Customs take measures to help biz win orders

China's customs have taken a variety of measures to support enterprises to win orders and expand markets throughout the year 2022 in a bid to boost foreign trade and stabilize the industrial chain, Legal Daily reported on Friday.

Major policies and measures, such as smoothing customs clearance, supporting cutting-edge industries and injecting the vitality of market entities, have been rolled out.

Customs nationwide have focused on optimizing the customs clearance processes by adopting the "declaration in advance" policy for port customs clearance to improve the business environment.

Another measure introduced by Customs is a "two-step customs declaration" process, which allows importers to complete the final step after delivery of goods has been taken, with an application rate of 20.02 percent in the first 11 months of 2022.

A national network to verify import tariff quotas and the paperless customs procedures have been implemented since Jan 1, under joint efforts of the General Administration of Customs, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce.

Customs in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai have launched special assistance for industries such as integrated circuits and automobiles, bringing into play the agglomeration effect of the industry chain and supply chain.

Shanghai Customs handled a total of 8.38 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) worth of duty-free imports under the supporting policy on integrated circuit industries in the first 11 months of 2022, with tax relief of 513 million yuan, statistics from China's General Administration of Customs showed.

Customs in Shanghai and Chongqing have adopted a "white list" system for biopharmaceutical enterprises to import R&D materials, which improves customs clearance efficiency.

Lanzhou Customs has shorted the inspection procedure of imported copper concentrate by railway, reducing the customs clearance time from 5 to 10 days to 25 hours, which cuts down the operating cost for businesses.

Online application for certificates of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has been promoted by the GAC.

Seven member countries of RCEP have accepted self-printing certificates of origin from China's export enterprises by the end of 2022, which benefits 90 percent of the export value of the total exports with RCEP visas.

Customs has reduced the number of Criteria for Advanced Certified Enterprises from 269 to 94, a drop of 65 percent, and added six favorable measures to provide easier customs clearance services.