Announcement of the State Council on temporarily adjusting and implementing the relevant administrative regulations in Pilot Free Trade Zone(Announcement of the State Council [2020] No. 8)

In order to ensure measures of reform and opening-up are implemented well in accordance with the law, the State Council has decided to adjust several regulations in pilot free trade zones in a circular. Three administrative rules on commercial performance, foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises and printing will be adjusted.

Announcement on the release of the " Economic and Trade Agreement Between the Government of The People’s Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America"

On January 15, 2020 EST, China and U.S. signed “Economic and Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America” in Washington, U.S. The agreement has 8 chapters, including intellectual property, technology transfer, trade in food and agricultural products, financial services, macroeconomic policies and exchange rate matters and transparency, expanding trade, bilateral evaluation and dispute resolution, and final provisions. 

Announcement on Promulgation of the Administrative Measures on Import Tax Policies for Crucial Technical Equipment(Announcement of the Ministry of Finance [2020] No. 2) 

To continuously support development of China's crucial technical equipment manufacturing industry, the Ministry of Finance has formulated the Administrative Measures on Import Tax policies for Crucial Technical Equipment. 

Announcement on Expanding the Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import Pilots  (the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission, [2020] No. 15) 

The Ministry of Commerce issued an announcement on January 17, 2020. In order to promote the sustainable and healthy development of the industry, the number of pilot cities for Cross-border E-commerce retail importation will be increased. 50 cities (regions) and the entire island of Hainan are included as the cross-border e-commerce retail import pilots. Relevant  cities and regions could follow the requirements of the Circular on Improving Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import Supervision (the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission, [2018] No. 486) jointly printed and issued by six ministries and commissions in 2018 to launch bonded import for online shopping (Customs Supervision Model Code 1210). 

Announcement on Adjusting Commodity Supervision Requirements regarding 193 customs commodity numbers (GAC Announcement [2020] No. 9)

The General Administration of Customs issued an announcement on January 17, 2020, and decided to adjust the regulatory requirements for the commodities regarding 193 customs commodity numbers. The main contents include:

• For the commodities under these 2 customs commodity numbers such as "4001100000", commodity quarantine for import, plant quarantine for import and export, plant product quarantine will no longer be implemented.
• For the commodities under these 191 customs commodity numbers such as "4101201110", commodity quarantine for import will no longer be implemented.

Announcement on Prevention and Control of the Novel Coronavirus-Related Pneumonia (GAC Announcement [2020] No. 15)

On 24 January 2020, the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement to guide the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia at points of entry in a law-based, scientific, orderly and effective manner, and better protect the health of international travellers from the disease. The following announcement is hereby promulgated.

• International travellers, if having such symptoms as fever, cough, breathing difficulty or other feelings of being unwell at points of entry, should immediately declare to Customs, and cooperate with temperature monitoring, medical examination and observation, as well as other public health measures.
• International travellers, if having such symptoms as fever, cough, breathing difficulty or other feelings of being unwell on the conveyance, should immediately declare to the attendants on board. In such cases, the person in charge of the conveyance should provide the traveller with personal protective equipment and declare to Customs at points of entry in time.
• International travellers should keep good personal hygiene during travel by washing hands regularly, wearing face masks and avoiding contact with patients with acute respiratory infections. If you have symptoms of acute respiratory infections such as fever occurring with cough, breathing difficulty, among others, seek medical care immediately and share previous travel history with your health care provider.
• Inbound travellers can learn about latest health related information on the official website of the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, and should seek medical care immediately and share previous travel history with health care provider if having relevant symptoms.
• Customs will, according to the epidemic situation, adjust prevention and control measures at points of entry on a real-time basis.

This announcement shall come into force on the date of promulgation and shall be valid for 3 months.

