CAS 107-21-1 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Monoethylene glycol under IECSC

C2H6O2 · 乙二醇

Status: Listed. Monoethylene glycol is on the IECSC public portion as a foundational petrochemical. New-substance notification under MEE Decree No. 7 (2010) is NOT required. MEG IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (2015 edition) as a hazardous chemical (oral toxicity and STOT RE classification). Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required for production, storage, and distribution. MEG is NOT on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog.

MEG is comfortably IECSC-listed and the export-side documentation work is the standard Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain plus GB/T 17519 SDS. The structural intelligence layer for Chinese MEG is the gas-route vs coal-route divergence: ~70% of domestic capacity is gas-route (Shenghong, Hengli, Sinopec) and ~30% is coal-route CTMEG (Yulin, Tongliao GEM, Xinjiang Tianye, Yunnan Jiehua) with materially higher embedded CO2 per tonne. Major capacity additions 2024-2026 are pushing China toward MEG self-sufficiency, increasing export volume. 13% VAT export rebate is structural margin support for Chinese exporters. Producer-route documentation is increasingly important for destination buyers (EU, US PET-resin buyers) with Scope 3 carbon-emissions reporting commitments.

Listing and threshold

Substance Monoethylene glycol (CAS 107-21-1), C2H6O2
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 (Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit required for production / storage / distribution)
  • NOT on China's Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog
  • NOT on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog
  • NOT on the Explosives Precursor Catalog
  • GB 13002-2008 specification applies for industrial-grade MEG
  • GACC export classification: HS 29053100 (ethylene glycol)
  • China is largest global consumer (~60% of global MEG demand) and largest importer (PET-resin and polyester fibre downstream demand exceeds domestic capacity)
  • Domestic capacity split: ~70% gas-route (ethylene oxide hydrolysis, oil-cracker integrated) and ~30% coal-route (CTMEG, syngas-to-MEG, coal-rich provinces)

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required for any party producing, storing, or distributing MEG
  • No Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Permit required
  • Customs Inspection Order may apply for export consignments
  • No specific export-restriction or quota system applies (unlike urea where seasonal export licenses are imposed)
  • VAT export rebate currently 13% for MEG (HS 29053100) per organic-chemicals chapter rebate schedule; verify before invoicing as rebates are adjusted periodically
  • GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required for road shipment of bulk MEG

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin MEG 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 GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS, and producer-route documentation (gas-route vs coal-route). For destination markets where buyers care about Scope 3 carbon emissions (EU, US PET-resin buyers with sustainability commitments), gas-route MEG documentation supports premium positioning vs coal-route. Major Chinese gas-route producers (Shenghong Petrochemical, Hengli Petrochemical, Sinopec Yangzi, CNOOC Huizhou) and coal-route producers (Yulin Energy and Chemical, Tongliao GEM, Xinjiang Tianye, Yunnan Jiehua) carry distinct carbon-intensity profiles.

Required documents

  • GACC export declaration with HS code 29053100
  • Industrial-grade certificate per GB 13002-2008
  • 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)
  • Producer-route declaration (gas-route ethylene oxide hydrolysis vs coal-route CTMEG)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit (where road-shipped from inland producers)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Import Filing for inbound shipments to China (when reverse direction)

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 (producer, forwarder, port) trigger holds
  • 13% VAT rebate is structural margin; verify rebate filing on each shipment as rebate schedules are adjusted by Beijing in response to trade-policy and carbon-policy signals
  • Coal-route MEG (CTMEG) is China-unique and carries 3-4x higher embedded CO2 per tonne vs gas-route; some destination buyers (EU, US PET-resin buyers with Scope 3 commitments) increasingly require gas-route documentation
  • Major Chinese capacity additions 2024-2026 (Shenghong Phase 2, Hengli Phase 3, CNOOC Huizhou expansion) are pushing China toward MEG self-sufficiency; export volume from China is growing as domestic surplus emerges
  • GACC sometimes blocks shipments if SDS is missing the Chinese-only fields (mainland-China emergency contact, GHS Chinese pictograms)
  • Coal-route MEG production is concentrated in coal-rich inland provinces (Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan) with associated logistics complexity; gas-route MEG is concentrated in coastal petrochemical bases (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong) with cleaner export logistics
  • Some specifications (fiber-grade vs antifreeze-grade vs polyester-resin-grade) command different prices and have different impurity tolerances

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for monoethylene glycol, see the CAS 107-21-1 sourcing reference.

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