International Trade and Customs Affairs Newsletter, April, 2020

The General Administration of Customs of China released "List of Measures for Coordinating the Port Epidemic Prevention and Control and Customs Clearance Facilitation”
 

On March 19, the General Administration of Customs of China released "List of Measures for Coordinating the Port Epidemic Prevention and Control and Customs Clearance Facilitation", and clarified that during the epidemic period, the customs mission is mainly to prevent and control import of overseas epidemic cases and support enterprises to resume work and production. The main measures include:
 

1. Precise control and rapid inspection, strengthen entry health declaration, and strictly prevent epidemic import or spread through ports.
    

2. The consignees may not be present for inspections, to reduce the gathering of personnel during the epidemic.
    

3. Strengthen the port interception and law enforcement of substandard epidemic prevention materials.
    

4. For the import of epidemic prevention materials or urgently needed materials for the resumption of work and production of enterprises, the restrictions on customs transfer shall be lifted; For the import of machinery, equipment and raw materials that are urgently needed by the enterprise, supervision shall be implemented during the unloading and equipment installation.
    

5. For disinfection and sterilization cosmetics, measures such as affixing Chinese labels after entering the country, and putting it in for later inspection shall be adopted.
    

6. Open up green channels for agricultural products and food imports at key ports, implement 24-hour custom clearance appointment, and give priority to inspection and testing.
 

7. Negotiations with 17 countries on cancellation and adjustment of restrictions.
 

8. Enterprises are exempted from submitting accompanying documents such as contracts and packing lists during the import and export declaration.
 

9. Reduction and exemption of delayed declaration fees.
 

10. If the enterprise is unable to pay the tax on time due to operational difficulties, the enterprise may apply for tax deferral (up to 3 months), and the customs shall exempt or reduce the late fees.
 

Chinese Customs implement "non- intrusive inspection”
 

Affected by the epidemic, the daily customs supervision and inspection work could not be carried out normally. China Liaoning Pilot Free Trade Zone has officially launched the “non- intrusive inspection” operation form since February 25, 2020. Through the Internet, audio and video technology means, the customs implemented remote auditing operations on enterprises through video interaction and online data transmission, and use certificate cloud to ensure the legal effect of electronic legal documents and evidence materials. At present, this inspection mode has not been promoted within the scope of national customs. In Liaoning customs, it is only applicable to enterprises with general certification or above.
 

According to relevant laws and regulations, the Chinese customs may inspect the enterprises within three years after the release of the imported or exported goods. In recent years, under the requirements of trade facilitation, the supervision of Chinese customs on the import and export behavior of enterprises has gradually shifted from the supervision of the customs clearance process to the follow-up customs clearance, and the inspection efforts are significantly enhanced. Customs inspection officials usually need to enter the enterprise to conduct on-the-spot inspection, but due to the epidemic situation, the customs regular inspection methods cannot be implemented normally.
 

Announcement No.4 [2020] of the Ministry of Commerce: Announcement on Name Change of Thailand Company in the Anti-dumping Case against Purified Terephthalic Acid
 

On March 19, 2020, Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (the "MOFCOM") announced the name change determination for a Thailand Company in purified terephthalic acid (“PTA”) anti-dumping case.
 

On August 12, 2010, the MOFCOM issued Announcement No.47 of 2010, deciding to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of PTA originating from South Korea and Thailand. On August 10, 2016, the MOFCOM issued Announcement No.37 of 2016, deciding to continue the antidumping measures against imports of PTA from South Korea and Thailand for a period of five years. Among them, the anti-dumping duty rate applicable to Siam Mitsui PTA Co., Ltd. is 6.0%.
 

On December 9, 2019, GC-M PTA Company Limited submitted an application to the MOFCOM, claiming that due to the change of the shareholders of the company, Sia Mitsui PTA Co., Ltd. was renamed as GC-M PTA Company Limited and therefore requesting the renamed company to succeed the rights and obligations of Siam Mitsui PTA Co., Ltd. in the anti-dumping measures against PTA.
 

Upon review, the MOFCOM believes that Siam Mitsui PTA Co., Ltd. has been renamed as GC-M PTA Company Limited. Therefore, the MOFCOM decides that, GC-M PTA Company Limited shall succeed the anti-dumping duty rate of 6.0% applicable to Siam Mitsui PTA Co., Ltd in the anti- dumping measures against PTA. The anti-dumping duty rate of 20.1% applicable to “Other Thailand Companies” shall be applied to the subject merchandise that are exported to China under the name of Siam Mitsui PTA Co., Ltd since March 23, 2020.