CAS 85-44-9 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Phthalic anhydride under IECSC

C8H4O3 · 邻苯二甲酸酐

Status: Listed. Phthalic anhydride is on the IECSC public portion. **Phthalic anhydride IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals**. Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required. NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog. **0% China VAT export rebate** for phthalic anhydride (HS 291735). China dominates global PA capacity (~50%, ~3-4 Mt/yr) led by **Aoxing (Yangzhou Jiangsu; verify the most recent phthalic anhydride nameplate against the Aoxing corporate site before relying)**, Sinopec, Tianjin Petrochem, Wanhua Chemical Yantai.

Phthalic anhydride is comfortably IECSC-listed but IS on Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain required). NOT on Highly Toxic. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog. **0% China VAT export rebate**. China dominates global PA capacity (~50%, ~3-4 Mt/yr) led by **Aoxing (Yangzhou Jiangsu; verify the most recent phthalic anhydride nameplate against the Aoxing corporate site before relying)**, Sinopec, Tianjin Petrochem, Wanhua Chemical Yantai. Production: ortho-xylene + air oxidation (~95% globally). **Ortho-xylene (batch 21 OX isomer) feedstock cost flow-through is dominant**.

Listing and threshold

Substance Phthalic anhydride (CAS 85-44-9), C8H4O3
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
  • NOT on China's Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog
  • NOT on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog
  • GB/T 2070-2007 specification applies for industrial-grade phthalic anhydride (Chinese national standard)
  • GACC export classification: HS 291735 (phthalic anhydride)
  • China dominates global PA capacity (~50%, ~3-4 Mt/yr); ~95% via ortho-xylene + air oxidation route; ~5% via naphthalene oxidation legacy route

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • **Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required**
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required for road shipment
  • **0% China VAT export rebate** for phthalic anhydride (HS 291735)
  • GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin phthalic anhydride exported abroad, no IECSC obligation falls on the foreign importer. Major Chinese producers: **Aoxing (Yangzhou Jiangsu; verify the most recent phthalic anhydride nameplate against the Aoxing corporate site before relying)**, Sinopec (Yangzi + Shanghai + Beijing), Tianjin Petrochem, Wanhua Chemical Yantai. The dominant economic story is **ortho-xylene (batch 21 OX isomer) feedstock cost flow-through**.

Required documents

  • GACC export declaration with HS code 291735
  • Industrial-grade certificate per GB/T 2070-2007
  • 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

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
  • **0% China VAT export rebate**
  • NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog
  • NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog
  • Major Chinese producers: **Aoxing (Yangzhou Jiangsu; verify the most recent phthalic anhydride nameplate against the Aoxing corporate site before relying)**, Sinopec, Tianjin Petrochem, Wanhua Chemical Yantai
  • Production: ortho-xylene + air oxidation (~95% globally); naphthalene oxidation legacy route (~5%)
  • **Ortho-xylene (batch 21 OX isomer) feedstock cost flow-through is dominant**

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for phthalic anhydride, see the CAS 85-44-9 sourcing reference.

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

Referenced in

4 pages across the Sourzi moat

This term shows up in 4 regulatory pages. Sample backlinks per content type below.

Regulatory (4)

Plus 1 more regulatory pages.

Free download

Free PDF: the same MSDS verification template the Sourzi team uses to cross-reference factory documents against TSCA, REACH, AICIS, and CDR before booking.