On December 18, 2020, the General Administration of Customs issued the “Announcement on Issues Concerning the Inspection and Supervision of Import and Export of Dangerous Chemicals and Their Packaging” (Announcement No. 129 of 2020 of the General Administration of Customs). The announcement will be implemented on January 10, 2021, and the original AQSIQ Announcement No. 30 of 2012 shall be repealed at the same time. This is an important measure taken by the General Administration of Customs to implement the spirit of General Secretary Jinping’s important instructions on safe production, accelerate the modernization of the hazardous chemical safety governance system and governance capabilities, comprehensively improve the level of safety development, and create a safe and stable environment for economic and social development. The General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 129 in 2020 has six key changes compared with the original AQSIQ Announcement No. 30 in 2012. Let’s study with you below.

1. Law enforcement duties remain unchanged, inspection scope updated

Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs

The customs inspects the import and export hazardous chemicals listed in the national “Dangerous Chemicals Catalog” (the latest edition).

Former AQSIQ Announcement No. 30

Entry-exit inspection and quarantine agencies shall carry out inspections on imported and exported hazardous chemicals listed in the National Directory of Dangerous Chemicals (see appendix).

TIPS
In 2015, the national “Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals” (2002 Edition) has been updated to “Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals” (2015 Edition), which is the currently valid version. The Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs indicates that the latest version of the “Dangerous Chemicals Catalog” is implemented, which solves the problem of delayed adjustment of the regulatory scope caused by subsequent revisions and changes of the “Dangerous Chemicals Catalog.

2. The materials provided remain unchanged, and the items to be filled in are increased
Imported hazardous chemicals

Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs

When the consignee of imported dangerous chemicals or its agent declares customs, the filling items should include the dangerous category, packaging category (except for bulk products), UN Dangerous Goods Number (UN Number), UN Dangerous Goods Packaging Mark (Package UN Mark) ( Except for bulk products), etc., the following materials should also be provided:

(1) “Declaration of Conformity of Enterprises Importing Hazardous Chemicals”
(2) For products that require the addition of inhibitors or stabilizers, the name and quantity of the actual inhibitor or stabilizer should be provided;
(3) Chinese hazard announcement labels (except for bulk products, the same below), and a sample of Chinese safety data sheets.

Former AQSIQ Announcement No. 30

The consignee or its agent of imported hazardous chemicals shall report to the inspection and quarantine agency of the customs declaration area in accordance with the “Regulations on Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine”, and declare in accordance with the name in the “List of Hazardous Chemicals” when applying for inspection. The following materials should be provided:

(1) “Declaration of Conformity of Imported Hazardous Chemicals Business Enterprise”
(2) For products that require the addition of inhibitors or stabilizers, the name and quantity of the actual inhibitor or stabilizer should be provided;
(3) Chinese hazard announcement labels (except for bulk products, the same below), and a sample of Chinese safety data sheets.

TIPS
The General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 129 further clarifies the specific matters to be filled in when importing dangerous chemicals. According to Announcement No. 129 on the reporting requirements for imported hazardous chemicals, companies need to make advance judgments on the transportation hazard information of imported hazardous chemicals. That is, in accordance with the United Nations “Recommendation on the Transport of Dangerous Goods Model Regulations” (TDG), “International Maritime Transport of Dangerous Goods” (IMDG code) and other international regulations to determine/verify the dangerous category of the product, UN number and other information .

3. The materials provided remain unchanged and the exemption clauses are increased
Export of hazardous chemicals

Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs

3. The consignor or agent of exporting hazardous chemicals shall provide the following materials when reporting to the customs for inspection:

(1) “Declaration of Conformity for Exported Hazardous Chemicals Manufacturers” (see Annex 2 for the format)
(2) “Outbound Cargo Transport Packaging Performance Inspection Result Form” (except for bulk products and international regulations exempted from the use of dangerous goods packaging);
(3) Classification and identification report of hazardous characteristics;
(4) Hazard announcement labels (except for bulk products, the same below), samples of safety data sheets, if samples in foreign languages, corresponding Chinese translations shall be provided;
(5) For products that require the addition of inhibitors or stabilizers, the name and quantity of the actual inhibitors or stabilizers should be provided.

Former AQSIQ Announcement No. 30

3. The consignor or its agent of exporting hazardous chemicals shall report to the inspection and quarantine agency of the place of origin in accordance with the “Regulations on Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Application”, and declare in accordance with the name in the “List of Hazardous Chemicals” when applying for inspection. The following materials should be provided:

(1) Declaration of conformity of export hazardous chemicals production enterprises (see Annex 2 for the format).
(2) “Outbound Cargo Transport Packaging Performance Inspection Result Sheet” (excluding bulk products);
(3) Classification and identification report of hazardous characteristics;
(4) Samples of hazard announcement labels and safety data sheets. If samples are in foreign languages, corresponding Chinese translations shall be provided;
(5) For products that require the addition of inhibitors or stabilizers, the name and quantity of the actual inhibitors or stabilizers should be provided.

