GACC Announcement No. 45, 2012 on Foreign-Trade Promotion Measures

[2012-10-11 09:32:18]

 
 the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)

For the purpose of China's steady growth in foreign trade, the GACC hereby formulates China Customs Measures For Promotion Of Foreign Trade, as announced below:

1. Improvement of Customs Supervision and Services

(1) Offering timely accurate statistics information

China Customs will strengthen their analysis, monitor and alert over import and export scale, structure, layout, distribution, trade modes, and market share changes so as to offer effective information for state macro-control and enterprise operation.

(2) Closer cooperation with other administrations

China Customs will conduct closer cooperation with relevant administrations in export tax rebates, adjustment of auto-import licensed goods, RMB settlement for cross-border trade, adjustment of import-export statutory inspection catalog, online examination of regulatory documents like Certificate Of Origin, and building of importers-exporters credit standing database.

(3) Offering better service windows

China Customs will improve their services for the public by nationwide, around-the-clock “12360” advisory hotline, better-organized service windows, customs-clearance emergency mechanism, around-the-clock reservation for customs clearance at ports and special customs-supervised zones.

(4) Improving supervision with high efficiency

China Customs will conduct new supervision modes featuring efficient management and clearance, expanding one-off declaration, inspection and release, canceling restriction on cross-customs export of complete automobiles (including complete parts and chassis), and conducting supervision of multimodal goods transport between special customs-supervised zones of different districts.

(5) Helping enterprises with external customs clearance

By cooperating with foreign customs authorities, China Customs will help Chinese enterprises to solve their customs clearance at abroad, including enjoyment of foreign customs preferences, through supply chain security projects such as China-Europe safe trade route program, China-US Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) joint verification, and Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) mutual recognition.

2. Reform of Customs Operation

(6) Promoting classified customs clearance

The GACC will spread the form of classified customs clearance to nationwide customs houses and all kinds of imports and exports, facilitating smooth clearance for credit-worthy enterprises, prior to October 1.

(7) Promoting paperless customs clearance

China Customs will advance to the yearend the launch of cross-administrations web-based applications such as GACC-MOFCOM Online Examination of Automatic Import Licenses and GACC-OSCCA Online Examination of Encryption Product Import/Export Licenses, gradually eliminating paper-made declaration forms and other paper documents.

(8) Expanding the “declaration at origin while release at ports” mode

By November 15, China Customs will spread the “declaration at origin while release at ports” clearance mode to coverage of production-based Class-B exporters that keep sound credit standing without smuggling record within one year.

(9) Adjusting enterprise classification norms

Regarding Class AA enterprise rating, China Customs will lower the norm of annual export value from USD 30 million/10 million to USD 500,000.

From October 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, regarding a Class AA or A enterprise, where its previous-year import or export value is below USD 500,000 or its previous-year declaration forms are below 3,000 sets, its classification may be kept; where being lowered previously, its AA or A classification may be recovered on the basis of relevant application.

3. Reduction of Enterprise Cost in Customs Clearance

(10) Decreasing import and export charges

From October 1, China Customs will stop levying the printing fees on paper declaration form proof page and on export declaration tax-rebate page, declaration form bar-code fee, and customs supervision fee, and will cancel ATA document adjustment fee and luggage storage fee.

(11) Improving tax levy and management

China Customs will finish the application of electronic tax/fee payment system to Yangtze delta region by September and finish it nationwide by the yearend.

China Customs will help enterprises to obtain customs guarantee in kinds of forms like security deposit and guarantee letter and will confer exemption from guarantee to qualified enterprises.

(12) Improving case handling efficiency, with faster handling of minor violation cases.

4. Simplification of Bonded Supervision

(13) Simplifying the formalities for domestic sales of processing trade goods, for example, by centralization of tax payment by enterprises of Class B or above.

(14) Simplifying supervision formalities for enterprises using bonded warehouses and areas.

5. Maintenance of Fair Trade Order

(15) Improving supervision quality, by building a logistics supervision system covering integration of vehicles, manifests, supervisory sites, inspection, and law enforcement consistency.

(16) Intensifying anti-smuggling activities, with a high profile and focus on professional and gang-based smugglings.



September 27, 2012
Source: ETCN