On 16 April 2026, the Ministry of Emergency Management and nine other departments (ten in total) jointly issued an announcement, deciding to incorporate five chemicals — propargyl chloride (3-chloropropyne), 2-iodoxybenzoic acid, p-nitrobenzyl 2-diazoacetoacetate, methanesulfonyl azide, and 2-nitro-3-methylbenzoic acid — into the Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals in China (2015 ). On 28 April, a notice on safety supervision was issued, together with the classification information table for the five hazardous chemicals.
Substances listed in the Catalog are required to complete hazardous chemicals registration or obtain relevant licenses, and to complete the required inspection declaration at the import and export stage.
The Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals has strengthened the responsibilities of China Customs. Customs is now officially listed as a joint formulating department of the Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals, working together with the emergency management, public security, ecological and environmental, and transport authorities to determine and adjust the Catalog. Customs is responsible for inspecting imported and exported hazardous chemicals and their packaging in accordance with the law.
As the core legal basis for import and export statutory inspection, General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 129, 2020 and No. 29 of 2023 set out clear provisions on the scope of statutory inspection, declaration items, documents to be provided, inspection contents, and inspection methods. Customs inspects imported and exported hazardous chemicals listed in the national Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (latest edition) and their packaging.
Declaration Items and Documents to be Provided
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Category |
Declaration Requirements |
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Imported hazardous chemicals
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Declaration items: At the time of customs declaration, the consignee or its agent shall, through the China International Trade Single Window, truthfully declare the nature of the goods, the inspection and quarantine name, the hazard class, the packaging group, the United Nations number (UN number), the dangerous goods packaging mark (UN packaging mark), and the destination inspection and quarantine authority, etc. Documents to be provided: Declaration of Conformity of the Enterprise for Imported Hazardous Chemicals; For products requiring the addition of an inhibitor or stabilizer, a statement on the actual name and quantity of the inhibitor or stabilizer added; Samples of the Chinese chemical safety label (except for products in bulk) and the Chinese safety data sheet (SDS). |
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Exported hazardous chemicals |
Documents to be provided: Declaration of Conformity of the Manufacturer for Exported Hazardous Chemicals; Results Report on Performance Inspection of Transport Packaging for Exit Goods (except for products in bulk and those exempted from using dangerous goods packaging under international regulations); Report on classification and testing of hazardous characteristics; Samples of the chemical safety label (except for products in bulk) and the safety data sheet; if in a foreign language, the corresponding Chinese translation shall be provided; For products requiring the addition of an inhibitor or stabilizer, a statement on the actual name and quantity of the inhibitor or stabilizer added. |
Bases for Inspection
- Mandatory requirements of China's national technical regulations (applicable to imported products);
- Relevant international conventions, international rules, treaties, agreements, protocols, memoranda, etc.;
- Technical regulations and standards of the importing country or region (applicable to exported products);
- Technical regulations and standards designated by the GAC and the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).
Inspection Contents for Hazardous Chemicals
- Whether the main composition/component information, physical and chemical properties, and hazard class of the product comply with the requirements;
- Whether the product packaging bears a chemical safety label (imported products shall bear a Chinese chemical safety label) and is accompanied by a safety data sheet (imported products shall be accompanied by a Chinese SDS);
- Whether the contents of the chemical safety label and the safety data sheet comply with the requirements.
Packaging Inspection of Hazardous Chemicals
- For imported hazardous chemicals, inspection shall be conducted on whether the packaging type, packaging mark, packaging group, packaging specification, single-package weight, and condition of packaging use comply with the requirements.
- Where exported hazardous chemicals are classified as dangerous goods, performance inspection and use appraisal shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions and standards governing the inspection of transport packaging for exported dangerous goods by sea, air, road and rail, and the Results Report on Performance Inspection of Transport Packaging for Exit Goods and the Appraisal Report on the Use of Transport Packaging for Exit Dangerous Goods shall be issued respectively.
Enterprises involved with the relevant hazardous chemicals listed in the Catalog should take timely compliance measures. To find out whether your products are included in the latest edition of the Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals, you may use the query links below or contact CIRS Group directly, and we will provide a tailored compliance solution based on your products.
Query portal for the latest edition of the Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals: https://hgt.cirs-group.com/tools/cis/inv/62aaaae4bc9325535f815f2e
Intelligent Hazardous Chemicals Identification Assistant: https://hgt.cirs-group.com/apps/haz-check/haz-check/input
CIRS Services
- Preparation of safety data sheets and chemical safety labels for hazardous chemicals (China and worldwide);
- Report on classification and testing of hazardous characteristics (China, EU, US);
- Hazardous chemicals registration (nationwide);
- 24-hour emergency consultation telephone service (China and worldwide agents).
References
- Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals
- Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Emergency Management on Earnestly Conducting the Safety Supervision of Five Hazardous Chemicals Including Propargyl Chloride
- GAC Announcement No. 129 of 2020 and No. 29 of 2023
- Introduction to the Customs Inspection Requirements for the Import and Export of the Five Newly Added Hazardous Chemicals: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xqqakSX-ypo94vm_4UbXjw
