GACC Decree No.228 on (China-Australia FTA Goods Origin Admin Measures)

[2016-03-11 17:22:42]

The GACC hereby promulgates "China Customs Administrative Measures on Country of Origin of Import & Export Goods under China-Australia Free Trade Agreement", which were adopted on 7 December 2015 and shall enter into force from 20 December 2015.

China Customs Minister
December 18, 2015


China Customs Administrative Measures on Country of Origin of Import & Export Goods under China-Australia Free Trade Agreement

Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Customs Law of the P. R. China, the Regulations of the P. R. China on Origin of Import & Export Goods, and the regulations in China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Article 2 These Measures are applicable to control over the origin of import and export goods under China-Australia FTA. 

Article 3 Where import goods are compliant with any of the following conditions, their country of origin shall be deemed Australia:
(1) Totally acquired or manufactured in Australia;
(2) Manufactured within Australia by using raw materials originating in China or Australia;
(3) Non-totally acquired or manufactured in Australia but compliant with the FTA’s rules of origin specific to products such as change in tariff classification, regional value component, and manufacture processing;
The goods originating in Australia, where being directly transported from Australia to China, may be applied to the conventional tariff under the FTA in China’s Import & Export Tariffs.

Article 4 The goods that are "totally acquired or manufactured in Australia" refer to:
(1) Mineral products extracted from the territory or seabed of Australia;
(2) Plants and plant products harvested in Australia;
(3) Live animals bred in Australia;
(4) Products derived from the live animals bred in Australia;
(5) Products acquired from hunting or fishing in Australia;
(6) Fishes and products acquired from the territorial waters of Australia;
(7) Fishes and products acquired by Australia-owned ships without the territorial waters of Australia, including its exclusive economic zones;
(8) Products acquired from processing of the products aforesaid in (6) and (7) on Australia-owned factory ships;
(9) Products extracted from the seabed or subsoil without Australia’s territorial waters, on which Australia has development rights by its domestic law;
(10) Used goods collected in Australia or scraps generated in Australia for the purpose of raw material recycling; and the products acquired from the processing of all the products said in items (1)-(10).

Article 5 The goods made in Australia with non-native materials, where being compliant with the FTA’s origin rule of change in tariff classification, shall be regarded as the goods originating in Australia.

Article 6 The goods made in Australia with non-native materials, where being compliant with the FTA’s origin rule of regional value component, shall be regarded as the goods originating in Australia. The regional value component herein shall be calculated in the formula:

Goods Price–Non-native Material Price
Regional Value Component = ---------------------------------------------------- × 100%
Goods Price 

Therein, the goods price is FOB-based adjustment, and the non-native material price is CIF-based price.

Article 7 The goods or materials originating in China, where being used in Australia for manufacturing another goods and as component thereof, shall be regarded as originating in Australia.

Article 8 As regards the goods compliant with the FTA’s origin rule of change in tariff classification, where the non-native materials used therein are priced within 10% of the FOB price of the goods, such goods shall be regarded as originating in Australia.

Article 9 The following minor operations or processing shall not lead to the origin identification:
(1) Goods preservation processing;
(2) Package assembly and disassembly;
(3) Washing, cleaning, dedusting, removal of oxide/oil/painting/other coatings;
(4) Textile ironing and pressing;
(5) Japanning and polishing;
(6) Corn and rice hulling, bleaching, polishing;
(7) Sugar coloring or caking;
(8) Fruits and vegetable peeling, denucleating, hulling;
(9) Sharpening, simple grinding or cutting;
(10) Filtering, screening, selecting, sorting, grading, matching, assembling;
(11) Simple bottling, canning, bagging, encasing, packing;
(12) Affixing or printing of label, tag, or mark on product or package;
(13) Simple mixture of products;
(14) Simple assembly or disassembly of products;
(15) Processing for the convenience of harbor handling;
(16) Animal slaughter;
(17) Combination of the items of (1)-(16) herein

Article 10 As regards the accessories or spare parts along with the import goods, where they should be classified into the import goods and should not be separately invoiced and they are within normal quantity and value ranges, their countries of origin shall not influence the identification of the origin of the import goods.

Article 11 The origins of packing materials and containers of the import goods shall not influence the identification of the origin of the import goods.

Article 12 As regards the articles as below used in manufacture of the import goods, their origins shall not influence the identification of the origin of the import goods: 

(1) fuel, energy, catalyst and solvent;
(2) testing or inspection equipment or device;
(3) glove, eyeglass, shoe, apparel, safety equipment;
(4) tool, mould and swage die; 
(5) equipment maintenance materials;
(6) lubricant, grease, synthetic materials;
(7) other articles used in the manufacture process

Article 13 Interchangeable materials of the same nature, which are visually undistinguishable, shall be distinguished by particular physical separation or by exporter-recognized inventory management measures. 

