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The
evolution of
the China
RoHS Act,
i.e., the
Management
Measures for
the
Prevention
and Control
of Pollution
from
Electronic
Information
Product (电子信息产品污染防治管理办法
- MMPCPEIP),
continues
like the EU
RoHS and
WEEE
Directives.
The latest
development
of the China
RoHS Act was
the proposed
First List
of
Controlled
Electronic
Information
Products (电子信息产品污染控制重点管理目录
-
第一批),
so-called
First China
RoHS Product
Catalogue.
As it
has been
well
noticed, the
proposed
First List
of 29
September
2009
contains
three
products,
i.e., mobile
phones,
fixed and
wireless
telephones,
and printers
connected to
computers.
There would
be only 10
months to
comply with
the
restriction
on the use
of hazardous
substances
for
controlled
products
after the
entry into
force of the
proposed
First List.
What
Compliance
Requirements
– CCC (China
Compulsory
Certification)
& Goods
Entry
Clearance
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The primary regulatory implication of the proposed First China RoHS Catalogue of 29 September 2009 is that list electronic information products have to bear the CCC (China Compulsory Certification) label, which is administered by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (国家认证认可监督管理委员会 - CNCA), and have to obtain Goods Entry Clearance Document (入境货物通关单) (MMPCPEIP-Art. 18 and Art.19). There are only two provisions having direct regulatory requirements related to the China RoHS Catalogue under the Management Measures for the Prevention and Control of Pollution from Electronic Information Product. Simpler is Better? All experienced legal experts and business practitioners have experienced that it is not the case, in particular, in China. If there are missing details and specification in the more than 800-page EU REACH, we can easily anticipate how much details would be missing in the 4-page China RoHS Act. Precisely speaking, however, Chinese environmental regulation does not miss details much. They are all scattered somewhere in the Chinese pyramid of legislation.
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Understanding
Pyramid
Structure of
Chinese
Legislation
For
foreign
managers who
are not
accustomed
to a
country-specific
legislative
system, what
is difficult
is to see
the full
picture of
one specific
regulation
and to
understand
the whole
control
system
involving
the
regulation.
In case of
the China
RoHS Act, it
is not an
Act which
appears at
the top of
the
legislative
hierarchy
but a
ministerial
ordinance
belonging to
the yellow
level in the
above
figure. The
primary
Acts, which
authorize
the Ministry
of Industry
and
Information
Technology
to draft and
work on the
China RoHS
Act, are the
Clean
Production
Promotion
Act (清洁生产促进法)
and the
Solid Waste
Pollution
Control Act
(固体废物污染环境防治法).
As
repeatedly
mentioned,
amongst
others,
there are
following
subsidiary
legislations
and
standards
supporting
the China
RoHS Act:
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First List of Controlled Electronic Information Products (电子信息产品污染控制重点管理目录 - 第一批) |
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Procedure for Development of the Key Administrative Catalog for the Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products (电子信息产品污染控制重点管理目录制定程序) |
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Standard of Concentration Limits for Certain Hazardous Substances in Electronic Information Products (SJ/T 11363-2006) (电子信息产品中有害物质的限量要求) |
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Standard of Marking for Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products (SJ/T 11364-2006) (电子信息产品污染控制标识要求) |
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Standard of Testing Methods for Hazardous Substances in Electronic Information Products (SJ/T 11365-2006) (电子信息产品中有毒有害物质的检测方法) |
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General Disassembly Requirements for Testing Hazardous Substances in. Electrical and Electronic Products (GB/Z 20288-2006) (电子电气产品中有害物质检测样品拆分通用要求) |
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Exactly the
same
regulatory
system
exists
regarding
the CCC
(China
Compulsory
Certification)
and Goods
Entry
Clearance.
The main
regulation
on CCC is
the
Regulation
on the
Management
of
Compulsory
Certification
(强制性产品认证管理规定).
The Measures
on the
Administration
for the
Issuance of
Entry-exit
Inspection
and
Quarantine
Certificates
(出入境检验检疫签证管理办法)
provides the
main control
mechanism on
Goods Entry
Clearance.
