The "Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law" has officially come into effect. Import and export enterprises must take note!

The "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals" (hereinafter referred to as the "Law on Hazardous Chemicals") came into effect on May 1, 2026. The "Law on Hazardous Chemicals" is a specialized and fundamental law in the field of hazardous chemicals in China. Compared to the "Regulations on the Safety Administration of Hazardous Chemicals" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), it comprehensively elevates the legal status of hazardous chemical safety management and is an important symbol of promoting the modernization of the legal system for safe production.

Core changes in the "Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law" and the new positioning of customs' statutory duties

The "Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law" clarifies and strengthens customs responsibilities in multiple dimensions, mainly reflected in the following five major aspects:

（1） Article 7 of the Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law stipulates that "(9) Customs is responsible for inspecting the import and export of dangerous chemicals and their packaging in accordance with the law." This clarifies the legal status of customs in the chain of inspection and supervision of dangerous chemicals. Customs shall participate in the adjustment of the list of hazardous chemicals and the formulation of relevant rules in accordance with the law. According to Article 3 and Article 87 of the Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law, the customs shall participate in the determination, publication, and adjustment of the Dangerous Chemicals Catalogue, as well as the formulation of specific measures for exempting dangerous chemicals from registration. This indicates that customs will participate in formulating rules, intervene in risk management from the source, and play a professional role at a higher level. （2） The power of administrative penalties has been confirmed. The "Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law" clearly states that the customs belong to the "department responsible for the supervision and management of dangerous chemicals safety" (Article 7), and further empowers the customs to apply the administrative penalty power of the "department responsible for the supervision and management of dangerous chemicals safety" stipulated in Article 101 and other provisions of the "Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law". The administrative penalty power of the customs has been confirmed. The "Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law" clearly applies the "dual penalty system", which applies to situations such as failure to implement the safety production responsibility system, inadequate investigation and control of hidden dangers, etc., and imposes separate penalties on units and directly responsible persons.
（3） The requirements for regulatory cooperation and information sharing are higher. Article 9 of the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law stipulates that "departments responsible for the supervision and management of hazardous chemicals safety shall strengthen regulatory cooperation and joint law enforcement, closely coordinate and cooperate, achieve timely, sufficient and effective information sharing, and strengthen the safety supervision and management of hazardous chemicals in accordance with the law. Any illegal behavior that should be handled by other departments according to the law shall be promptly transferred to other departments for handling." Compared with the Regulations, the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law provides more specific requirements for regulatory cooperation, joint law enforcement, information sharing, etc. This means that the traditional single department performance model needs to shift towards collaborative governance, and each department should establish an efficient collaborative mechanism.
（4） Compared with the "Regulations", the "Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law" clarifies the definition of "dangerous chemical units", including testing and inspection agencies that use dangerous chemicals. Customs inspection agencies and inspection agencies are included in the scope of "dangerous chemical units". This indicates that customs laboratories and other institutions need to implement the "full staff safety production responsibility system" and other requirements for "hazardous chemical units" in accordance with the provisions of the Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law, and strengthen the management of hazardous chemical safety in internal laboratories.
（5） The "dual penalty system" and "strict penalties" for illegal activities are clearly applicable in the "Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law", which applies to situations such as failure to implement the safety production responsibility system and inadequate investigation and control of hidden dangers. Units and directly responsible persons are punished separately. Compared with Article 78 of the Regulations, Article 101 of the Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law imposes heavier penalties. The relevant penalties under Article 101 of the Dangerous Chemicals Safety Law shall apply to situations frequently discovered by customs during the inspection of imported and exported hazardous chemicals, such as "import enterprises failing to provide Chinese chemical safety technical specifications or posting chemical safety labels that do not meet national standards". The customs shall order the relevant situation to be corrected within a time limit and may impose a fine of up to 100000 yuan; Those who fail to make corrections within the prescribed time limit shall be fined not less than 100000 yuan but not more than 200000 yuan.