China Customs Applies Classified Shipping Administration to Import of Scrap Metals, Waste Plastics, and Waste Paper

To strengthen the administration upon the imported solid wastes, on March 29, 2010, the General Administration of Customs of P. R. China issued the Announcement No. 21, 2010 on the implementation of classified shipping administration for the importation of major solid wastes such as scrap metals, waste plastics, and waste paper.

The Announcement shall be implemented as from June 1, 2010.

With respect to the administration concerning mixed loading, the Announcement stipulates that major solid wastes shall not be mixed and loaded in the same container with other solid wastes and goods not belong to the solid wastes.

The major solid wastes imported through containers shall, in accordance with the classification requirements in the Annex to the Announcement, Types of Major Solid Wastes, be separately loaded for A-K types of major solid wastes, go through pressing, bundling, packaging and other simple pre-shipping treatment, and be declared one by one according to the requirements of standard customs declaration.

Where the weight of other types of major solid wastes mixed in the container accounts for no more than 2% of the loading capacity, it shall not be regarded as mixed loading.

The Announcement has also made specific provisions on the customs declaration of defective goods and off-grade goods of the imported ordinary goods, and the import classification and customs declaration of major solid wastes which, for special causes, can not satisfy the classified shipping requirements in the Announcement's Annex, Types of Major Solid Wastes, and directly arrive at their destinations within China without reloading beyond the borders.