A customs agreement between Japan and Uruguay was set to enter into effect Oct. 10, Japan's Ministry of Finance said Oct. 8. The agreement seeks to harmonize the customs procedures between the two nations and establishes “assistance upon request” and mutual assistance for the two countries' customs teams.

India will introduce a flat 12% Goods and Services Tax for most footwear and textile imports beginning Jan. 1, 2022, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Oct. 4. The rate, which won’t apply to certain cotton products, will replace the current “complex” system that taxes different textile materials and footwear 5% to 18%, HKTDC said. It will also address a regulatory inconsistency that imposed different charges on certain inputs to finished products.

Hong Kong-based freight forwarder Honour Lane Shipping is considering selling its business for a deal that could reportedly net the company around $500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said, Bloomberg reported. The family-owned Honour Lane is working with boutique investment bank BDA Partners on the sale. Preliminary interest has come from buyout firms and industry companies, and Honour Lane called for binding bids in the next few weeks, the report said. The company, founded in 1997, has more than 1,000 employees and 38 office across Asia.

Australia on Oct. 7 announced a new program that it said will grow agricultural trade for Pacific Island exporters and better help them comply with Australian biosecurity requirements. The country is partnering with the international development firm DT Global to help producers find new markets, better address agricultural pests and allow Pacific producers “greater access” to Australian and New Zealand markets. The country said the initiative, part of its Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program, will aid a range of exporters, including traders of beef, watermelons and sawn timber. “Helping producers and exporters gain greater market access and improve biosecurity will benefit our entire region and is good news for our agrifood producers and exporters,” said David Littleproud, Australia’s agriculture minister.

Two Chinese scholars specializing in international trade said they found U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai's Oct. 4 speech (see 2110040008) encouraging, even though she criticized Chinese adherence to market principles and the effect that has on companies around the world.

Singapore national Tang Yong Hoe, sole director of freight forwarding company I-Do Logistics, was fined $105,000 (in Singapore dollars) by the State Courts for evading Goods and Services Taxes and submitting false customs information, Singapore Customs said Oct. 4. In 2018, Singapore Customs inspected a container imported by I-Do and found discrepancies in the packing lists and I-Do's submitted values for goods belonging to two consignees. One consignee, Zhang Feng, received the packing list from I-Do and knowingly submitted the false information, the customs agency said. Zhang was fined $2,000. In total, Tang was found to have evaded over $16,000 in GST, leading to his fine exceeding $100,000. “Any person who is in any way concerned in any fraudulent evasion of, or attempt to fraudulently evade, any customs duty or excise duty shall be guilty of an offence and will be liable on conviction to a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded,” Singapore Customs said.

Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department is accepting applications for its 2022 air cargo licensing exemption program, which covers certain shipments of “strategic commodities,” the agency said in a Sept. 27 notice. The agency is inviting “eligible parties” -- including carriers, airlines, ground handling agents and freight forwarders -- to apply for the exemptions by Oct. 29. The exemption scheme will waive certain license requirements for air shipments of certain qualifying goods through Dec. 31, 2022. The notice includes several appendices outlining the scope of the exemption, exemption conditions and the application form.

Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority officers at cargo checkpoints will cease to manually endorse Cargo Clearance Permits presented for clearance at the city-state's checkpoints Feb. 1, 2022, Singapore Customs said Oct. 1. This move is meant to improve the cargo clearance process at the checkpoints and facilitate the move toward full digitalization, the customs agency said. Drivers may request ad-hoc endorsements until July 31, when the six-month transition period ends, Singapore Customs said.

Traders submitting permit applications in TradeNet should declare TZ in the "place of receipt code" or "place of release code" field to cover the movement of goods released from or received into the new Tuas Terminal Gateway (TTG), Singapore Customs said in a Sept. 30 circular. TTG is the access point for the Tuas megaport in Singapore.

Thailand and China’s Hainan province signed a mini free trade agreement that will promote trade in agricultural and industrial products and provide other benefits, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Sept. 30. The deal will remain in effect until Aug. 20, 2023, and could be the start of other agreements between Thailand and Chinese provinces, HKTDC said, as Thai officials are “keen to sign similar deals.”