Customs Clearance of Importing Chemicals
1. Introduction
The procedure for customs clearance of chemicals (including single compound
or mixture) for industrial use is governed under the Toxic Chemicals Control Law
(“TCCL”).
However, the following chemicals are managed by other laws and excluded
from TCCL (Article 3 of TCCL).
 Radioactive substances defined under the Atomic Energy Law
 Pharmaceutical products, quasi-pharmaceutical products defined under the
Pharmaceutical Affairs Law
 Narcotics defined under the Narcotics Law
 Cosmetics defined under the Cosmetics Law
(Including raw materials of which safety review is necessary under Article
4, Paragraph of this Law)
 Pesticides defined under the Pesticide Chemicals Control Law
 Chemical fertilizers defined under the Fertilizers Control Law
 Foods and food additives defined under the Food Sanitation Law
 Animal feeds defined under the Feeds Control Law
 Gunpowder defined under the Gun, Sword and Gunpowder Control Law
 Toxic gases defined under the High-Pressured Gas Safety Control
Law
Under the former system before Jan. 1, 2006, for the customs clearance of
chemical products importers had to obtain “Confirmation Certificate” from the Korea
Chemicals Management Association (hereinafter referred to as “KCMA”), but under
the new system enforced from Jan. 1, 2006, such Certificate is not required any
longer.
From Jan. 1, 2006, Korean Customs Office does not require importers any
Certificate or Approval Number except the cases of prohibited or restricted
chemicals (44 chemicals).
For the cases of prohibited or restricted chemicals, the
Approval Certificates issued from competent local environmental authority must be
submitted to Customs Office.
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From Jan. 1, 2006, under the amended TCCL all importers must submit
“Confirmation Document on Chemical Substances” in electronic form or in document
form for all importing products to KCMA.
submitted once a year.
This form per chemical product must be
However, in case of Low Volume Exemption of new
chemical, it must be submitted for every import.
All components of chemical product to be imported (including single compound
or mixture) should be reviewed on whether it contains new chemicals or regulated
chemicals (i.e., Toxic Chemicals, Observational Chemicals, Restricted Chemicals or
Prohibited Chemicals).
However, the submission of components information is not
required.
The following process is performed for the submission of “Confirmation
Document on Chemical Substances in electronic form by Korean importer:
(1) Open KCMA’s website (www.kcma.or.kr)
(2) Click “On-line service for chemicals(화학물질전자민원 온라인서비스)” on the
top of right side
(3) Log-in
(4) Click “Public service(민원업무)”
(5) Fill out all items in the form
(6) Submit the completed form
<Confirmation Document on Chemical Substances>
Exhibit Form No.1 of Ministerial Decree of TCCL
However, in case that a chemical product falls within any of the followings,
additional process must be processed separately in addition to the aforesaid process.

Case that new chemical is contained ----- -------------------See 2

Toxic Chemical -------------------------------------- --See 3

Observational Chemical ---------------------------------- See 4

Restricted or Prohibited Chemical
2
------------------------ See 5
2. Case that new chemical is contained
Even though any new chemical substance is contained in a product to be
imported, the New Chemical Notification is not required for any of following cases:
1. Any new chemical of which the annual import amount is low volume of 100
kg or less (unless the importer provides data indicating the presence of a
new chemical, the volume shall be determined based on the total weight of
the product);
2. Any new chemical substance used in the limited site by the persons engaged
in the test or research for the purpose of development of chemical substance
or products containing chemical substance or of improvement of
manufacturing process;
3. Any new chemical substance imported as contained in a machine or
equipment or any chemical substance imported together with the relevant
machinery or equipment for a test run;
4. Any new chemical substance contained in a product having certain function in
a specific solid shape, which are not released during its use.
5. Any new chemical substance of which 10 ton or less per year is
manufactured or imported for the export as a whole or any new chemical
substance of which 10 ton or less per year is manufactured or imported for
the production of the chemical substance to be exported as a whole;
6. Other new chemical substances recognized and announced by the Head of
National Institute of Environmental Research (hereinafter referred to as the
“NIER”) as chemical substances for which NIER deems Hazard Review is not
necessary pursuant to Items 1 through 5; or
-
Polymers which are listed on the Existing Chemicals List.
In this case,
reactants or monomer of 2% or less are not considered.
-
Any block polymers of which all blocks are listed on the Existing
Chemicals List
-
Graft polymers of which main stems and branches are listed on the
Existing Chemicals List
-
Non-ionic polymer of which number average polymer is 10,000 or more
(will be enforced from Jan. 1, 2007)
-
Non-ionic polymer of which number average polymer is 1,000 or more
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and which meet the followings:
(will be enforced from Jan. 1, 2007)

Monomers should not be fallen within Toxic Chemical, Observational
Chemical, new chemical, or epoxy compounds

