Inventory

Major Implications

• The Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances Produced or Imported in China (IECSC 2010);
• >45,000 subs;

Chemicals not listed in this inventory will be regarded as new chemicals and shall be notified to the Chemical Registration Center of MEP.

Foreign companies will need to appoint a local Chinese agent to submit new chemical notifications.

• The Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (2002);
• >3,700 subs;

Domestic companies who are involved in the production, storage, use, sales and transporting of hazardous chemicals will be subject to different requirements, for example, obtaining operating license, safety evaluation report, registration of hazardous chemicals, and prepare SDS and chemical labels in accordance with China GHS national standards.

Foreign companies do not need to obtain operating license or register hazardous chemicals. However, they might need to prepare Chinese SDS and labels in accordance with China GHS;

• The Catalog of Highly Toxic Chemicals;
• >100 subs;

Besides the basic requirement on hazardous chemicals, chemicals in this catalog are subject to extra requirements, for example, purchase license, road pass permit, etc.

Less relevant to foreign companies.

• Prohibited Chemicals (2005)
• >20 subs;

Chemicals prohibited from import and export in China.

• The List of Toxic Chemicals Severely Restricted to Be Imported/Exported from China (2011)
• >158 subs;

Domestic and foreign companies which deal with import and/or export of those toxic chemicals in China need to register with the Chemical Registration Centre (CRC) of MEP and apply for relevant registration certificates or custom clearance notification.

• The Catalog of National Industrial Products;

Domestic manufacturers of chemicals in this catalog shall apply for manufacturing license. Not relevant for foreign companies;

• Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredients in China (IECIC);

If chemicals used to manufacture cosmetics are not listed in this inventory, companies shall register the chemicals with SFDA and obtain a hygiene license;