A number of active ingredients that are not approved in the European Union are still registered in other countries and are made in India for those markets. Paraquat, atrazine and chlorpyrifos are well-known examples of actives no longer approved in the EU.
What decides whether you may import one is your own country's registration and its Rotterdam Convention responses. The EU list tells you about EU use, not about your market.
Why approvals differ by country
Each regulator weighs hazard, risk, local farming needs and alternatives in its own way. The EU uses hazard-based cut-off criteria for some properties, so an active can lose approval even where exposure could be controlled. Other regulators assess risk under local conditions and may keep the same active with restrictions.
Approval can also lapse for reasons other than safety. If no company applies to renew an active in the EU, it simply drops off the approved list. So not approved in the EU does not always mean found unsafe.
India runs its own system under the Insecticides Act, 1968. It has banned and restricted some actives at home, and plants may hold export-only registrations for products not sold in India.
How the PIC procedure applies
Under the Rotterdam Convention, when an exporting country has banned or severely restricted a chemical, it must notify the importing country before exports begin each year. Chemicals in Annex III also need the importing country's consent. See what the Rotterdam Convention is for the details.
The EU applies stricter export notification rules to its own exporters through its PIC Regulation. An EU-wide ban on exporting EU-banned pesticides has been discussed since the EU's 2020 chemicals strategy. As of October 2026, we could not confirm that such a law had been adopted. Some member states, including France and Belgium, have adopted national export restrictions.
What this means for you
- Check that the active and the product are registered, or permitted, in your own country before you ask for a quote.
- Check your country's import response if the active is listed in Annex III of the Convention.
- Expect stricter checks and possible residue limits if treated crops will be sold into the EU, since EU maximum residue limits apply to imported food.
- Keep the Indian export registration, the export notification and your own permit in your file for every shipment.
Check current status
Approval lists change. Before you rely on any status in this article, check the current EU Pesticides Database, India's CIB&RC lists and your own regulator's register. Our guide to India's Central Insecticides Board explains the Indian lists.
Next step
We check a product's registration status in India and match it with your own country's approval before you order. Book a free sourcing review to confirm your options.