Benlang New Materials (920807.BJ) disclosed on the evening of May 27 that on May 25, 2026, the company received an administrative penalty decision from Foshan Customs. This was for failing to submit an export license to Customs when exporting a batch of permanent magnets valued at approximately USD 28,100 (equivalent to about RMB 201,800) under general trade on April 10, 2025. Consequently, the company was fined RMB 910,000. According to the announcement, the company declared the composition as neodymium-iron-boron, but customs verified that the dysprosium content in the shipment reached 1.2%, classifying it as dysprosium-containing neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet material, which is a national export-controlled item, violating Article 19, Paragraph 1 of the Export Control Law. Benlang New Materials admitted that the violation occurred because the relevant personnel responsible for export declarations failed to timely grasp that on April 4, 2025 — just six days before the export — the Ministry of Commerce, jointly with the General Administration of Customs, had issued a new regulation tightening controls on seven categories of medium and heavy rare earths, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, and dysprosium. Rare earth permanent magnet components constitute Benlang New Materials’ third-largest business segment, with related revenue of approximately RMB 105 million, accounting for about 17.54% of total operating revenue.
This case is one of the first publicly disclosed corporate penalty cases following China’s tightening of medium and heavy rare earth export controls in April 2025, and it carries landmark significance. Dysprosium, due to its high power density and superior efficiency, is indispensable in drive motors for new energy vehicles and offshore wind turbines, and can also be used as control material for nuclear reactors, giving it significant strategic value. Because Benlang New Materials admitted the fault, accepted the penalty, cooperated with the investigation, and provided guarantees, Foshan Customs applied a mitigated penalty in accordance with regulations. The company has initiated specialized export control training and a full-process compliance rectification, and has stated it will prevent similar issues from recurring.