Key Updates on Thailand Chemical Regulation

The Hazardous Substance Act B.E. 2535 is one of the main legislative bases involved in chemical management in Thailand. The first issue of B.E. 2535 came into force on April 7th, 1992. The Act has been revised several times. The Ministry of Industry (MOI) in Thailand, the main authority responsible for the Act, has approved the 5th revision in early 2021 and it will be announced soon.

As a part of the revision, there are several upcoming amendments, including more substances are being added to the inventory and announcement of the Draft of MOI Notification on the declaration of the List 5.6 hazardous substances and The Draft of MOI Notification on R&D Exemption B.E. 2559.

For controlling purposes and administrative reasons, the Hazardous Substance Act B.E. 2535 divides chemicals into 4 types according to the severity of toxicity (see graph below). Manufacturers and importers of hazardous substances exceeding 1 ton per year are required to notify their hazardous substances to the Department of Industrial Works (DIW) via DIW's online system. The notification shall be submitted within 60 days from the date of manufacture or importation (only once). This notification is also called Thailand Chemical Inventory Notification.

The chemical inventory in Thailand is called Thailand Existing Chemicals Inventory and it has been published on an online platform http://inventory.diw.go.th/hazardous61/. The inventory includes 11,481 entries. Users can search chemicals via Chemical name, molecular formulas, hazardous substance type, chemical type, CAS number or chemical code. The search results, as well as the entire inventory, could be exported and downloaded as a PDF or Excel document. The substance information in the inventory also includes the import quantity, production volume, and the physical/health/environmental hazards of the substance. As a part of the upcoming amendment, the Thailand government will add more substances to the existing chemical inventory.

According to the Draft of MOI Notification on the declaration of the List 5.6 hazardous substances, manufacturers or importers of substances or mixtures which have the total amount of the single substance in all products> 1,000 kg/year must provide the information in compliance with the WoAo/AoKo20 Form (currently, it is mandatory if the total amount of the product exceeds 1000 kg/year).

The Draft of MOI Notification on R&D Exemption B.E. 2559 will be revoked and replaced with the new one, the changes including applicants need to mention R&D & for education, testing, and analysis in their application. The volume remains the same as the current one, which is more than 1 kg. As for Type 2 substance, no notification and registration are required. As for type 3 substances, no licensing and registration are required. Applications need to comply with the GHS classification and labelling. The certification will be valid for 6 months and no possibility for renewal.

Following are the upcoming updates in the chemical management in Thailand that we can expect:

• According to the Amendment of the declaration of the List 5.6 hazardous substances, declaration will be required for single substance, rather than just a product.
• It will be new measurements for new chemicals such as Cut-off date (chemicals being introduced to Thailand), Chemical Analysis, and Chemical Risk Assessment.
• Review the classification of hazardous substances (update List of Hazardous Substances No._ (B.E. 256X))
• The new Hazardous Substance Act (the latest amendment) will be reviewed by parliament.
• Amendment of the related regulations by The National Committee on Strategy Development for Chemical Management amend Master Plan on Chemical Management (2019-2037) https://online.fliphtml5.com/bcbgj/cklz/#p=3
• We see chemical management in Thailand in line with the classification and prioritization of management of hazardous substances.

Last update: 2021-03-30