 |
|
|
Worldwide Customs & Regulatory Updates
August, 2003 CHINA: China Compulsory Certification
The State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) and the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA) jointly announced the statutory implementation of the Compulsory Product Certification System (CPCS), effective May 1st, 2002. This new system consists of Regulations for Compulsory Product Certification, Regulations for Compulsory Product Certification Mark, and the First Catalogue of Products Subject to Compulsory Certification, and so on. The Old System, namely, the Safety License System for Import Commodities administered by the former State Administration for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (CIQ), and the Compulsory Supervision System for Product Safety Certification administered by the former China State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision (CSBTS), has been replaced. The Old System will be annulled on Aug 1st, 2003.
Effective Aug 1st, 2003, the importation of commodities listed in the First Catalogue of Products Subject to Compulsory Certification must obtain a China Compulsory Certification certificate before it can be marketed, imported or used for any commercial purposes. The importer or exporter must apply for this certificate online at http://www.cqc.com.cn and purchase corresponding "CCC" marks for the imported commodities from the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA). Old certificate and mark like CCIB and CCEE must be renewed before this deadline.
1. Are any/all goods shipped to China subject to duty and VAT (Value Added Tax)?
No. Not all goods shipped to China are subject to duty and VAT. The following three categories of goods are duty free.
Category A: Documents
This category of goods has no commercial value. It includes documents, contracts, tickets, accounting statements, invoices, training materials, etc. However, this category does not include books, diskettes, CDs, VCDs, and DVDs, of which the quantities and values should be reasonably declared.
Category B: Duty-free shipments
This category includes
- Samples and advertising materials of no commercial value
- Shipments for which the duty and tax, if assessed, would be less than RMB10 (USD1.20)
- Personal effects specified in the Customs regulations
Category C: foreign donations, foreign aid, returned defected goods, temporary imported goods, goods returned for repair, goods for scientific and educational use, goods for handicapped, and office equipment for foreign investment enterprises. The above commodities are subject to change and to the interpretation of the Customs General Administration of the P.R.C. All other commodities are dutiable.
2. Normally what types of duties and taxes can I expect to be levied on my shipments to China?
Normally import duties and VAT are to be levied on the shipments into China.
3. What other duties or taxes may be levied on my goods?
In addition to the customary duty and tax imposed, the following taxes may be assessed depending upon the commodity:
- Value Added Tax (VAT) - applied to most commodities
- Consumption Tax (CT) - usually imposed on tobacco products, liquor, wine, petroleum products, cosmetics, shampoo, fireworks, jewelry, motorcycles, automobiles, and automobile tires
- Specific Duty - imposed on a few special commodities (beer, petroleum products and crude oil, newsprint, film, video tape players, video cameras). In these cases, Customs uses a quantity-based method to levy the duties and taxes. For example, the duties and taxes levied for beer and petroleum products are based on liters of beer and tons of crude oil rather than on their value.
- Interim Duty - imposed on some commodities.
4. How is Duty on my goods determined?
Duty is calculated as follows:
Duty Value = duty rate x declared value (CIF)
Value Added Tax (VAT) = (declared value + duty value + consumption value) x VAT rate
Consumption Tax (CT) = (declared value + duty value) x CT rate/(1- CT rate)
Specific Duty = quantity x (CT value/unit)
5. Is a value required when goods are only samples?
Yes. The declared value of a sample should be at least USD1.
6. Are samples subject to duties and taxes?
Yes. Samples are subject to duties and taxes when their value is over RMB400. The following samples, regardless of value, are dutiable: motor vehicles, bicycles, watches, televisions, recorders, radios, electric gramophones, cameras, refrigerators, sewing machines, photocopy machines, air conditioners, electric fans, vacuum cleaners, acoustic equipment, video recording equipment, video cameras, amplifiers, projectors, calculators, electronic microscopes, electronic color analyzers and their major parts. In these cases the shipper should not only declare "sample" on the Air Waybill and Commercial Invoice, but also should include a detailed description of the commodity.
If the value of samples is less than RMB400, no duty or tax will be levied.
7. Is there a quantity or value limit on samples?
Yes. The quantity should be reasonable. For shipments of more than RMB400, duties and taxes will be levied.
|
|
