Request a DemoTo secure safe use of hazardous chemicals, Taiwan began phased implementation of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) in 2008 and has fully adopted GHS since 1 Jan 2016.
Competent Authority
There are several authorities involved in GHS implementation in Taiwan:
Workplace: Miniatry of Labor (MoL), previously known as the Council of Labor Affairs under Executive Yuan (CLA)
Toxic and concerned chemical substances: Ministry of Environment, previously known as Environmental Protection Administration (EPA)
Transport: Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC)
Emergency response: Ministry of Environment & National Fire Agency (NFA)
Consumer products: Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA)
Environmental agents/Pesticide: Ministry of Environment & Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
History
Phased implementation of Taiwan GHS:
Feb 2006: Taiwan Interagency GHS Implementation Plan was passed by Executive Yuan
Oct 2006: Taiwan Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) completed the CNS 15030 series standards and revision of CNS 6864
19 Oct 2007: Taiwan issued Regulation of Labeling and Hazard Communication of Dangerous and Harmful Materials, which came into effect on 31 Dec 2008, marking the beginning of the phased implementation of Taiwan GHS
First/Second/Third stage of GHS took effect respectively
1st stage: implemented on 31 Dec 2008 with one year transitional period ending on 31 Dec 2009
2nd stage: implemented on 7 Jan 2011 with transitional period ending on 31 Dec 2011
3rd stage: implemented on 1 Jan 2014 with a one year transitional period ending on 31 Dec 2014
27 Jun 2014: Regulation of Labeling and Hazard Communication of Dangerous and Harmful Materials was renamed as the Regulation of Labeling and Hazard Communication of Hazardous Chemicals, which took effect from 3 July 2014.
1 Jan 2016: full implementation of GHS for all substances and mixtures
Main Regulations and Standards
Taiwan Laws
→ Occupational Safety and Health Act (Taiwan OSHA)
| Article 10: “The employers shall label, make inventories, and display safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals, and adopt necessary hazard communication measures. Prior to providing the chemicals in the preceding paragraph to business entities or self-employed workers, the manufacturers, importers, or suppliers shall label them and provide safety data sheets; the same requirements apply to any change of information.” |
The “hazardous chemicals” here refer to substances with physical/health hazards that satisfy CNS15030 classification.
→ Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Control Act (Taiwan TCCSCA)
Article 17: “The handler shall mark toxicity and pollution control items in compliance with regulations on chemical substance containers, packaging, and handling premises and facilities, and shall keep safety data sheets for the toxic chemical substances in question on hand." |
The toxic chemical substances are accessible here.
Taiwan Regulations
→ Regulation of Labelling and Hazard Communication of Hazardous Chemicals (formulated according to Article 10 of OSHA)
The original “Regulation of Labeling and Hazard Communication of Dangerous and Harmful Materials”, was renamed as the Regulation of Labeling and Hazard Communication of Hazardous Chemicals was promulgated by MoL No.10302007861 on 27 Jun 2014 and took effect from 3 July 2014. It was updated on 9 November 2018 and took effect immediately. This is the most important regulation in Taiwan for GHS implementation. (ChemLinked news)
→ Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Labelling and SDS Regulation (formulated according to Article 17 of TCCSCA)
The Regulation was promulgated on 13 January 2020 and took effect from 16 January 2020 replacing the original Toxic Chemical Substances Labelling and SDS Regulation. It was amended on 4 November 2022 and took effect immediately, except for Article 3 and Article 4 which came into force on 31 October 2023. (ChemLinked news) It sets out the classification and labeling requirements for toxic and concerned chemicals in Taiwan.
→ Other Councils and Ministries that govern chemical regulation for example:
Council of Agriculture (COA) – Regulations of Pesticides labeling Management
Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) – Labelling Criteria for Commercial Product
Taiwan Standards
→ CNS 15030 series: Classification & Labelling of Chemicals
The CNS 15030 series was initially established in 2006 as the rules for the classification and labeling of chemicals in Taiwan, with some standards updated in 2015 to align with UN GHS Rev.4.
In the move to adopt UN GHS Rev. 8, several standards have been updated recently:
Ten standards for physical hazards (CNS 15030-1 to CNS 15030-5, CNS 15030-7, CNS 15030-12, CNS 15030-14, and CNS 15030-15) were amended and published on October 24, 2024 (ChemLinked news);
Ten standards for health hazards (CNS 15030-17 to CNS 15030-26) were amended and published on February 24, 2025, as well as introducing desensitized explosives (CNS 15030-29) as the 17th physical hazard class (ChemLinked news);
Three standards, including the one for general rules (CNS 15030), and the other two for environmental hazards (CNS 15030-27 to CNS 15030-28) were amended and published on April 25, 2025 (ChemLinked news)
→ CNS 6864: Labels for the Transport of Dangerous Goods
Obligation
Taiwan CLA is taking the lead in developing a national chemical inventory for Taiwan’s stage-wise GHS implementation. Taiwan adopted GHS on 31 Dec of 2008 when the first stage of GHS was implemented, which only covers 1,062 hazardous substances. The second stage of GHS implementation was initiated on 7 Jan 2011, covering 1,089 substances. In addition, another 1,020 hazardous substances are designated for the third stage of Taiwan GHS which implemented on 1 Jan 2014. All the three batches were subject to a one-year transitional period.
