unlawfully in significant quantities. A significant quantity is deemed to exist if the quantity of the substance in question is so high that a considerable environmental risk can be assumed. In the case of F-gases, this is regularly assumed to be the case for quantities exceeding 10 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, which is based on the thresholds recognized under EU law, for example for pre-filled equipment. If the conditions are met, Section 23a ChemG grants the authority discretion and, depending on the severity of the violation, it can determine both the duration and the type of prohibition.
Conclusion
The Fifth Act Amending the Chemicals Act accompanies the requirements and objectives arising from Regulation (EU) 2024/573 on fluorinated greenhouse gases and Regulation (EU) 2024/590 on substances that deplete the ozone layer. It significantly strengthens the national enforcement of chemicals law. In view of the expanded scope for regulatory intervention, particularly under the future Section 23a ChemG, companies should review their F-gas compliance and, if necessary, make appropriate adjustments.
Do you have any questions about this news item or would you like to discuss it with the author? Please feel free to contact: Martin Ahlhaus and Nicole Rauch
