GACC Announcement No.39, 2016 on (China-South Korea FTA Origin-Info Exchange & Customs Declaration Filling)

In view of China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as from 1 July 2016, Electronic Origin Information Exchange System between China Customs and South Korea Customs shall make real-time exchange of cargo origin information under the FTA. This announcement provides relevant customs-declaration filling requirements and issues:

1. As from 1 July 2016, China-based importers shall fill in China's Import Declaration Form as per the following requirements:

(1) Fill "Accompanying Document Code" column with "Y"; fill "Accompanying Document Number" column with "<19>Origin Certificate number". In "Documents Correspondence Form", note the corresponding relation between Import Declaration-specified commodity and Origin Certificate-specified commodity. Declaration Form commodity serial number and Origin Certificate item number shall be in mutual one-to-one correspondence. The same batch of commodities within and without FTA conventional tariff may be provided in the same Declaration Form, but the serial number of a commodity without the conventional tariff may not be provided in the "Documents Correspondence Form" as annexed hereto.

(2) The Origin Certificate number provided in the Import Declaration Form shall be the same number as provided in the Origin Certificate.

(3) The same commodity unit of measure shall be consistent between Import Declaration Form and Origin Certificate.

(4) Commodity quantity specified in Import Declaration Form shall not outnumber the corresponding quantity specified in Origin Certificate.

(5) The declaration date provided in Import Declaration Form shall be within the validity period of Origin Certificate.

(6) All commodities provided in Origin Certificate shall belong to the same batch.

2. The first 6 digits of the HS Code of certain commodity shall be consistent between Import Declaration Form and Origin Certificate.

3. As from 1 July 2016, regarding the importing goods whose electronic origin information is not received by China Customs, Customs Declaration Pre-Entry Client will prompt that there is no relevant origin information. From 1 July 2016 till 30 September 2016, where no relevant origin information is available on the Pre-Entry Client, importers may continue to make relevant declaration to the Customs.

As from 1 October 2016, where no relevant origin information is available on the Pre-Entry Client, importers shall make statement on applicability of the FTA conventional tariff and apply for guarantee-based clearance of the goods involved.

4. As from 1 July 2016, China-based exporters shall, as per the requirements under Article 1 herein, fill in China's Export Declaration Form.

Export goods in the same Origin Certificate shall be declared in the same Export Declaration Form.

5. Where exporters fail to provide export-goods origin information as required during export declaration, the Customs may allow the exporters to modify their Declaration Form by supplementing origin information through relevant application in advance.

Where Origin Certificate needs modifying after goods are exported, exporters may inform the Customs of the modification after receiving updated Origin Certificate from certification authority; where Export Declaration Form needs modifying because of Origin Certificate modification, the Customs may allow the exporters to modify their Declaration Form by supplementing origin information through relevant application in advance.

6. As from the effective date of this Announcement, Item (3) of Article 1 and Item (2) of Article 2 in GACC Announcement No. 63 of 2015 shall become invalid.

Annex: "Documents Correspondence Form" Filling Sample

General Administrative of Customs of China (GACC)
June 28, 2016