New Cross-Border E-commerce Policy Was Issued, Good News For The Sector

The State Council decided to improve the current policy for cross-border e-commerce retail importation and expand the scope of application at a recent executive meeting. The relevant government authorities subsequently issued new supporting rules to adjust the regulations on cross-border e-commerce retail importation. More measures conducive to the growth of the sector have been introduced while the new regulatory requirements have been clarified. The new policy will come into effect on 1 January 2019. 

KPMG has published a China tax alert regarding the policy above in December 2018. For details, please click here.

Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting High Level Opening-up and High Quality Development of Comprehensive Bonded Zones (State Council Announcement [2019] No. 3)

The announcement “Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting High Level Opening-up and High Quality Development of Comprehensive Bonded Zones” was released on 12th January. In future, the State Council will promote comprehensive bonded zones to become globally influential and competitive centres for processing and manufacturing, R&D and design, logistics distribution, inspection and maintenance, and sales services. 

 

KPMG has published a China tax alert regarding the policy above in February 2019. For details, please click here.

Joint Announcement on the Inclusion of the Registration Certificate of Customs Declaration Entity (Consignors/Consignees of Imported or Exported Goods) in Reform of “Integrating Certificates into One Form” (GAC and SAMR Announcement [2019] No. 14)

The announcement, with the following major content, entered into force from 1 February 2019:

If an applicant going through industrial and commercial registration needs to apply for the Registration Certificate of Customs Declaration Entity (Consignors/Consignees of Imported or Exported Goods), it shall select the option of registration of consignors/consignees of imported or exported goods as required and fill in the business information for filing. The market regulation authority will follow the procedure for “Integrating Certificates into One Form” to perform registration and exchange data with the General Administration of Customs (GAC) through the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). Registration is complete upon confirmation by the GAC of reception of the applicant’s industrial and commercial registration information and business information. The applicant does not need to separately register with the Customs.

 

Joint Announcement on the Adjustment of Manufacturer Codes of Packages for Exported Dangerous Goods (GAC and SAMR Announcement [2019] No. 15)

On 10 January 2019, the GAC adjusted the manufacturer codes of packages for exported dangerous goods to meet the requirement that packages of exported dangerous goods should carry UN-stipulated marks that contain the codes of the manufacturers. The Customs manage manufacturers of packages for exported dangerous goods by code. Each code indicates the directly competent Customs of the manufacturer. The announcement entered into force immediately after release.

 

Announcement on Shortening the Time Limit for the Approval of "Inspection Licensing for Conducting the Inspection and Identification of Imported and Exported Commodities" (GAC Announcement [2019] No. 6)

GAC has decided to reduce the aforesaid time limit to 13 working days from 2 January 2019.

 

Announcement on Promoting the "Deferred Declaration + Regulation via Verification" Mode for Water Supply for International Voyage Ships (GAC Announcement [2019] No. 9)

The GAC has decided to promote the "Deferred Declaration + Regulation via Verification" mode for water supply for international voyage ships from 4 January 2019 and announced that:

1. Drinking water suppliers of international voyage ships ("drinking water suppliers") shall be directly held liable for the safety of drinking water they provide for international voyage ships.
2. The Customs will conduct risk analysis and assessment on drinking water suppliers, and grant permits for those qualified to adopt deferred declaration.

 

Announcement of Relevant Matters Concerning Administration of Temporarily Imported or Exported Goods (GAC Announcement [2019] No. 13)

The GAC announced on 9 January 2019 that:

1. China has extended the acceptance of “Annex B.2 concerning professional equipment” and “Annex B.3 concerning containers, pallets, packages, samples and other goods imported in connection with a commercial operation” of the Convention on Temporary Admission (i.e. the Istanbul Convention), except for items 2 and 3 of Article 2 of Annex B.3. The Customs have extended acceptance of ATA carnets for goods temporarily imported as professional equipment or commercial samples. Customs formalities shall be gone through for temporarily imported containers, container-oriented accessories and equipment, and spare parts for repairing containers.
2. The import/export period for temporarily imported or exported goods under a Customs-accepted ATA carnet shall be consistent with the validity period of the carnet.
3. When goods temporarily imported (except those under an ATA carnet) are transferred to an area under special supervision by the customs or a supervised bonded area, the Customs in-charge shall perform verification and write-off for the goods against the Customs Declaration for Export of the People’s Republic of China.

