State Council Releases China RoHS II for Public Comment

On May 18, the State Council Legislative Affairs Office released on its website for public comment the newest draft of China's Regulations on Restrictions on Hazardous Substances in Electric and Electronic Equipment ("China RoHS II"), with a comment period ending June 17.

China RoHS II was first discussed at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Ministerial Meeting on June 28, 2013. The latest draft was reviewed and approved at the May 6 2015 MIIT Ministerial Meeting, with a number of changes:

• Product scope: 2013 version of China RoHS covers electronic and electrical equipment. The new version narrows down the scope to Electrical and Electronic Products; power generation and transmission equipment is not under the scope.
• China RoHS title term changed from "pollution control" to "restriction on use of hazardous substances".
• The name of the Catalogue is changed from "Key Management Catalogue" to "Qualified Product Catalogue".
• CCC certification requirement shifts to conformity assessment.

The grace period for implementation of China RoHS II is yet to be determined.