-
Water solubility should be 5 mg/g or less
Any chemicals which are not listed on the Existing Chemicals List, but
are proved to have been manufactured or to have been imported to
Korea before Feb. 2, 1991 (including the chemicals proved to have been
exported from foreign countries to Korea before Feb. 2, 1991).
In aforesaid cases, importer may apply for “Exemption Application from Hazard
Review” to KCMA.
The exemption application form per chemical product must be
submitted once per year.
However, for Low Volume Exemption of Item 1, it must be
submitted for each import.
<Application form for the Confirmation on Exemption from Hazard
Review of Chemical Substance>
Exhibit Form No.4 of Ministerial Decree of TCCL
3. Toxic Chemicals
In case the chemical product to be imported falls under any of Toxic Chemicals
designated under TCCL, importer must notify the import of Toxic Chemicals to
KCMA submitting “Import Report of Toxic Chemical.”
As mentioned Item 1, also “Confirmation Document on Chemical Substances” in
electronic form must be submitted separately to KCMA.
<Import Notice of Toxic Chemical>
Exhibit Form No.11 of Ministerial Decree of TCCL
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4. Observational Chemicals
In case the chemical product to be imported falls under any of Observational
Chemicals designated under TCCL, the importer must notify the import of
Observational Chemicals to KCMA submitting “Import Notice of Observational
Chemicals.”
As mentioned Item 1, also “Confirmation Document on Chemical Substances” in
electronic form must be submitted separately to KCMA
<Import Notice of Observational Chemical>
Exhibit Form No.28 of Ministerial Decree of TCCL
5. Prohibited or Restricted Chemicals
In case a chemical substance is deemed likely to cause serious harm to human
health or the environment, manufacture, import or use of the chemical substance
may be prohibited through the consultation with the heads of the related central
administrative bodies.
Under the TCCL, the chemical substances falling under this
category are called “Prohibited Chemicals.”
However, manufacture, import or use of the chemical reagents for testing,
research or experiment is not prohibited.
A person who intends to import
“Prohibited Chemicals” for this purpose must obtain the permission of import from
the local environmental authority.
In case a chemical substance is deemed likely to cause serious harm to human
health or the environment, manufacture, import or use of the chemical substance
may be restricted through consultation with the heads of the related central
administrative bodies.
substance.
This is mainly to restrict for specific uses of the chemical
Under the TCCL, the chemical substances falling under this category
are called “Restricted Toxic Chemicals”
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However, import, manufacture, or use for the chemical reagents for testing,
research or experiment is not restricted.
A person who intends to import
“Restricted Toxic Chemicals” for the approved purpose must obtain permission of
import from the local environmental authority.
In order to import or use the “Restricted Toxic Chemicals” for the commercial
purpose, the relevant company must obtain the business permit for import or use
from the MOE.
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[Exhibit Form No.1]
(front page)
Manufacturer
(importer)
□ Manufacture
□ Import
Confirmation Document on Chemical Substances
② Business entity
Registration No.
④ Person in charge
and contact point
① Company name
③ representative’ s
Name
⑤ Address of
business place
(Tel :
)
Information on manufactured (imported) product
⑥ Product
name
Information on
provider of
documents for
confirmation
⑪ Method of
confirmation
⑦ Exporting
country
⑧ Estimated annual
manufacture or
import amount (kg)
⑨ HSK No.
⑩ Main use
□ Certificate of Components
□ Confirmation Certificate(Certificate No.:
)
□ Other Document(s) for confirmation
(Provider: ○ Manufacturer
○ Exporter
○ Person to whom the confirmation duty
Is delegated)
⑫ Company name
⑬ Address
Name
Tel & Fax
Division
E-mail
⑭ Person in charge
Item
Item of confirmation
Confirmation
⑮
New chemical
Toxic chemical
Contained
None
Hazard review
□
Exemption from Hazard review
□
Chemical name (CAS No.)
Content or range of content (%)
Observational
Chemical
Chemical name (CAS No.)
Restricted or
prohibited chemical
Chemical name (CAS No.)
Content or range of content (%)
Content or range of content (%)
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□
□
□
□
⑯ Remark
In accordance with Article 9, Paragraph (1) of the Toxic Chemical Control Law and
Article 2, Paragraph (1) of the Ministerial Decree of the law, I hereby confirm the
components of □ Manufactured □ Imported product
Month
Manufacturer
day
(importer) :
year
(Signature or seal)
(back page)
※ Point for preparation
1. “ Manufacturer” shall mean a person who manufactures a chemical substance
