Seminar Held by ETCN in Regards to Announcement No.33 of China Customs

The seminar in regards to Announcement No.33 of China Customs, which is aimed at strengthening the control of import and export of samples and advertising articles in and out of China, was successfully held in Beijing on July 23 by ETCN International Inc.

"This reinforced regulation which has been taking effect recently may result in a longer clearance time, and may cause delays to the shipments," said Jialin Xue, ETCN's Chief Operating Officer. "The Seminar held by ETCN will enable enterprises to better understand the new provisions in the import and export shipments process of samples and advertising articles, and the recommendations offered by our experts will help enterprises to minimise the impacts of this reinforced regulation and reduce the inconvenience."

The main content of the provisions concerning the Supervision on Sample Goods and Advertising Articles of Import and Export Goods can be summarized as follows: Firstly, except for documents and personal effects, all other shipments require an Importer/Exporter Customs Registration Code (a 10-digit customs code) to be provided by the China importer or exporter for customs declaration. In the absence of a Customs registration code, a registered agent/broker may be authorised to act as the importer or exporter of record for your shipments.

Second, all import and export sample and advertising articles, whether provided free of charge or not, must now be declared with H.S. codes and the appropriate customs duty, VAT and tax might be levied in accordance with the regulations. This includes imported samples and advertising articles valued at RMB 400 and below, which were previously granted duty-exemption, but are now subject to duty.

Besides, only imported and exported sample goods and advertising articles with no commercial value are granted an exemption of tariffs and Customs-collected import duties, while others shall be subject to taxations in accordance with the regulations.

ETCN's recommendations regarding the new provisions include the following: The enterprises should provide the H.S. code, detailed goods description and all required customs certification when declaring your import and export packages. If the enterprises are not clear about the H.S. code of their shipment, please refer to ETCN's website ( http://hs.e-to-china.com/ ) for the H.S. code.

If the enterprises are located in China, please register with China customs authorities for the Importer/Exporter Customs Code, or engage a registered agent/broker in China that is authorised to act as the importer or exporter for your shipments.

If the enterprises are located outside of China and are shipping into China, to facilitate the customs clearance process in China, they may wish to request their consignee in China to furnish them with the necessary 10-digit Importer Customs Code, as well as the H.S. code of their shipments, in order to facilitate clearance of their goods.

At the seminar, the customs experts also presented their views concerning the causes of revisions. At the early stage of China's reform, owing to limited external economic exchange and external trade operation, the ordering was done by means of sending and receiving samples and advertising articles for most of enterprises to deal with import and export business.

China Customs thus formulated a provision concerning the supervision on samples and advertising articles of import and export goods in 1986. This provision would provide certain amounts of tax-exemption for imported and exported samples and advertising articles, which was to facilitate the development of China's external trade and the cooperation of the international economy.

Along with the unceasing development of China's external trade and the growth of economy, China has more and more enterprises to engage in import and export trade. Also, the tax-exemption amount of CNY 400 has been low in its role of adjusting tariffs on sample goods and advertising articles nowadays. In addition, lawbreakers have the chance to import other goods and articles in the name of samples and advertising articles so as to evade taxes payable, thus impacting orderly import and export.

In short, in the view of both Customs control and entities' real demands, the Customs Supervision Measures on Sample Goods and Advertising Articles released in 1986 should go through revisions since they have accomplished their historic mission so far.

The seminar in regards to Announcement No.33 of China Customs, which is aimed at strengthening the control of import ...