Other hazardous chemicals besides the 3,171 substances (three batches) designated by the CLA, if found falling within the scope of the Regulation of Labelling and Hazard Communication of Hazardous Chemicals, should also comply with Taiwan GHS since 1 Jan 2016 while granted with a one-year transitional period which ended on 31 Dec 2016.
Exemption of Taiwan GHS
Hazardous industrial waste
Tobacco or tobacco products
Food, beverage, drugs, cosmetics
Article
General consumer products for non-industrial uses
Fire extinguisher
Intermediate products undergoing chemical reactions in the reactors or processes
Other designated by the central competent authority
Classification
Issues relating to the classification and labelling of chemicals should refer to the CNS 15030 serial standards. The CNS 15030 serial standards (CN/EN documents) can be purchased on the CNS website.
Hazard | Standard No. | Adoption of UN GHS | Classification of Hazard |
| UN GHS Rev.8 | General rules | ||
Physical Hazard | UN GHS Rev.8 | Explosives | |
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Flammable gases (including chemically unstable gases) | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Aerosols | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Oxidizing gases | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Gases under pressure | ||
| UN GHS Rev.4 | Flammable liquids | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Flammable solids | ||
| UN GHS Rev.2 | Self-reactive substances and mixtures | ||
| UN GHS Rev.2 | Pyrophoric liquids | ||
| UN GHS Rev.2 | Pyrophoric solids | ||
| UN GHS Rev.4 | Self-heating substances and mixtures | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Substances and mixtures which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases | ||
| UN GHS Rev.2 | Oxidizing liquids | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Oxidizing solids | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Organic peroxides | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Corrosive to metals | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Desensitized explosives | ||
Health Hazard | UN GHS Rev.8 | Acute toxicity | |
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Skin corrosion/irritation | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Serious eye damage/eye irritation | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Respiratory or skin sensitization | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Germ cell mutagenicity | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Carcinogenicity | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Reproductive toxicity | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Specific target organ toxicity-Single exposure | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Specific target organ toxicity-Repeated exposure | ||
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Aspiration hazard | ||
Environmental Hazard | UN GHS Rev.8 | Hazardous to the aquatic environment | |
| UN GHS Rev.8 | Hazardous to the ozone layer |
SDS Requirements
The 16-sections SDS is align with UN GHS. SDS shall be provided using Chinese characters as standard, and foreign languages as a supplement if necessary. A Safety Data Sheet shall be reviewed at least once every three years.
content and sample of Taiwan SDS
To protect security and confidential business information, data protection of the name, content, manufacturers, importers or suppliers of the hazard chemicals can be applied for prior to SDS compilation. However, hazardous chemicals with the following hazard classification according to the CNS 15030 are not eligible for data protection.
Acute toxicity: Category 1, 2, 3
Skin corrosion/irritation: Category 1
Serious eye damage/eye irritation: Category 1
Respiratory sensitization/skin sensitization
Germ cell mutagenicity
Carcinogenicity
Toxic to reproduction
Specific target organ toxicity (single exposure): Category 1
Specific target organ toxicity (repeated exposure): Category 1
If the applicant is an overseas manufacturer/supplier, a Taiwanese company or institute should be designated as a representative to apply for confidential information protection. The letter of authorization (LOA) should be provided.
Online CBI application: https://ghs.osha.gov.tw/CHT/intro/SDSApply.aspx
Label Requirements
Employers shall label the following items on containers containing hazardous chemicals, using Chinese characters as standard and foreign languages as a supplement if necessary. In addition, manufacturers, importers or suppliers shall label the containers prior to providing business entities or self-employed workers with hazardous chemicals.
**Small package: If the volume of the container is 100ml or less, the container may only be labelled with the hazard pictogram, name, hazard pictograms, and signal word.
Recommended Classification Provided by OSHA
Industries are required to ensure the compliance of their SDS, labeling and other required hazardous communication measures as per regulation. The hazard data of some GHS-classified hazardous substances are accessible on Taiwan’s chemical hazards database in traditional Chinese, including the English and Chinese name, CAS No., UN No., label and SDS templates, dangerous goods mark, etc. The database is dynamically updated to incorporate more substances.
In addition, in Mar of 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of Taiwan (OSHA) published a list of classified chemicals which contains 3,000 substances and their recommended classification results. Another 6,000 hazardous substances were classified and their recommended GHS classifications were issued in Jan of 2016. The recommended GHS classifications for 9,000 substances can be accessed here. Relevant stakeholders can refer to the online database and the additional document for reference in preparation of SDS and label.
Another supporting tool developed by the authority is the mixture classification system. It assists enterprises to classify and label mixture products under Taiwan GHS.
