New customs rules ease transport for honest companies

Shanghai customs officials listed 202 discredited companies, and downgraded five companies’ credit ratings based on information shared by other government organs since the country adopted credit-based customs clearance measures in May.

Customs officials also set up measures to block 739 companies deemed by the State Administration of Taxation to be at high risk of providing false trade information.

“By sharing enterprises’ credit information, we will be able to act. The honest and law-abiding get a green light and those that are discredited get tougher inspections,” said Zhu Haibin, chief of the enterprise management section at Shanghai Customs.

Zhu said customs officials have teamed up with other municipal departments to build a credit-based monitoring mechanism with information-sharing channels.

Interim measures issued in 2014 were amended, resulting in new measures that apply to all registered companies while clarifying the requirements for what companies need to submit for examination. It lays out detailed incentives and punitive measures for three company categories — advanced certified enterprise, general enterprise and discredited enterprise.

Advanced certified enterprises will enjoy as many as 49 measures to ease the customs process and the requirements of other government departments, including an inspection rate of less than 20 percent, along with expedited licensing, registration and release of goods.

They will also be recognized as authorized economic operators by the World Customs Organization, which means easier processing at the customs departments of all WCO members that embrace the program.

At present, there are about 3,000 advanced certified enterprises in China, accounting for about 33 percent of the nation’s import and export volume.

“A total of 438 companies registered at Shanghai Customs are advanced certified enterprises,” Zhu said. “We have the most ACE companies in the country.”

By contrast, discredited companies under the jurisdiction of Shanghai Customs will be required to meet stricter criteria when clearing goods — including an inspection rate of over 80 percent, and exclusion from quick clearances and fee exemptions, among others, Zhu said.

The list of advanced certified enterprises and discredited enterprises can be found online at credit.customs.gov.cn.

The new customs measures — part of the country’s effort to establish a social credit system based on a 2014-20 plan issued by the State Council — have been praised by most enterprises.

Jia Guolin, vice-president of Shanghai Sankai Import and Export Co, an ACE company, said the company has been able to cut costs on transportation and warehouses since the new measures took effect.

“The measures also allow us to apply for a customs guarantee waiver, which will save us more than 2 million yuan ($301,000) a year,” Jia said.

Guo Hu, import and export manager at Shanghai Roche Pharmaceuticals, said the inspection rate for its imports of biomedical drugs dropped from 6.9 to 1.3 percent since the company was certified in 2016, which greatly reduced risks for its cold-chain transportation.

“When we exported goods to Switzerland, our foreign buyers also appreciated our fast customs clearance,” said Guo. “Being deemed an authorized economic operator gives us advantages in global competition.”

He Qi contributed to this story.