The Administrative Measures on the Import and Export of Ozone Depleting Substances, which were revised and adopted at the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on December 18,2024, and approved by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force on May 1, 2025.
March 21,2025
Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of Ozone Depleting Substances for the purpose of implementing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and its amendments and strengthening the administration of the import and export of ozone depleting substances in China.
Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the import and export of ozone layer depleting substances listed in the List of Ozone Layer Depleting Substances under Control in China.
The List of Ozone Depleting Substances under Control in Import and Export by China shall be formulated, adjusted and published by the department in charge of ecological environment under The State Council together with the department in charge of commerce under The State Council and the General Administration of Customs.
Article 3 The State applies import and export quota license administration to ozone depleting substances listed in the List of Ozone Depleting Substances under Control in Import and Export by China.
Article 4 The department in charge of ecological environment under The State Council shall be uniformly responsible for the supervision and administration of ozone layer depleting substances nationwide. The department in charge of ecological environment under The State Council, the department in charge of commerce under The State Council and the General Administration of Customs shall jointly establish a state agency for the administration of import and export of ozone layer depleting substances.
Article 5 The department in charge of ecology and environment under The State Council shall, on the basis of the progress made in the phase-out of ozone layer depleting substances, determine the total annual import and export quota of ozone layer depleting substances in the state through consultation with the department in charge of commerce under The State Council, and announce the total import and export quota for the next year before December 20 of each year.
Article 6 Units that import or export ozone layer depleting substances (hereinafter referred to as import or export units) shall apply to the state ozone layer depleting substances import and export administration agency for ozone layer depleting substances import and export quotas (hereinafter referred to as import and export quotas) and obtain ozone layer depleting substances import and export approval forms (hereinafter referred to as import and export approval forms).
Article 7 The import and export units shall apply to the state ozone layer depleting substances import and export administration agency for the import and export quota of the next year before October 31 of each year.
An import or export entity applying for an import or export quota shall submit the following materials:
(1) Application for import and export quota;
(2) annual import and export plan for ozone layer depleting substances;
(3) The import and export unit applying for import and export quotas for the first time shall also submit its business license.
Where the above materials are not submitted on time, the state ozone layer depleting substances import and export administration agency shall not accept the application for import and export quota.
Article 8 When examining and approving the annual import and export quota applications of import and export entities, the state agency in charge of the import and export of ozone layer depleting substances shall take into comprehensive consideration the following factors:
(1) compliance with laws and regulations;
(2) the import and export plans and the completion of import and export quotas of ozone layer depleting substances in the previous year;
(3) other factors affecting the import and export of ozone layer depleting substances.
Article 9 The state agency in charge of the import and export of ozone layer depleting substances shall, before December 20 of each year, make a decision on whether to grant or not to grant the import and export quotas, and make an announcement.
Article 10. Within the annual import and export quota, if an import or export entity needs to import or export ozone layer depleting substances, it shall apply to the state ozone layer depleting substances import and export administration agency for an import and export approval form.
Under any of the following circumstances, the import and export unit may directly apply to the state ozone layer depleting substances import and export administration agency for an import and export approval form:
(1) the use of ozone layer depleting substances as raw materials;
(2) laboratories that use small quantities of ozone layer depleting substances for experimental analysis;
(3) The customs uses ozone layer depleting substances for quarantine in order to prevent the introduction or export of harmful organisms;
(4) the source of ozone layer depleting substances is recovery;
(5) Other circumstances under which the import and export approval forms can be directly applied for and obtained as stipulated by the department in charge of ecology and environment under The State Council.
Article 11 When applying for an import and export approval form, an import and export unit shall submit the following materials:
(1) Application for import or export of ozone layer depleting substances;
(2) relevant materials such as foreign trade contracts or orders, and supply certificates of ozone layer depleting substances production units;
(3) For the export of ozone layer depleting substances for special purposes, the exporting unit shall submit import licenses or other official approval documents issued by the government departments of the importing country;
(4) In case of initial application for import and export approval forms, a business license shall also be submitted;
(5) other materials deemed necessary by the state agency for the import and export of ozone layer depleting substances.
