GACC Announcement No.7, 2015 (on Revising Hainan Outbound-Passengers Duty-Free Purchase Measures)

[2015-03-20 15:45:03]

To regulate Customs supervision over Hainan-based duty-free purchases by outbound passengers, the GACC has revised current regulations on such duty-free purchases, the details as follow:

1. This Announcement is applicable to China Customs supervision over the purchases of duty-free goods by outbound passengers at specified duty-free shops on the Hainan island and over their one-time departure by air along with all their shopped goods.

2. Any duty-free shops located in cities shall set their respective delivery sites, based on the Customs approval, within the domestic isolation area of the Hainan Airport; however, the duty-free shops located in the Airport's isolation area may keep no such delivery sites.

The Airport's isolation area and the delivery sites shall both be supervised by the Customs under its requirements.

3. The outbound passengers shall buy the duty-free goods in accordance with prescriptions of times, varieties, quantity, weight and value; where beyond the prescriptions, the duty-free shops shall not sell the goods.

4. Hainan residents as the outbound passengers may enjoy at most once the duty-free purchases, and non-Hainan residents may enjoy at most twice the duty-free purchases, within one Gregorian calendar year.

The Customs shall identify Hainan residents or non-Hainan residents by their valid identity cards, and identify foreign passengers by their valid entry-exit permits.

5. Upon their duty-free purchases, the outbound passengers shall present their valid identity cards, information on their outbound flights, and information on their previous duty-free purchases.

One duty-free purchase refers to one exit of one passenger by air along with the duty-free goods purchased by the passenger.

6. One duty-free purchase for each outbound passenger shall be limited in value to not more than CNY 8,000, and the annexed table provides the upper quantity limit of single duty-free goods.

Additionally, where paying import duties on his/her inbound goods, each outbound passenger may buy one more commodity at a unit price of more than CNY 8,000.

7. Where his/her duty-free purchase limit has any remaining (or unused) amount, an outbound passenger may obtain one-off adjustment in his/her dutiable purchase of goods at a unit price of more than CNY 8,000.

The Customs may levy duties by taking "duty-free shop's retail commodity price minus remaining duty-free amount"as duty-paid value; where the remaining duty-free amount is unused, the Customs may treat duty-free shop's retail commodity price as duty-paid value.

Where an outbound passenger buys only one commodity at more than CNY 8,000, the Customs may treat "duty-free shop's retail commodity price minus CNY 8,000"as duty-paid value.

Where a dutiable amount is below CNY 50, the duty may be exempted.

8. The Customs taxation shall employ the duty rate prior to deduction of remaining duty-free amount regarding the commodity worth more than CNY 8,000.

9. The outbound passengers may undertake duty payment through the duty-free shops.

The duty-free shops shall concentrate their duty payment to the Customs every 10 days and shall, within 5 workdays from the date of Customs issue of duty pay certificates, pay their duties to specified banks (treasuries);

Where overdue in the payment, the Customs may levy overdue fine at five per ten thousand of the overdue amount each day from the expiry date till the paid-in-full date, but the overdue fine, whose threshold is CNY 50, shall not exceed the duty amount.

10. The city-based duty-free shops shall affix seals to the duty-free goods bought by the outbound passengers and send the sealed goods to their delivery sites within the airport isolation areas.

11. The outbound passengers shall take delivery of the duty-free goods from the delivery sites within the airport isolation areas by presenting their valid certificates of identity, delivery notes/bills of lading, and boarding pass.

The duty-free shops within the airport isolation areas may deliver the duty-free goods at the time of their sale.

12. The duty-free shops shall, prior to storage of the duty-free goods, record electronic data of those goods as per customs requirements.

Upon delivery to the outbound passengers, the duty-free shops shall timely send to the customs the complaint electronic information on the outbound passengers, outbound flights and the duty-free goods already sold.

13. In need of departure from the airport isolation areas as due to flight delay or cancel, the outbound passengers shall entrust their duty-free goods to the care by the duty-free shops or delivery sites for the purpose of later collection upon their return.

Where the actual flight departure date is not the original departure date, the original date shall be recorded as the effective departure date.

14. After delivery to the outbound passengers, where goods refund or change emerges owing to poor quality or damage, the duty-free shops shall entertain as per Customs regulations.

15. Under any of the following circumstances, the outbound passengers shall be banned from the duty-free purchases herein within three years:

(1) Failure to exit by carrying the duty-free goods along as per the regulations herein;

(2) Presentation of invalid or counterfeit certificates of identification;

(3) Violation of other relevant requirements

16. Meanings of relevant phrases:

The outbound passengers herein refer to not-younger-than 16 years old, domestic or foreign passengers, including Hainan residents, to exit from Hainan island by airplane but not to exit from China territory.

The certificates of identification include domestic residents' identity cards, mainland travel permits issued to Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan residents, and passports of foreign passengers.

17. This Announcement shall enter into force on March 20, 2015, along with simultaneous repeal of GACC Announcement No.50 of 2012.


Annex: Limit of Duty-Free Purchases by Each Outbound Passenger Each Time (omitted)


General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)
March 17, 2015
Source: ETCN
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