India Postpones Implementation of Quality Control Orders for Chemicals

In late May, the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) in India issued a notification postponing three mandatory quality control orders (QCO) that were originally scheduled to take effect in May 2023, to February 29, 2024, based on the recommendations of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

The chemicals affected by this QCO delay include:

- Vinyl Acetate Monomer - commonly used in adhesives, latex paints, wood coatings, industrial coatings, and inks

- Methyl Acrylate - widely used in acrylic fibers, molding resins, adhesives, industrial coatings, architectural coatings, and emulsion raw materials

- Ethyl Acrylate - used as raw material for plastics, acrylic rubber, and emulsions, as well as fiber processing agents

Additionally, the DCPC has postponed the QCO implementation dates for n-Butyl Acrylate and Toluene to December 22, 2023.

- n-Butyl Acrylate - used to produce polymers and resins for textile and leather finishing, solvents, coatings, adhesives, laminates, and emulsifiers

- Toluene - used in the manufacture of paints, thinners, nail polish, varnishes, adhesives, rubber, and leather tanning processes

Until the new implementation dates come into effect, the existing standards and regulations for these five chemicals will continue to apply, and relevant companies are advised to take necessary measures to comply with the regulations.