Article 12: The national ozone-depleting substances import and export administration agency shall complete the review within twenty working days from the date of accepting the application and make a decision on approval. For approved applications, an import/export approval document shall be issued to the applicant, and a public notice shall be published listing all approved entities. For rejected applications, the agency shall notify the applicant in writing with detailed explanations of the reasons.
Article 13 The validity period of import and export examination and approval forms shall be up to 90 days, and they shall not be used beyond the time limit or across the year.
Article 14 Import and export entities shall apply to the competent commercial department under The State Council or the local commercial department entrusted by the competent commercial department under The State Council for an import and export license for ozone depleting substances (hereinafter referred to as the import and export license) on the basis of the import and export approval form.
Import and export licenses shall be issued on a batch basis with one license. Each import and export license can only be used for customs declaration once, and it is valid in the current year and cannot be used across years.
The application for and administration of import and export licenses shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations of the competent commercial department under The State Council.
Article 15 Import and export entities shall go through customs clearance procedures with the customs by presenting import and export licenses issued by competent commercial departments.
Article 16 Where ozone layer depleting substances are imported or exported between the customs areas under special supervision and bonded supervision sites within the territory of the People's Republic of China and overseas, the import and export entities shall apply for import and export approval forms and import and export licenses in accordance with the provisions of these Measures.
Where ozone layer depleting substances are imported or exported between the customs special supervision areas, bonded supervision sites and other domestic areas within the territory of the People's Republic of China, or between the above-mentioned customs special supervision areas and bonded supervision sites, there is no need to apply for an import and export approval form or an import and export license.
Article 17 Import and export entities shall engage in the import and export of ozone layer depleting substances in accordance with the contents specified in the import and export licenses. Where any circumstances inconsistent with the contents specified in the import and export licenses occur, the import and export entities shall re-apply for the import and export licenses.
Article 18 The department in charge of ecology and environment under The State Council shall establish a data and information management system for the import and export of ozone layer depleting substances to collect and summarize the import and export data and information of ozone layer depleting substances.
The competent department of ecological environment under The State Council, the competent department of commerce under The State Council and the General Administration of Customs shall establish an information sharing mechanism to timely notify each other of the import and export of ozone depleting substances, information on import and export units and information on violations.
Article 19: The competent authorities for ecological environment, commerce, customs and other relevant departments shall have the authority to conduct supervision and inspection on the import and export activities of ozone-depleting substances by importers/exporters in accordance with the law. Inspected entities must truthfully disclose information, provide necessary documentation, and must not refuse or obstruct such inspections. Inspection authorities shall maintain confidentiality obligations regarding trade secrets obtained during supervisory inspections.
Article 20. Import and export units that are unable to use their import and export quotas in full in a given year shall report and return them to the state ozone layer depleting substances import and export administration agency before October 31 of the same year. The state ozone layer depleting substances import and export administration agency may adjust and allocate the annual import and export quotas according to the actual situation.
Article 21 The State Council's competent department of ecology and environment shall uniformly formulate and publish the formats of documents such as import and export quota applications, annual ozone layer depleting substances import and export plan forms, ozone layer depleting substances import and export applications and import and export approval forms stipulated in these Measures.
Article 22 The competent department of ecology and environment under The State Council, the competent department of commerce under The State Council and the General Administration of Customs shall interpret these Measures according to their respective functions and duties.
Article 23 These Measures shall come into force as of May 1, 2025. The Administrative Measures on the Import and Export of Ozone Depleting Substances (Order No.26 of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs) shall be repealed at the same time.
Interpretation:
1. An official from the Department of Atmospheric Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment answered questions from reporters on the Administrative Measures for Import and Export of Ozone Depleting Substances (http://www.mee.gov.cn/ywdt/zbft/202503/t20250327_1104863.shtml)
2. A picture to understand | New Measures for the Import and Export of Ozone Depleting Substances （http://www.mee.gov.cn/zcwj/zcjd/202503/t20250327_1104864.shtml）