But the
horizontal
legislative
pyramid
exists for
the two
regulations
respectively.[1]
Basics
of China
Compulsory
Certification
CCC
is
administered
by the CNCA
(Certification
and
Accreditation
Administration).
The China
Quality
Certification
Centre (CQC)
is
designated
by CNCA to
process CCC
applications
and defines
the products
that need
CCC. CCC is
a compulsory
safety mark
for many
products
sold on the
Chinese
market. It
became
effective on
May 1, 2002.
It is the
result of
the
integration
of China's
two old
compulsory
inspection
systems,
namely
"CCIB"
(Safety
Mark,
introduced
in 1989 and
required for
products in
47 product
categories)
and "CCEE"
(also known
as "Great
Wall" Mark,
for
electrical
commodities
in 7 product
categories),
into a
single
procedure.
The
CCC mark
is required
for both
domestically
manufactured
products and
products
imported
into China,
such as:
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Electrical wires and cables
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Lighting apparatus |
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Switches for circuits, Installation protective and connection devices
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Telecommunication terminal equipment
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Low-voltage Electrical Apparatus
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Motor vehicles and Safety parts
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Small Power motors
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Motor vehicle tyres
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Electric tools
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Safety Glasses
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Welding machines
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Agricultural Machinery
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Household and similar electrical appliances
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Latex Products
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Audio and video apparatus
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Medical Devices
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Information technology equipment
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Fire Fighting Equipment
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Detectors for Intruder Alarm Systems
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Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems |
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Toys |
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The
certification
process
usually
takes sixty
to ninety
days and
includes the
following
steps:
1.
Submission
of an
application
and
supporting
materials
2. Type
Testing. A
CNCA-designated
test
laboratory
in China
will test
product
samples
3.
Factory
Inspection.
CQC will
send
representatives
to inspect
the
manufacturing
facilities
4.
Evaluation
of the
results
5.
Approval of
the CCC
Certificate
(or failure
and
retesting)
6.
Annual
Follow-up
Factory
Inspections
by Chinese
officials
Conclusion
Historical
and
Practical
Problems at
the Chinese
Customs
CCC
is
administered
by the
Certification
and
Accreditation
Administration
but is
enforced by
the Customs
for imported
products.
This
quasi-agent
problem has
created
administrative
and
enforcement
misunderstanding
at the
Chinese
Customs even
if a product
is not
subject to
CCC. This
will require
to suppliers
or exporters
to
communicate
with their
Chinese
partners and
customers
that a
particular
product does
not require
CCC.
Second China
RoHS
Catalogue
As
the title
indicates in
the proposed
First
List of
Controlled
Electronic
Information
Products,
the Chinese
competent
ministries
will
continuously
issue lists
of
controlled
electronic
information
products.
However,
drafting a
China RoHS
Catalogue is
not an easy
decision-making
process in
the Chinese
government,
as the
Ministry of
Industry and
Information
Technology (信息产业部),
the Ministry
of Commerce
(商务部),
the General
Administration
of Customs (海关总署),
the State
Administration
for Industry
& Commerce (国家工商行政管理总局),
the General
Administration
of Quality
Supervision,
Inspection
and
Quarantine (国家质量监督检验检疫总局),
the Ministry
of
Environmental
Protection (国家环境保护总局)
have to
coordinate
and agree
(MMPCPEIP
-Article
18).
It appears that the Chinese competent ministries have been very cautious with the proposed First List of Controlled Electronic Information Products by including only three products. Nevertheless, the speed of issuing the Second List would be shorter than the period that the Chinese ministries have spent to issue the proposed First List, after they acquire experience from intra-ministry consultation and by digesting opinions of global stakeholders.
[1] The full list of regulations on China Compulsory Certification and Goods Entry Clearance (including English translation) is accessible online from Young & Global Partners Onlinestore (www.ynpglobal.com/Onlinestore).
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