Article 14 The "direct transport" herein means the import goods are transported from Australia directly to China without transit via other countries/regions.

The import goods, upon all of the following conditions, also shall be regarded as "directly transported" to China:
(1) Transit via other countries/regions is merely due to geographical reason or transport requirement; No trade or consumption of the goods is conducted in other countries/regions; No processing other than loading, unloading and adjustment of the goods is conducted in other countries/regions;
(2) Stay for temporary storage shall not exceed 12 months in other countries/regions.
(3) The goods are under customs supervision of other countries/regions.

Article 15 The importers shall fill in China Customs Declaration Form for Import, declaring application to the FTA conventional tariff, by submission of the following documents:

(1) The valid original Certificate of Origin issued by Australia authority (see Annex 1) or original Declaration of Origin made by Australia-approved exporters (see Annex 2);
(2) Goods commercial invoice and related transport documents

Article 16 Where the importers fail to submit the origin certificate or declaration during their import declarations, they shall make up for the origin certificate or declaration before their customs formalities are concluded (see Annex 3).

As regards the make-up declarations, the customs may, upon importer’s application, release the goods after levying security deposit equivalent to tax payable, unless otherwise regulated by law.

Where the importers fail to make the origin declaration during import declaration, their goods shall not be applied to the FTA conventional tariff and shall be subjected to MFN duties, ordinary duties and import value-added tax, which will not be adjusted after payment.

Article 17 The same one consignment from Australia, whose dutiable value is within CNY6000, may be exempt from Certificate or Declaration of Origin, but excluding the import in multiple times for circumvention.

Article 18 The submitted Certificate of Origin shall be compliant with all of the following conditions:
(1) Issued by Australian authority before or upon export;
(2) Having security feature such as Australia signed/sealed notice to China Customs;
(3) Printed and filled in English;
(4) Valid for 12 months as of issue


Article 19 Where the Certificate of Origin fail to be issued before/upon export owing to force majeure, it may be reissued within one year from the shipment date; the reissued certificate shall be marked "reissued" in its "remark" column. 

Where an unused Certificate of Origin is lost or damaged, the importers may require Australia exporters to provide the copy certificate with the same validity as the original.

Article 20 The submitted Declaration of Origin shall be compliant with all of the following conditions:
(1) Compliant with Annex 2 format in English;
(2) Made by Australia approved exporters/manufacturers, affixed with their special seals;
(3) Listed goods are of the same batch corresponding to one import declaration form;
(4) Valid for 12 months as of issue. 

Article 21 Origin Certificate and Declaration shall not be modified or overprinted in principle.

Article 22 China Customs may conduct verification of Origin Certificate or Declaration by the following means in order:
(1) Ask for help to Australian Customs;
(2) Request in writing Australian exporters/manufacturers to provide information;
(3) Request in writing Australian authority to verify certificate validity;

Article 23 Upon all of the following conditions, the importers may, within one year from import, the importer may apply for relief of tax guarantee within approved guarantee period.

Article 24 Under any of the following circumstances, the import goods shall not be applied to the FTA conventional tariff:
(1) Without statement of application to conventional tariff and without re-declaration;
(2) Goods fail to meet origin qualification;
(3) The Origin Certificate or Declaration is not compliant with these Measures;
(4) The Customs receive no result of origin verification within prescribed time limit, or the result received is not adequate to determine the authenticity of origin certificate or declaration or information.
(5) Other incompliance

Article 25 As regards export declaration, the exporters from China shall fill in China Customs Declaration Form for Export and submit electronic Certificate of Origin or its paper copy under the China-Australia FTA.

Article 26 Where origin information is printed on the import and export goods and their packages, the origin information shall be consistent with those identified as per these Measures.

Article 27 The customs shall keep confidential any business secrets acquired through these Measures, unless otherwise regulated by China law/regulations.

Article 28 Any violation of these Measures, including smuggling, violation of customs supervision or Customs Law, shall be subjected to China’s administrative penalty or even criminal punishment.

Article 29 Meanings of some terms herein:
Materials refer to the articles used to manufacture or transform to a kind of goods, including parts and components.
Production refers to planting, breeding, mining, harvesting, fishing, trapping, hunting, manufacturing, processing or assembly.
Producer refers to the person(s) in planting, breeding, mining, harvesting, fishing, trapping, hunting, manufacturing, processing or assembly.
Simple mixture involves no chemical reaction.

Article 30 These Measures shall be construed by the GACC hereto.

Article 31 These Measures shall enter into force on December 20, 2015.


Annexes (omitted):
1. Certificate of Origin
2. Declaration of Origin 
3. Statement of Origin Qualification
4. Notice on Non-Application to Conventional Tariff 
Source: ETCN
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