GACC Announcement No.26, 2016 on (Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Import/Export Control)

[2016-05-10 17:49:51]

In accordance with China's Customs Law, relevant cross-border e-commerce retail import taxation notice (CaiGuanShui [2016] No. 18) and commodity list announcement, hereby announced are the matters concerning Customs control over cross-border e-commerce retail import/export goods:

Ⅰ Applicability

1. This Announcement is applicable to retail import/export transactions undertaken by e-commerce firms and individuals over e-commerce transaction platforms with transmission of relevant transaction data as required by the Customs.

Ⅱ Enterprise Control

2. Cross-border e-commerce firms shall in advance submit documents as below to local Customs houses:

(1) Business License duplicate (copy);
(2) Organization Code Certificate duplicate (copy) (unnecessary for the firms with uniform social credit codes);
(3) Firm Information Registration Form,

Ⅲ Clearance Control

3. Before customs declaration, the e-commerce firms or transaction platform firms, payment firms, and logistic firms shall respectively send transaction, payment and logistic information to the Customs through Cross-Border E-Commerce Clearance Platform ("the Clearance Platform" below).

4. Before export declaration hereof, e-commerce firms or agents and logistic firms shall respectively send transaction information, proceeds information, and logistic information to the Customs through the Clearance Platform.

5. E-commerce firms shall submit Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Import/Export Declaration List ("Declaration List"): export declaration may be in the "Release by List, Declaration in Summary" manner, and import declaration may be in the "Release by List" manner.

6. E-commerce firms shall verify the identity (ID) information of retail import commodity buyers (individuals) and remit their ID information to the Customs; where the buyer ID information is unavailable, the buyer and the payer shall be the same one.

7. After export of cross-border e-commerce retail commodities, the e-commerce firms or agents shall, before the 10th day each month (to be extended to the following first workday in the case of legal holiday), consolidate all Declaration Lists cleared in a previous month (not later than December) into Export Declaration Form(s) sorted as per the same consignor or consignee, the same means of transport, the same port of destination, the same port of shipment, the same 10-digit HS Codes, the same unit of measure, and the same currency system.

8. Except special circumstances, the Declaration Lists and Import/Export Declaration Forms herein shall be submitted in an electronic, paperless way to the Customs.

Ⅳ Tax Collection & Control

9. In accordance with CaiGuanShui [2016] No.18 Notice, the retail import commodities shall be subject to import duties, value-added tax, consumption tax, and their duty-paid value shall be price of actual transaction including commodity retail price, freight and insurance costs.

10. The orderer shall be the taxpayer; the registered e-commerce firms, platform operating firms or logistics firms may help collect and remit the tax as collector and remitter.

11. The tax collector and remitter shall provide the Customs with accurate truthful information of commodity name, HS Code, specification, model, actual transaction price and costs for tax collection and control regarding cross-border e-commerce retail import, whose currency shall be declared as RMB.

12. The Customs may require the tax collector and remitter to make supplementary declarations for the retail import classifications, duty-paid value, etc.

13. The Customs may make centralized aggregate taxation as per time period over compliant cross-border e-commerce retail imports, and the tax collector and remitter shall provide valid Guarantee of Tax in full to the Customs.

Without cargo return or declaration revision/cancel within 30 days after Customs release, the tax collector and remitter shall undertake tax payment to the Customs from the 31st day till the 45th day after the release date.

Ⅴ Logistic Control

14. Cross-border E-commerce retail import/export goods controlling places must meet Customs requirements on construction, computer management system, electronic data interchange, etc.

15. Cross-border E-commerce retail import/export goods shall be inspected and released within their controlling places as designated.

16. E-commerce firms, agents, controlling place operators, and warehousing firms shall cooperate with the Customs in respect of goods inspection.

17. When finding suspected violation of law or act of smuggling, E-commerce firms, agents, logistics firms, controlling place operators, and warehousing firms shall immediately report to the Customs.

Ⅵ Return Control

18. In the mode of cross-border e-commerce retail import, e-commerce firms or agents may apply for return of goods; the goods to return shall be transited "as is" to original controlling place within 30 days from the date of Customs release, and relevant taxes may be exempted and personal annual transaction total may be adjusted.
Regarding cross-border e-commerce retail export, the goods returned shall be subject to current Customs regulations.

Ⅶ Other Matters

19. Customs-registered e-commerce firms, platform firms, payment firms, and logistics firms shall receive follow-up management by the Customs.

20. Relevant terms herein have the following meanings:

"E-commerce firms" mean the firms doing cross-border e-commerce business over their own or third-party-owned e-commerce transaction platforms;
"E-commerce transaction platform firms" mean the firms providing e-commerce platforms for trading, payment, and delivery services of import/export goods;
"E-commerce clearance platform" means the platform set up by China E-Port for data interchange and information sharing among enterprises, Customs and other administrations.

21. Cross-border e-commerce retail import under bond shall be undertaken within special Customs-controlled areas and bonded logistics centers (Model B) and, unless otherwise regulated, shall be subject to the regulations in this Announcement.

This Announcement shall enter into force as from 8 April 2016 along with the repeal of GACC Announcement No.56 of 2014. The implementation time shall be subject to the time when the Customs accepts the Declaration List.


Annex 1: Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Import Commodity Declaration List (omitted)
Annex 2: Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Export Commodity Declaration List (omitted)



General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)
April 6, 2016


Source: ETCN
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