New customs codes and procedures for trade in China's Yangpu Bonded Port Area went into effect Sept. 20, the General Administration of Customs said in a notice that day, according to an unofficial translation. The notice details new codes for indicating the port area in import and export declarations and methods for collecting statistics on trade to and from the port.
Singapore Customs is urging fruit and vegetable importers to evaluate whether they underpaid their Goods and Services Taxes and to submit voluntary disclosures for any unpaid duties, according to a Sept. 18 notice. The agency said unpaid duties may have been caused by a “difference between the quantity and value” of imports declared to customs in the permit and the actual quantity and value of the fruits and vegetables imported. Importers who submit incorrect declarations can face a one-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000 or the “equivalent amount of duty and GST payable, whichever is higher.”
India will begin random sampling of certain imported LED products to make sure they are complying with the country’s standards, according to a Sept. 17 notice from India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The country’s customs will randomly select certain LED products and “control gear” for those products to be sent to labs for testing, the notice said, and imports that fail to meet Indian standards will be “sent back” or destroyed “at the cost of the importer.”
Singapore will update its Strategic Goods Control List to bring it up to date with the latest export control changes made at the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement and by the 2019 European Union List of Dual-Use Items, the country said in a Sept. 15 notice. The changes, to take effect Nov. 16, include new controls on dual-use items and “editorial changes for consistency.”
Japan announced the launch of a government-sponsored export control program for small and medium-sized companies, which includes “briefing sessions” and guidance from export control experts on complying with regulations surrounding sensitive technologies. The program, a collaboration of the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and the chambers of commerce in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, will create a “security trade control system … to prevent the outflow of sensitive technologies” by smaller companies, the ministry said Sept. 15, according to an unofficial translation. It will feature a free “specialized consultation desk” for export control issues, Japan said, and company visits by export control experts to help with in-house compliance programs. It said the resources will be available to companies operating in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, but the program may expand to other regions.
China’s General Administration of Customs will allow imports of French “breeding eggs,” a Sept. 14 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The notice contains quarantine and sanitation requirements for the egg imports. The two countries have an arrangement and protocol in place, and the guidelines will ensure proper enforcement. The notice says “breeding eggs” are defined as “poultry and fertilized poultry eggs used for breeding and breeding young poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and other breeding poultry birds.”
China will continue to exempt 16 U.S. items from retaliatory tariffs for another year, Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, reported Sept. 15. The exemptions, first announced in September 2019 (see 1909110051) and scheduled to end Sept. 16, 2020, will now end Sept. 16, 2021, the report said.
China’s General Administration of Customs announced new procedures aimed at simplifying and streamlining its electronic data declaration requirements for air and water transport, it said Sept. 15, according to an unofficial translation. The notice includes information on when declarations are not required, declarations for “empty containers [dispatched] … in domestic coastal ports,” procedures related to electronic customs clearances, and customs declaration requirements for ships on “short-distance scheduled passenger routes.” The new procedures take effect Dec. 1.
Indonesia recently announced stricter import controls on a range of consumer products, including sports footwear, bicycles and air-conditioning equipment, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said Sept. 10. The change requires importers of those goods to first obtain a permit from Indonesia, and bicycles may be imported only by companies with an “official business registration number,” HKTDC said. In addition, the goods can be imported through only certain sea and air entry ports. The increased restrictions were in response to a 70% rise in those imports during May and June.
India recently announced export restrictions on certain onion products, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a Sept. 14 notice. The change restricts exports of all onion varieties, including “Bangalore Rose onions and Krishnapuram onions,” but excludes onions “cut, sliced or broken in powder form.”