The recently released “Measures for the Administration of Registration of Hazardous Chemicals” (the “Measures” hereinafter) has just come into force in China on Aug 1st, 2012. Besides the attention-grabbing changes in the regulated scope (“C&L Inventory”), legal entity (both manufacturers and importers are included for registration) and registration contents, SAWS will impose more severe punishment on those who do not comply with this newly released Measures.
Compared with the maximum fine of 30,000 RMB set out in the 2002 version Measures, the revised one highly elevates the financial punishment amount. According to the Article 29 of the revised Measures, the fine could go up to 50,000 RMB to companies which:
Fail to get their hazardous chemicals registered;
Fail to update the registration documents when the registration categories are changed or the new hazardous properties identified.
If rectification is refused, a fine of up to 100,000 RMB could be issued. In the worst case, the business could be suspended.
Moreover, the corresponding responsibilities of the Administration Department of Work Safety and registration enterprises are elaborated in the revised “Measures”. New individual chapters, such as “the obligation of the registering enterprises” and “Supervision management” are added to the revised Measures, resulting in the volume extension from the previous 5 chapters and 25 items to 7 chapters and 34 items.
In conclusion, the affected companies should be well prepared for the incoming full-scale implementation of the revised Measures to avoid potential penalties of non-compliance.
