CAS 67-64-1 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Acetone under IECSC

C3H6O · 丙酮

Status: Listed. Acetone is on the IECSC public portion as a foundational solvent and downstream co-product of cumene-process phenol production. New-substance notification under MEE Decree No. 7 (2010) is NOT required. **Acetone IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals** (Flam. Liq. 2 + Eye Irrit. 2 + STOT SE 3 classification). Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required for production / storage / distribution. **Acetone IS on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog Category 3** (Class III, lighter than methanol Cat 1 and sulfuric acid Cat 2 but still scheduled); Public Security Bureau supervision applies. NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than phenol upstream). China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~7-8 Mt/yr) led by cumene-process producers.

Acetone is comfortably IECSC-listed but IS on Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain required) AND IS on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog Category 3 (Public Security Bureau supervision chain required). NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than phenol upstream). 13% VAT export rebate is structural margin support. China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~7-8 Mt/yr) with ~95% cumene-route (joint-product with phenol). **The cumene-process phenol-acetone joint-product chain** (1.6:1 fixed mass ratio) is the dominant integrated economics story: every Chinese cumene-route phenol plant produces structural acetone co-product that cannot be decoupled. Major Chinese producers: Sinopec Yanshan, Mitsui-Sinopec joint ventures, Hangzhou Nanhua, Wanhua Chemical, Bluestar Chemical, Jiangsu Lihuayi. Capacity additions 2024-2026 (Wanhua Yantai Phase 2, Sinopec Yanshan expansion, Hengli Petrochemical Dalian Phase 3) extend Chinese dominance toward ~55%.

Listing and threshold

Substance Acetone (CAS 67-64-1), C3H6O
Regime China Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (IECSC), administered by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)
Jurisdiction People's Republic of China
Status Listed
Tonnage threshold No new-substance threshold applies. Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit required regardless of volume

Classifications under this regime

  • Listed in China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals
  • **Listed in China's Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog Category 3** (Public Security Bureau supervision)
  • NOT on China's Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog
  • GB/T 6026-2013 specification applies for industrial-grade acetone (Chinese national standard)
  • GB/T 6026-2013 covers minimum 99.5% purity (industrial-grade), water content, acidity, KMnO4 absorbency, density
  • GACC export classification: HS 29141100 (acetone)
  • China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~7-8 Mt/yr); ~95% of Chinese capacity is cumene-route (joint-product with phenol)
  • GB 6944-2012 dangerous-goods transport classification: Class 3 (flammable liquid), UN 1090

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • **Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required** for any party producing, storing, or distributing acetone
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required for road shipment of bulk acetone
  • **Easily-Made Drugs Cat 3 obligations**: Public Security Bureau registration of operators, transaction record-keeping (3-year retention), suspicious-transaction reporting, customer end-use declaration
  • Customs Inspection Order may apply for export consignments
  • No specific export-restriction or quota system applies (unlike urea / DAP fertilisers)
  • VAT export rebate currently 13% for acetone (HS 29141100) per organic chemicals chapter rebate schedule; verify before invoicing as rebates are adjusted periodically
  • GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution
  • Chinese cumene-process capacity additions 2024-2026 (Wanhua Chemical Yantai Phase 2, Sinopec Yanshan expansion, Hengli Petrochemical Dalian Phase 3) extend Chinese capacity dominance from ~50% toward ~55% with structural acetone co-product growth

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin acetone exported abroad, no IECSC obligation falls on the foreign importer. The export-side documentation pack focuses on the Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain (producer / forwarder / port operator each hold permits), the Easily-Made Drugs Cat 3 Public Security Bureau supervision chain (operator registration + transaction record-keeping + suspicious-transaction reporting), the GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS, and destination-market drug-precursor compliance documentation (EU Cat 3 under Reg 273/2004, US DEA List II under 21 CFR 1310). Major Chinese producers (Sinopec Yanshan, Mitsui-Sinopec joint ventures, Hangzhou Nanhua, Wanhua Chemical, Bluestar Chemical, Jiangsu Lihuayi) are all cumene-route producers; phenol-acetone joint-product economics are dominant.

Required documents

  • GACC export declaration with HS code 29141100
  • Industrial-grade certificate per GB/T 6026-2013 (minimum 99.5% purity)
  • GHS-compliant SDS in Simplified Chinese per GB/T 17519-2013 (effective 31 January 2014, references UN GHS 4th revised edition; verify against the current version of GB/T 17519 at https://www.codeofchina.com/standard/GBT17519-2013.html)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain documentation (producer / forwarder / port operator)
  • **Easily-Made Drugs Cat 3 Public Security Bureau permit chain documentation**
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit (where road-shipped from inland producers)
  • Destination-market drug-precursor compliance documentation (EU Cat 3 Reg 273/2004 OR DEA List II 21 CFR 1310 depending on lane)

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain is the dominant operational complexity; permit lapses at any node trigger holds
  • 13% VAT rebate is structural margin; verify rebate filing on each shipment
  • **Easily-Made Drugs Cat 3 Public Security Bureau supervision chain** parallel to Hazardous Chemicals chain; both chains must be maintained for export
  • **Cumene-process phenol-acetone joint-product chain (1.6:1 fixed mass ratio)** is structural for ~95% of Chinese capacity; phenol-driven capacity additions directly drive acetone co-product supply
  • Major Chinese producers concentrated in coastal provinces: Sinopec Yanshan (Beijing), Mitsui-Sinopec joint ventures (Shanghai SECCO Pudong, Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone), Hangzhou Nanhua (Zhejiang), Wanhua Chemical Yantai (Shandong), Bluestar Chemical (Jiangsu), Jiangsu Lihuayi Yangzhou (Jiangsu)
  • Cumene-process Chinese acetone is structurally the dominant supply route; isopropanol-dehydrogenation route exists at smaller scale (~5%) at specialty producers
  • GACC sometimes blocks shipments if SDS is missing the Chinese-only fields (mainland-China emergency contact, GHS Chinese pictograms)
  • Beijing has not imposed seasonal export-quota on acetone (unlike urea / DAP); steady export availability year-round

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for acetone, see the CAS 67-64-1 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the acetone cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of IECSC, see the IECSC glossary entry.

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

Read next

Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

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