China customs announces measures to quicken cargo clearance

BEIJING - The General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced new measures Thursday to expedite cargo clearance and cut administrative charges as part of the efforts to facilitate foreign trade.

Clearance documents subject to verification at ports will be reduced from 86 to 48 by Nov 1, Zhang Guangzhi, a senior GAC official, told a press briefing.

Procedures will also be improved, Zhang said, citing unified customs, frontier and maritime inspections, improved random checks and information disclosure, advanced cargo declaration, and fast track services for farm produce.

With the new policies, the GAC expects the time for imports and exports clearing by the end of the year will be reduced by a third from that of 2017. In 2021, the clearance of exports will only need 6.15 hours, and 48 hours for imports, half the time needed in 2017.

Administrative fees will also be lower and more transparent, Zhang said.

Local authorities will release their lists of charges before the end of October, and compliance costs of containers clearing will be reduced by at least $100 by the end of this year compared to last year.

Chinese customs will continue to promote "single window" clearance and make logistic services at ports more intelligent, Zhang said. At the end of this year, 80 percent of the main customs business will be handled via the single window system, and 100 percent at the end of 2020.