and “ Importer” shall mean a person who intends to import a chemical substance
(a person who pays customs tax under Article 19 of the Customs Law) pursuant to
TCCL.
2. In ⑥, product names shall be described separately according to manufacture or
import case.
3. In ⑦, exporting country shall be described only in case of import.
4. In ⑧, estimated annual manufacture or import amount shall be described.
5. In ⑨, only in case of import, HSK No. (Harmonized System Korea Number) under
Consolidated Classification on Customs Taxes and Statistics, shall be described.
6. In ⑩, main use of product shall be described.
7. In ⑪, the confirmation method used for confirmation result of ⑮ shall be
described.
8. A person to whom the confirmation duty is delegated shall mean a person who
performs the confirmation of chemical substances on behalf of manufacturer
(importer).
9. In ⑮, the matter on whether new chemicals, toxic chemicals, observational
chemicals, restricted or prohibited chemicals under TCCL are contained in a
product, shall be checked on the relevant box. If toxic chemicals, observational
chemicals, restricted or prohibited chemicals are contained in the product,
chemical names, CAS No., contents or content ranges of such chemical
substances shall be described.
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※ The application is processed as below
Applicant
Processing organization
Association on chemicals management to which the duty is
delegated by MOE pursuant to Article 56, Paragraph (2) of
TCCL and Article 30, Paragraph (4) of the Ministerial Decree of
the law,
Confirmation
Document
Receipt
Review
Approval
9
[Exhibit Form No.4]
□ Manufacture
□ Import
(front page)
Application form for the Confirmation on
Exemption from Hazard Review of Chemical
Substance
Processing
Period
3 Days
Applicant
(7 days in case of
specific reason)
ⓛ Company name
② Business entity
registration No.
③ Representative's
Name
④ Person in charge
and contact point
⑤ Address of
business place
⑥ Product name
⑦ Exporting country
⑧ Main use
⑨ Manufacture
or import amount
at this time
Items of Application
⑩ Chemical name or
generic name
㎏
⑫ Content in product
or range of content (%)
⑪ CAS No.
⑬ Structural formula
⑭ Estimated annual
manufacture (import)
amount
⑯ The reason for
application of
exemption
㎏
⑮ Application for
confidentiality
protection
□ Applicable
□ Not
Applicable
In accordance with Article 10, Paragraph (2) of the Toxic Chemicals Control Law
and Article 4, Paragraph (1) of the Ministerial Decree of the law, we hereby apply for
the confirmation on Exemption from Hazard Review of chemical substance
Date
Applicant
(Signature or seal)
To the Head of Korea Chemicals Management Association
※ Attachment
A copy of document necessary for the confirmation on exemption
from Hazard Review.
10
Application Fee
10,000 won
(back page)
※ Point of preparation
1. In ⑥, the matter on manufacture or import shall be described for each product.
3. In ⑦, exporting country shall be described only in case of import.
4. In ⑧, estimated annual manufacture or import amount shall be described.
※ The application is processed as below
Applicant
Processing organization
Association on chemicals management to which the duty is
delegated by MOE pursuant to Article 56, Paragraph (2) of
TCCL and Article 30, Paragraph (4) of the Ministerial Decree
of the law,
Confirmation
Document
Receipt
Review
Notice of
Confirmation
Result
Approval
11
[Exhibit Form No. 11]
Processing period
Import Notice of Toxic Chemicals
Immediately
① company name
Applicant
② Representative's
name
③ Business
registration No.
④ Address
(Business place)
(Tel:
)
Noticed Information
⑥ Product
name
(Trade
name)
⑦Exporting
country
⑧Main
use
⑨
Estimated
⑩HSK
annual
No.
import
amount
Information on Toxic Chemical
⑪Chemical
name
⑫Toxic
Chemical No. ⑬ Content
or CAS No.
Fee
In accordance with Article 19, Paragraph (1) of TCCL and Article 16, Paragraph
(1) of the Ministerial Decree of the law, we hereby notify you the import of Toxic 13,000 won
per product
Chemical.
Date
Applicant
(Signature or seal)
To the Head of Korea Chemicals Management Association
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[Exhibit Form No. 28]
Processing period
□ Manufacture
Notice
of Observational Chemicals
□ Import
Immediately
① company name
Applicant
② Representative's
Name
③ Business
registration No.
④ Address
(Business place)
(Tel:
)
Noticed Information
⑥ Product
name
(Trade
name)
⑦Exporting
country
⑧Main
use
⑨
Estimated
⑩HSK
annual
No.
import
amount
Information on Observational Chemical
⑫
⑪Chemical
name
Observational
Chemical No.
or CAS No.
⑬ Content
Fee
In accordance with Article 31, Paragraph (1) of TCCL and Article 31, Paragraph
(1) of the Ministerial Decree of the law, we hereby notify you the import of 13,000 won
per product
Observational Chemical.
Date
Applicant
(Signature or seal)
To the Head of Korea Chemicals Management Association
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