What Compliance Requirements – CCC (China Compulsory Certification) & Goods Entry Clearance

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. 
 
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:

• 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) 
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)

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.

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.