The two sessions passed the "Ecological and Environmental Code", which imposes a maximum penalty of 2 million yuan for violations of chemical substances!
At the just-concluded Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress, the "Ecological and Environmental Code of the People's Republic of China" was officially voted on and will come into effect on August 1, 2026. The promulgation of this code marks that my country's ecological and environmental protection has officially entered the era of "codification". In particular, the rigid supervision of "register first, then produce/import; no production without a license, and no use without a license" is implemented for new chemical substances, setting a red line for the entire chain of supervision for the chemical industry.
New pollutants and new chemical substances are listed in the Code to achieve source control
For the first time, the Code incorporates the treatment of new pollutants into the national legal system, completely changing the old model of "policy promotion" in this field and shifting to a new stage of "rule of law guidance". The so-called new pollutants refer to chemical substances that can be detected in the environment and may cause great risks to human health and the ecological environment even if they are entered at low doses. These substances are of various types, have high environmental risks, hidden hazards, strong environmental persistence, wide sources, and complex management.
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In addition, the Code officially incorporates the environmental management registration of new chemical substances into the legal regulatory framework. This move not only marks that my country's environmental risk management and control of new chemical substances has officially entered a new era of "legalization, normalization, and strict supervision." It also uses legal coercion to build an insurmountable legal defense line for corporate compliance operations during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. It forms a tight regulatory closed loop with the penalties stipulated in the Code, and builds dual guarantees of ecological security and market order from the source of the system.
Simply put, new chemical substances refer to chemical substances that are not included in the "Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China". Since its environmental hazards, ecotoxicity, and human health risks have not been systematically assessed, disordered production, import, and use may cause long-term pollution of water, soil, and atmosphere, resulting in bioaccumulation, food chain hazards, and health risks such as chronic toxicity, sensitization, and carcinogenesis to the human body.
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In order to build a solid barrier for the prevention and control of environmental risks of new chemical substances, the state has formally established an environmental management registration system for new chemical substances. This system is by no means a process that companies can choose independently, but a rigid obligation with legal force. Its core value is reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, it effectively safeguards the bottom line of ecological safety through source access screening and hazard classification management and control; on the other hand, it helps enterprises avoid potential operating risks and builds a solid compliance foundation for cross-border trade and market expansion, fully complying with the core principles of system design of "source access, risk prevention, and classified management."
Rigid red line, full chain supervision and compulsory registration
Article 649 of the Code clearly stipulates that those who produce or import chemical substances in the list of key new pollutants and use chemical substances in the list of key new pollutants to produce products must comply with relevant environmental risk control measures. For chemical substances that are clearly prohibited or restricted, companies should immediately take corresponding measures in accordance with relevant requirements.
Articles 650 and 651 of the Code clearly condense the core requirements for environmental management registration of new chemical substances into the rigid rules of “register first, then produce/import; no production without a license, no use without a license”. At the specific implementation level, the country has officially implemented the environmental management registration system for new chemical substances, which requires enterprises and institutions that produce and import new chemical substances to submit registration applications to the ecological environment department of the State Council before carrying out production and import activities. At the same time, the law clearly prohibits the production and import of new chemical substances without a registration certificate or in failure to comply with the requirements of the registration certificate. It is also strictly prohibited to use new chemical substances produced or imported by enterprises without registration certificates in product production. Going further, the system incorporates the entire life cycle of new chemical substances from research and development, production, import to processing and use into the entire environmental risk chain supervision system to achieve seamless risk prevention and control.
Severe fines and sharp swords, with a maximum fine of NT$2 million for illegal activities
For new pollutants, those who produce, import or use chemical substances in the list of key new pollutants without complying with the requirements will be fined from RMB 100,000 to RMB 1 million; in serious cases, they will be ordered to suspend business or close down.
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For new chemical substances, the Ecological and Environmental Code strictly regulates and punishes illegal production, import, and use of unregistered new chemical substances. Enterprises must not take chances:
- Order to make corrections and impose a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than 1 million yuan
- Those who refuse to make corrections shall be fined not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 2 million, and ordered to restrict production or suspend production for rectification.
- If the circumstances are serious, the company shall be ordered to suspend business or close down after approval by the people's government with the authority to approve it.
Enterprises carry out self-examination and rectification to form a closed loop of compliance
In order to promote enterprises to proactively implement compliance requirements and effectively avoid the risk of non-compliance, we recommend that enterprises immediately launch special actions of full-process self-examination + rectification in accordance with the clear regulations of the Code. The following are the specific implementation paths:
1、Carry out systematic inspection and verification, comprehensively sort out the list of raw materials, intermediates, additives and other materials, check item by item whether they are new chemical substances that are not included in the "Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China", or controlled substances that have been included in the list of key new pollutants, and accurately identify compliance risk points.
2、Strictly fulfill the registration and declaration obligations. For materials confirmed to be new chemical substances after investigation, the registration and declaration process must be started in a timely manner based on the actual annual production, import volume and material characteristics, and legal materials such as environmental risk assessment must be fully submitted. Production or import activities can only be carried out after obtaining a registration certificate issued by the ecological environment authority to ensure that the legal procedures of "register first, operate later" are strictly implemented.
3、Build a standardized management system and establish a special management ledger for new chemical substances to achieve traceability of information throughout the entire process from procurement, use to disposal; strictly implement the scope of use, dosage and other requirements stated in the registration certificate, implement environmental risk prevention and control, monitoring and early warning and emergency response measures, and strictly prohibit illegal activities such as excessive use, excessive use, or lending of registration certificates.
4、Establish a dynamic compliance tracking mechanism, continue to pay attention to the dynamic updates of the supporting implementation rules of the Code and the "Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China", regularly carry out compliance self-examination and self-correction, timely adjust management strategies, and form a closed-loop management mechanism of "inspection-rectification-tracking-reinspection" to ensure that corporate business activities always comply with the latest regulatory requirements.
The implementation of the Ecological and Environmental Code is both a rigid constraint and an opportunity for transformation for the chemical industry, which will profoundly promote the high-quality development of the industry. In the future, compliance capabilities will become the core competitiveness of chemical companies. Companies that proactively implement registration requirements and improve risk management and control will gain market trust, policy support and export convenience, achieving a win-win situation for corporate development and ecological protection.
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Odyssey Compliance Incorporation (OCI) Company has provided chemical compliance technical services for 20 years and will continue to adhere to its 5A service commitment. With its deep regulatory knowledge, professional technical team and rich industry experience, it will wholeheartedly provide technical support to chemical companies at home and abroad to ensure compliance registration and product safety.