 

Announcement on Revising the Instructions of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Completing the Customs Declaration Forms for the Imported and Exported Goods  (GAC Announcement [2019] No. 18)

To regulate customs declaration by the consignors/consignees of imported and exported goods and standardise the instructions on completing the customs declaration forms for the imported and exported goods, the GAC revised the Instructions of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Completing the Customs Declaration Forms for the Imported and Exported Goods (GAC Announcement [2018] No. 60) and the new instructions have taken effect since 1 February 2019.

 

Announcement on Adding a Customs Supervision Mode (GAC Announcement [2019] No. 20) 

The GAC decided to add the customs supervision mode “Deferred Royalty Duty Collection” from 1 March 2019, with the code 9500 and applicable to royalties paid by duty payers after importation. After paying royalties and within a specified period, the duty payers shall make duty payments to the Customs.

Announcement of Shenzhen Customs on Revising Several Normative Documents (Shenzhen Customs Announcement [2019] No. 1 )

On 11 January 2019, Shenzhen Customs revised its Announcement No. 2 of 2017 and Announcement No. 15 of 2018. The details are as follows:

• Revision of Announcement of Shenzhen Customs on Launching the Bonded Exhibition Transactions Service (Announcement No. 2 of 2017 revised as per Announcement No. 3 of 2018):

1. Article 1 was revised to: “Bonded exhibition transactions refer to the business activities carried out by enterprises in areas under special supervision by the Customs (“exhibition enterprises”) to exhibit and sell the bonded goods transferred under guarantee out of the areas.”
   
2. Article 2 was revised to: “In principle, bonded exhibition transactions in Shenzhen Customs District shall be conducted by enterprises registered therewith.”
   
3. Article 14 was revised to: “When levying imported duties on domestically sold goods for bonded exhibition transactions, the Customs shall assess and determine the dutiable value in accordance with Measures of the Customs of the People’s Republic of China on Determination of Dutiable Value of Bonded Goods for Domestic Sale.”
   
4. Article 15 was revised to: “If a permit is required for a bonded exhibition transaction, the exhibition enterprise shall go through related GAC formalities, such as online permit verification, before selling the goods.”
   

• Revision of Announcement of Shenzhen Customs on Launching the “One-time Declaration for Multiple Inbound/Outbound Shipments” Service (Announcement No. 15 of 2018):

1. Article 5 was revised to: “If a permit is required for goods involved in one-time declaration for multiple inbound/outbound shipments, the enterprise in Shenzhen Customs District shall go through related GAC formalities, such as online permit verification.”

Northen China 
Eric Zhou
China Trade and Customs Services
Lead Partner
Email: ec.zhou@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (10) 8508 7610

Helen Han    
Partner 
Email:h.han@kpmg.com
Tel:+86 (10) 8508 7627       

Eastern and Western China
Anthony Chau 
Partner
Email: anthony.chau@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (21) 2212 3206

Dong Cheng
Partner
Email: cheng.dong@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (21) 2212 3410

Rachel Tao
Director
Email: rachel.tao@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (21) 2212 3473   

Southern China
Grace Luo
Partner
Email: grace.luo@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (20) 3813 8609

Vivian Chen
Partner
Email: vivian.w.chen@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (755) 2547 1198

Phillip Xia
Director
Email: philip.xia@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (20) 3813 8674

Hong Kong
Daniel Hui    
Partner
Email: daniel.hui@kpmg.com
Tel: +852 2522 7815