E-Cigarette Export Compliance Guide
What is an E-Cigarette?
An e-cigarette is an electronic product that mimics a traditional cigarette, primarily composed of e-liquid (containing nicotine, flavoring, and the solvent propylene glycol), a heating system, a power source, and a mouthpiece. It works by heating and vaporizing the liquid nicotine in the cartridge to create an aerosol, simulating the smoking experience.
E-Cigarette Export-Related Policies
The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration has issued regulations such as the “E-Cigarette Management Methods” and “Guidelines for Promoting the Construction of a Quality Assurance System for E-Cigarette Exports.” These stipulate:
- Enterprises must ensure that their export products comply with the legal, regulatory, and standard requirements of the destination country/region. If the destination does not have such regulations, the products must comply with Chinese legal and regulatory requirements.
- Packaging for exported e-cigarette products should display the tobacco monopoly production enterprise license number, product name, production batch number, and production date. For outsourced e-cigarette products, the packaging should include the license number of the entrusted e-cigarette manufacturing enterprise.
- Domestic and international logistics of exported e-cigarette products must meet relevant safety requirements to ensure full traceability.
- Enterprises must declare truthfully to customs when exporting e-cigarette products and record related information on the National Unified E-Cigarette Transaction Management Platform within 30 days after export customs declaration.
- E-cigarettes may also contain lithium batteries, lithium metal batteries, or lithium alloy batteries with lithium content greater than 1 gram, or lithium-ion batteries with a watt-hour rating over 20 Wh. These are considered hazardous goods and must be certified for performance and usage according to Article 17 of the “People’s Republic of China Import and Export Commodity Inspection Law.”
Export Technical Regulations and Standard Requirements
- Finished Product and Key Component Testing Certification
- EU CE certification; EU REACH regulations, EU RoHS Directive, EMC Directive;
- US FCC certification;
- Australia’s “Standard for Medicinal (Nicotine Inhalation Products)” (TGO 110) compliance statement;
- UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) registration and certification.
- Battery Testing
- EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542; hazardous transportation conditions UN38.3, EN/IEC 62133, Chemical Safety Data Sheet SDS/MSDS, etc.;
- US Public Law 104-142, UL 2045 standard.
- TRA Toxicity Analysis
- EU: Safety data sheets issued under EU 2001/58/EC, 1999/45/EC, 67/548/EEC;
- US: Regulation (EC) No.1907/2006, US Federal Regulation 29 CFR 1910.1200(g), and ISO 11014-1 and other international standards;
- Australia: Prohibition of benzaldehyde and seven other substances as components of e-liquid.
- Food Contact Material Testing
- US FDA and GRAS certification;
- EU Food Contact Directive (EC) No 1935/2004;
- German regulation LFGB;
- French regulation DGCCRF.
E-Cigarette Product Export Specification Declaration Requirements
- Non-combustion Inhalation Products: Other, containing nicotine
- Harmonized System Code: 24041200
- Export tax rebate rate: 13%
- Classification elements: (1) Product name; (2) Components (including tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, nicotine, tobacco or nicotine substitutes, etc.); (3) Use (non-combustion inhalation).
- Price elements: (4) Brand (Chinese or foreign name); (5) Model or series name.
- E-cigarettes and Similar Personal Electronic Vaporization Devices
- Harmonized System Code: 85434000
- Export tax rebate rate: 13%
- Classification elements: (1) Product name; (2) Function.
- Price elements: (3) Brand (Chinese or foreign name); (4) Model.
- Parts: Other
- Harmonized System Code: 85439090
- Export tax rebate rate: 13%
- Classification elements: (1) Product name; (2) Use (applicable to brand XX machine or universal to XX machine, etc.).
- Price elements: (3) Brand (Chinese or foreign name); (4) Model.