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On December 12, 2025, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), and the General Administration of Customs (GACC) jointly issued an announcement regarding the optimization of supervision measures for the import and export of lithium thionyl chloride batteries. Effective January 1, 2026, specific batteries and battery packs containing limited amounts of thionyl chloride (CAS No. 7719-09-7) will be exempt from certain import and export licensing requirements, streamlining the compliance process for qualifying products.
Thionyl chloride is a Category 3 monitored chemical. Under the Regulations on the Administration of Monitored Chemicals and the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items, the cross-border movement of goods containing this substance is strictly regulated to prevent proliferation risks. The authorities have reviewed the supervision measures to improve management efficiency, identifying that certain finished battery products pose a negligible risk of chemical diversion. The joint announcement establishes that qualifying lithium thionyl chloride batteries are no longer legally defined within the management scope of the List of All Types of Monitored Chemicals or the Dual-Use Items Export Control List regarding chemical controls.
The regulatory exemption applies strictly to lithium thionyl chloride batteries or battery packs where the content of thionyl chloride does not exceed 1 kg. For products within the defined scope, companies are no longer required to apply for the following documents:
Import/Export Approval for Monitored Chemicals
Import/Export License for Dual-Use Items and Technologies
The authorities cited that these specific products contain low amounts of thionyl chloride and are constructed in a manner that makes disassembly and reverse extraction of the chemical difficult, resulting in extremely low proliferation risk. While licensing requirements have been removed for qualifying batteries and battery packs, specific customs declaration procedures remain mandatory. When importing or exporting the exempted batteries, businesses must truthfully declare the thionyl chloride filling content of the single battery or battery pack in the "Specifications and Model" field of the customs declaration form.
Industry professionals must note that this exemption is specific to the defined threshold. Batteries or battery packs containing thionyl chloride exceeding 1 kg remain subject to the import/export approvals for the monitored chemicals and import/export licenses for dual-use items.
These optimized measures will officially take effect on January 1, 2026. Until this date, existing regulatory requirements remain in force.
