CAS 7697-37-2 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Nitric acid under IECSC

HNO3 · 硝酸

Status: Listed. Nitric acid is on the IECSC public portion. **Nitric acid IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals plus Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog**: heaviest-compliance substance in dataset alongside phenol batch 13, formaldehyde batch 18, benzene batch 22, aniline batch 26, EO batch 28, TDI batch 31, ammonia batch 37, and acrylonitrile batch 38. **Nitric acid is also asserted to be on China's Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog Category 2 alongside sulfuric acid batch 2** (verify the current Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog and assigned category against the Ministry of Public Security portal before relying; the V21 audit found that the related sulfuric acid + HCl Category-2 vs Category-3 assignment under the EU Drug Precursors framework was unreliable, so the Chinese-side assignment for nitric acid is similarly hedged). 0% China VAT export rebate. China dominates global nitric acid capacity led by Sinopec, CNPC, Tianji Coal Chemical, Yangtze Industrial, Sichuan Lutianhua (verify the most recent Mt/yr figure against ICIS or S&P Commodity Insights before quoting; prior dataset cited ~30% global share at ~25-30 Mt/yr 100% basis).

Nitric acid carries the **HEAVIEST IECSC compliance overhead in the dataset alongside sulfuric acid batch 2**: triple-permit chain (Hazardous Chemicals + Highly Toxic Chemicals + Easily-Made Drugs Cat 2). **0% China VAT export rebate**. China dominates global nitric acid capacity (~30%, ~25-30 Mt/yr).

Listing and threshold

Substance Nitric acid (CAS 7697-37-2), HNO3
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 Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog**
  • **Listed in China's Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog Category 2**
  • GB 337-2002 specification applies for industrial-grade nitric acid (Chinese national standard)
  • GACC export classification: HS 280800 (nitric acid)
  • China dominates global nitric acid capacity (~30%, ~25-30 Mt/yr 100% basis)
  • Production: Ostwald process from ammonia (~99% globally)
  • GB 6944-2012 dangerous-goods transport classification: Class 8 (corrosive), UN 2031 / 2032

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • **Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required**
  • **Highly Toxic Chemicals Public Security Bureau permit chain** required
  • **Easily-Made Drugs Cat 2 obligations**: Public Security Bureau supervision + record-keeping
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required
  • **0% China VAT export rebate**
  • GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin nitric acid exported abroad, no IECSC obligation falls on the foreign importer. **Triple-permit chain: Hazardous Chemicals + Highly Toxic Chemicals + Easily-Made Drugs Cat 2** is the heaviest compliance overhead in the dataset (alongside sulfuric acid batch 2 which has the same triple-permit pattern).

Required documents

  • GACC export declaration with HS code 280800
  • Industrial-grade certificate per GB 337-2002
  • 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
  • **Highly Toxic Chemicals Public Security Bureau permit chain documentation**
  • **Easily-Made Drugs Cat 2 Public Security Bureau supervision documentation**
  • GB 6944-2012 Class 8 dangerous-goods transport documentation

Common compliance traps

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

  • **Triple-permit chain: Hazardous Chemicals + Highly Toxic Chemicals + Easily-Made Drugs Cat 2 = heaviest compliance overhead in dataset alongside sulfuric acid batch 2**
  • **0% China VAT export rebate**
  • Major Chinese producers: Sinopec, CNPC, Tianji Coal Chemical, Yangtze Industrial, Sichuan Lutianhua
  • Production: Ostwald process from ammonia (~99% globally)
  • **Closes ammonia batch 37 + DAP batch 11 + aniline batch 26 + caprolactam batch 14 chains**

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for nitric acid, see the CAS 7697-37-2 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the nitric acid 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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