Customs Measures Move With the Times

The original PRC Customs Measures for the Supervision of Processing Trade Goods (中华人民共和国海关对加工贸易货物监管办法)(Measures) first took effect on 1 April 2004 and was aimed at unifying customs regulations in processing trade and paving the way for the further upgrade and development of China's processing trade. It summarized customs' experience over 20 years in regulating the processing trade.

The starting point of China's processing trade can be traced back to 1978 when China first opened its door to the outside world. The processing trade in China has seen its development from simple processing of supplied materials to what is now a comprehensive system with a combination of processing supplied materials and imported materials in which its annual turnover constitutes almost half of the total amount of China's imports and exports. Areas of processing trade have also developed from Guangdong and Fujian to the entire Chinese territory. Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs) have played a major role in the business whereby “high-tech”, “deep processing” and “high increased value” are becoming keywords.

The above background together with the impact from globalization and modern development of logistics and e-commerce, means a sophisticated customs regulation system to suit the development seems to be a must.