GACC Decree No.229 on (China-South Korea FTA Goods Origin Admin Measures)

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


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-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

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

Article 3 Where import goods are compliant with any of the following conditions, their country of origin shall be deemed South Korea:
(1) Totally acquired or manufactured in South Korea;
(2) Manufactured within South Korea by using raw materials originating in China or South Korea;
(3) Non-totally acquired or manufactured in South Korea 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 South Korea, where being directly transported from South Korea to China, may be applied to the conventional tariff under the FTA in China's Import & Export Tariffs.

Article 4 The goods in "Special Goods List" under this FTA, meeting the following conditions, shall be deemed originating in South Korea:
(1) South Korea-exported materials, after processed in Korean industrial zones, are re-exported to South Korea for the purpose of export to China;
(2) Value of the materials non-originating in South Korea is within 40% of cargo FOB price;
(3) Value of the materials originating in South Korea is not less than 60% of total material value used in manufacturing of goods.

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

Article 6 The goods made in South Korea with non-native materials, where being compliant with the FTA's origin rule on Change in Tariff Classification, shall be regarded as the goods originating in South Korea.

Article 7 The goods made in South Korea with non-native materials, where being compliant with the FTA's origin rule on regional value component, shall be regarded as the goods originating in South Korea. 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 8 The goods or materials originating in China, where being used in South Korea for manufacturing another goods and as component thereof, shall be regarded as originating in South Korea.

Article 9 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 South Korea.

Article 10 The following minor operations or processing shall not lead to the origin identification:
(1) Goods preservation processing;
(2) Package replacement, 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) Test or calibration;
(16) Dilution by water without change in nature;
(17) Drying, salting, freezing or refrigeration;
(18) Animal slaughter;
(19) Combination of the items of (1)-(18) herein

Article 11 As regards the accessories or spare parts along with the import goods, where they should be classified into the import goods and their price is within 15% of total goods price, their countries of origin shall not influence the identification of the origin of the total goods.

Article 12 The origins of packing materials and containers of the import goods shall not influence the identification of the origin of the import goods.

Article 13 In calculating regional value component, accessories or tools along with import goods shall be included into native or non-native materials for price calculation; 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 14 As regards the articles as below used in manufacturing 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 15 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 16 The "direct transport" herein means the import goods are transported from South Korea 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 3 months in other countries/regions; due to force majeure, the stay may not exceed 6 months;
(3) The goods are under customs supervision of other countries/regions.

Article 17 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 South Korea authority (see Annex 1) or original Statement of Origin Qualification made by South Korea-approved exporters (see Annex 2);
(2) Goods commercial invoice and related transport documents

Article 18 Where the importers fail to submit the origin certificate or declaration during their import declarations, they shall make up for the Origin Certificate or Statement before their customs formalities are concluded.

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 19 The same one consignment from South Korea, whose dutiable value is within USD700, may be exempt from Certificate or Declaration of Origin, but excluding the import in multiple times for circumvention.

Article 20 The submitted Certificate of Origin shall be compliant with all of the following conditions:
(1) Issued by South Korean authority before or upon export, or 7 workdays after export;
(2) Having security feature such as South Korea signed/sealed notice to China Customs;
(3) Printed and filled in English;
(4) Having non-repetitive certificate number;
(5) Marked with evidence of origin qualification;
(6) Valid for 12 months as of issue

Article 21 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 South Korea exporters to provide the copy certificate with the same validity as the original.

Article 22 China Customs may conduct verification of Origin Certificate or Declaration by the following means in order:
(1) Request importers to provide origin information;
(2) Request South Korean Customs to verify the origin qualification;
(3) Request South Korean Customs to investigate Korean exporter/manufacturer;
(4) Other procedures agreed on with South Korean Customs

Article 23 Upon all of the following conditions, the importers may, within one year from import date, 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-South Korea 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. Statement of Origin Qualification