Announcement on Re-adopting the Health Declaration Form for Inbound and Outbound Travellers (GAC Announcement [2020]) No. 16)

To better control the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia at points of entry and prevent its spreading across the border, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) has decided to re-adopt the health declaration measures by requesting all inbound and outbound travellers to fill in the Health Declaration Form on Entry/Exit. All inbound and outbound travellers must declare their health conditions to quarantine officers of China Customs, and cooperate with temperature monitoring, medical examination and observation, as well as other public health measures. 

Announcement on Customs Formalities for Importing Donated Supplies for Tackling the Novel Coronavirus-Related Pneumonia (GAC Announcement [2020] No. 17) 

In order to ensure the fast clearance of donated supplies for tackling the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia, the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement on 25 January 2020. The applicable customs formalities are hereby announced as follows:

• Green lanes have been set up at local customs districts to facilitate quick inspection and release of imported pharmaceuticals, disinfection supplies, protective supplies, treatment equipment and other disease prevention and control related goods.
• In emergency situations, goods listed in the Interim Measures for the Exemption of Import Duties on Charitable Donated Materials (Announcement No. 102 [2015] of the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration of Taxation) may be released upon registration, followed by appropriate duty exemption procedures.

KPMG China also issued tax alert Related Policies on Import Epidemic Prevention and Control Materials related to the announcement on Customs Formalities for Importing Donated Supplies for Tackling the Novel Coronavirus-Related Pneumonia. 

For detailed information, please click here.

Announcement of Shenzhen Customs on the Pilot Work of "Internet plus Online Inspection "

In order to deepen the reform of the" Internet plus Customs", optimize the business environment and improve the level of trade facilitation, Shenzhen Customs released an announcement on January 8, 2020, and decided to launch the pilot project of "Internet plus Online Inspection". The announcement lists elaborations on the pilot content, the scope of the pilot enterprises, reform dividends, application process and exit from the pilot.

Announcement of Shanghai Customs on Fully Ensuring Rapid Clearance of Novel Coronavirus-Related Pneumonia Epidemic Prevention and Control Materials

On 25 January 2020, Shanghai Customs issued an announcement to better prevent and control the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia. The applicable customs formalities are hereby announced as follows:

• Green lanes have been set up at Shanghai customs districts to facilitate quick inspection and release of disease prevention and control related goods. Customs clearance procedures will be handled firstly for relevant goods.. Medical supplies for the purpose of disease prevention and control，which require import medicine permits, may be released by Customs if there is a certificate issued by the medical competent authority, followed by appropriate formalities. 
• At the customs clearance site, the imported donated goods used for the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia shall be exempted from import duties and value added taxes with the “Certificate of Tax Exemption for import and export goods” issued by the customs of the place where the recipient or user is located. In emergency situations, goods may be released upon registration, followed by appropriate duty exemption procedures. For the definition and regulation of charitable donated materials, please refer to “the Interim Measures for the Exemption of Import Duties on Charitable Donated Materials” (Announcement No. 102 [2015] of the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration of Taxation) .

Northen Region 
Eric Zhou
China Trade and Customs Services
Lead Partner
Email: ec.zhou@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (10) 8508 7610

Nathan Wang    
Tax Director
Email: nathan.s.wang@kpmg.com
Tel:+86 (10) 8553 3713      

Eastern and Western Region
Anthony Chau 
Partner-in-Charge, National Tax
Operations
Email: anthony.chau@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (21) 2212 3206

Dong Cheng
Tax Partner
Email: cheng.dong@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (21) 2212 3410

Rachel Tao
Tax Director
Email: rachel.tao@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (21) 2212 3473   

Southern Region
Grace Luo
Tax Partner
Email: grace.luo@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (20) 3813 8609

Vivian Chen
Tax Partner
Email: vivian.w.chen@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (755) 2547 1198

Phillip Xia
Tax Director
Email: philip.xia@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (20) 3813 8674

Stella Jin
Director
Email: stella.jin@kpmg.com
Tel: +86 (755) 2547 1152

Hong Kong
Daniel Hui    
Tax Partner
Email: daniel.hui@kpmg.com
Tel: +852 2522 7815