The Ministry of Ecology and Environment ("MEE") has recently issued the Opinions on the Application of Law for the "Production" Concept Specified in the Administrative Regulations on Ozone Depleting Substances (the "Opinions").
The Opinions state that as to whether the circumstance under which enterprises engaged in production of methane chloride, dichloromethane and trichloromethane generate a certain amount of carbon tetrachloride as the byproduct or joint product due to technique reasons, falls into the coverage of "production" activities specified in the Administrative Regulations on Ozone Depleting Substances (the "Regulations"), the MEE is of the view that the "production" specified in the Regulations covers not only the production activities conducted to produce certain products, but also the production activities during which byproducts or joint products are inevitably generated due to technique reasons, adding that given the generation of carbon tetrachloride as the byproduct or joint product is not unusual and for the purpose of ensuring effective administration of such generation and implementing the requirements set forth in the Montreal Protocol and the National Plan of China for Gradual Elimination of Ozone Depleting Substances, it is reasonable to identify the generation of a certain amount of carbon tetrachloride as the byproduct or joint product due to technique reasons as part of the coverage of the "production" concept specified in the Regulations.