TIPS
According to the requirements of the General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 129, if the export of dangerous chemicals complies with the “Model Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods” (TDG) or “International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code” (IMDG code) and other international regulations, the use of dangerous goods is exempted When the packaging is required, there is no need to provide the “Outbound Cargo Transport Packaging Performance Inspection Result Sheet” during customs declaration. This clause applies to dangerous goods in limited or exceptional quantities (except for air transport). In addition, hazardous chemicals transported in bulk do not need to provide Chinese GHS labels during customs declaration.

4. Technical requirements have changed, and the main responsibility is clear

Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs

4. Enterprises importing and exporting hazardous chemicals shall ensure that hazardous chemicals meet the following requirements:

(1) The mandatory requirements of my country’s national technical specifications (applicable to imported products);
(2) Relevant international conventions, international rules, treaties, agreements, protocols, memorandums, etc.;
(3) Technical regulations and standards of the importing country or region (applicable to export products);
(4) Technical specifications and standards designated by the General Administration of Customs and the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Former AQSIQ Announcement No. 30

4. Import and export of hazardous chemicals and their packaging shall be subject to inspection and supervision according to the following requirements:

(1) The mandatory requirements of my country’s national technical specifications (applicable to imported products);
(2) International conventions, international rules, treaties, agreements, protocols, memorandums, etc.;
(3) Technical regulations and standards of the importing country or region (applicable to export products);
(4) Technical specifications and standards designated by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine;
(5) The technical requirements in the trade contract are higher than those specified in (1) to (4) of this article.

TIPS
The original General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Announcement No. 30 “Import and export of hazardous chemicals and their packaging shall be subject to inspection and supervision according to the following requirements” to “Hazardous chemicals import and export enterprises shall ensure that hazardous chemicals meet the following requirements” in the 129 Announcement of the General Administration of Customs. It further clarified the quality and safety requirements and the main responsibilities of enterprises in the import and export of hazardous chemicals. Deleted “(5) Technical requirements higher than those specified in (1) to (4) of this article in the trade contract.”

5. the inspection content focuses on safety

Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs

5. The inspection contents of import and export hazardous chemicals include:

(1) Whether the main components/component information, physical and chemical characteristics, and hazard categories of the product meet the requirements of Article 4 of this announcement.
(2) Whether there are hazard publicity labels on the product packaging (imported products should have Chinese hazard publicity labels), and whether safety data sheets are attached (imported products should be accompanied by Chinese safety data sheets); whether the contents of the hazard publicity labels and safety data sheets conform to The provisions of Article 4 of this announcement.

Former AQSIQ Announcement No. 30

5. The content of import and export hazardous chemicals inspection, including whether it meets the requirements of safety, hygiene, health, environmental protection, and fraud prevention, as well as related items such as quality, quantity, and weight. Among them, safety requirements include:

(1) Whether the main components/component information, physical and chemical characteristics, and hazard categories of the product meet the requirements of Article 4 of this announcement.
(2) Whether there are hazard publicity labels on the product packaging (imported products should have Chinese hazard publicity labels), and whether safety data sheets are attached (imported products should be accompanied by Chinese safety data sheets); whether the contents of the hazard publicity labels and safety data sheets conform to The provisions of Article 4 of this announcement.

TIPS
The content of the inspection is deleted “whether it meets the requirements of safety, sanitation, health, environmental protection, and fraud prevention, as well as related items such as quality, quantity, and weight”. It is further clarified that the inspection of hazardous chemicals is an inspection item related to safety.

6.Packaging requirements are in line with international regulations

Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs

7. For the packaging of exported dangerous chemicals, the performance inspection and use appraisal shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations and standards for the inspection and management of export dangerous goods packaging by sea, air, road and railway transportation, and the “Outbound Cargo Transport Packaging Performance Inspection Result Form” shall be issued respectively. Appraisal Result Form for Use of Outbound Dangerous Goods Transport Packaging.

Former AQSIQ Announcement No. 30

7. For the packaging of dangerous chemicals for export, the performance inspection and use appraisal shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations and standards for the inspection and management of export dangerous goods by sea, air, automobile and railway transportation, and the “Outbound Cargo Transport Packaging Performance Inspection Result Sheet” and ” Appraisal Result Form for Use of Outbound Dangerous Goods Transport Packaging.

TIPS
In the Announcement No. 129 of the General Administration of Customs, “car” was changed to “road transportation”, and other inspection requirements for packaging of hazardous chemicals remained unchanged. It reflects the further integration of our country’s laws and regulations with international technical regulations. Commonly used international regulations for hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods include the “Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals” (GHS), whose cover is purple, also commonly known as the Purple Book; the United Nations “Model Regulations for Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods” (TDG ), whose cover is orange, also commonly known as the Orange Book. According to different modes of transportation, there are the International Maritime Organization “International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code” (IMDG Code), the International Civil Aviation Organization “Technical Regulations for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air” (ICAO); “International Railway Transport Dangerous Goods Regulations” (RID) And “European Agreement on International Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Road” (ADR), etc. It is recommended that companies increase their understanding of these regulations before handling the import and export of hazardous chemicals.