diff --git a/emmet-core/emmet/core/utils.py b/emmet-core/emmet/core/utils.py
index f057c5c1b7..6e93cb4044 100644
--- a/emmet-core/emmet/core/utils.py
+++ b/emmet-core/emmet/core/utils.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 from typing import Any, Iterator, List, Tuple, Dict, Union
 import copy
 
-import bson
 import numpy as np
 from monty.json import MSONable
 from pydantic import BaseModel
@@ -17,6 +16,11 @@
 
 from emmet.core.settings import EmmetSettings
 
+try:
+    import bson
+except ImportError:
+    bson = None  # type: ignore
+
 SETTINGS = EmmetSettings()
 
 
@@ -165,6 +169,7 @@ def jsanitize(obj, strict=False, allow_bson=False):
         or (bson is not None and isinstance(obj, bson.objectid.ObjectId))
     ):
         return obj
+
     if isinstance(obj, (list, tuple, set)):
         return [jsanitize(i, strict=strict, allow_bson=allow_bson) for i in obj]
     if np is not None and isinstance(obj, np.ndarray):
diff --git a/emmet-core/setup.py b/emmet-core/setup.py
index 96cf7f7378..a3ec441360 100644
--- a/emmet-core/setup.py
+++ b/emmet-core/setup.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         "pydantic==1.10.1",
         "pybtex~=0.24",
         "typing-extensions>=3.7,<5.0",
-        "spglib<3.0.0",
+        "spglib<2.0.0",
     ],
     extras_require={
         "all": [