Announcement of the General Administration of Customs [2022] No.32-Announcement on Issuing the Revised Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of the Origin of Imported and Exported Goods under the Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand
Announcement of the General Administration of Customs [2022] No.32
April 2, 2022
Upon approval by the State Council, the Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand on Upgrading the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand shall come into force as of April 7, 2022. In order to correctly determine the origin of imported and exported goods under the Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand, the General Administration of Customs (hereinafter referred to as the "GACC") has formulated the Revised Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of the Origin of Imported and Exported Goods under the Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand, which are hereby promulgated for implementation as of April 7, 2022.
The Announcement is hereby given.
Revised Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of the Origin of Imported and Exported Goods under the Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand
Article 1 The Revised Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of the Origin of Imported and Exported Goods under the Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") are formulated in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Origin of Imported and Exported Goods, and the Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of New Zealand (hereinafter referred to as the "China-New Zealand FTA") in order to correctly determine the origin of imported and exported goods under the China-New Zealand FTA and promote economic and trade exchanges between China and New Zealand.
Article 2 The Measures shall apply to the administration of the origin of imported and exported goods under the China-New Zealand FTA between China and New Zealand.
Article 3 Goods shall be treated as originating goods under the China-New Zealand FTA (hereinafter referred to as originating goods) and have originating status under the China-New Zealand FTA (hereinafter referred to as originating status) if they are:
1. wholly obtained or produced in China or New Zealand;
2. wholly produced in China or in New Zealand by using originating materials in compliance with the provisions hereof; or
3. produced in China or New Zealand from non-originating materials, provided that the goods satisfy the change in tariff classification, regional value content, manufacturing and processing technique, or other requirements set forth in Appendix I Product-Specific Rules hereto.
Any changes in the Product-Specific Rules under the China-New Zealand FTA set forth in Appendix I will be announced separately by the GACC.
Article 4 For the purpose of Article 3 hereof, goods that are "wholly obtained or produced in China or New Zealand" refer to:
1. plant products harvested, picked, or gathered in China or New Zealand;
2. live animals born and raised in China or New Zealand;
3. goods obtained from live animals raised in China or New Zealand;
4. goods obtained from hunting, trapping, fishing, farming, gathering or capturing conducted in China or New Zealand;
5. minerals and other naturally occurring substances, not included in Items 1 to 4, extracted or taken from the soil, waters, and seabed or subsoil beneath the seabed of China or New Zealand;
6. goods obtained by a natural or legal person of China or New Zealand from the waters, seabed, or subsoil beneath the seabed outside the territorial sea of that Party, in accordance with international law;
7. goods (fish, shellfish, plant, and other marine life) obtained by a vessel registered or recorded with China or New Zealand and flying or entitled to fly the flag of that Party from the high seas or the exclusive economic zone that the Party has the rights to exploit, in accordance with international law;
8. goods processed or made on board factory ships registered or recorded with China or New Zealand and flying or entitled to fly the flag of that Party, exclusively from goods referred to in Item 7;
9. scrap and waste derived from processing operations in the territory of China or New Zealand and fit only for the recovery of raw materials, or used goods collected in the territory of that Party provided that such goods are fit only for the recovery of raw materials; and
10. goods obtained or produced in the territory of China or New Zealand solely from goods referred to in Items 1 to 9.
Article 5 A change in tariff classification under Appendix I Product-Specific Rules requires that the non-originating materials used in the production of goods undergo a change of tariff classification as a result of processes performed in the territory of one or both Parties.
Article 6 The regional value content (RVC) specified in Item 3, Paragraph 1 of Article 3 hereof shall be calculated by using the following formula:
FOB – VNM
RVC = --------------------------------------× 100%
FOB
where "value of non-originating materials" (VNM) shall be the CIF value at the time of importation of the materials as determined in accordance with the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation, including the value of the materials of undetermined origin, or the earliest ascertained price paid or payable for the non-originating materials obtained in the territory of China or New Zealand according to the deal price determined in accordance with the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation, excluding the freight, insurance, packing costs, and any other costs incurred in transporting the materials from the supplier's warehouse to the producer's location.
For calculating the RVC of goods in accordance with Paragraph 1 of this article, the VNM shall exclude the value of non-originating materials used for producing originating materials in the production process.
Article 7 The originating goods or originating materials obtained or produced by China or New Zealand that are used for production in the other Party shall be regarded as the originating materials of the other Party.
Article 8 The non-originating materials used in the production of goods that meet the provisions of Item 3, Paragraph 1 of Article 3 hereof do not have originating status if they only undergo one or more of the following treatment or processing in a Party:
1. operations to ensure the preservation of goods in good condition during transport and storage, such as drying, freezing, ventilation, chilling, and similar operations;
2. simple operations consisting of sifting, sorting, grading, screening, classifying, washing, cutting, slitting, bending, coiling, or uncoiling;
3. breaking-up and assembly of consignments;
4. packing, unpacking or repacking operations;
5. packaging operations, such as simple placing in bottles, cans, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, and fixing on cards or boards;
6. affixing or printing marks, labels, logos, or other similar distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
7. mere dilution with water or another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the goods;
8. husking, partial or total bleaching, polishing, and glazing of cereals other than rice; and
9. operations to color sugar or form sugar lumps.
Article 9 Goods subject to the tariff classification change requirement under the China-New Zealand FTA shall nonetheless be considered to be originating goods if the value of non-originating materials used in the production process that do not meet the tariff classification change requirement does not exceed 10% of the FOB value of the given goods, determined pursuant to Article 6 hereof, and the goods meet all the other applicable criteria of the Measures.
Article 10 The packaging materials and containers used to protect goods during transportation shall not affect the determination of the origin of the goods.
For goods subject to the tariff classification change requirement under the China-New Zealand FTA, if the packaging materials and containers for retail sales thereof are classified together with the goods as a whole, the origin of the packaging materials and containers for retail sales thereof shall not affect the determination of the origin of the goods.
For goods subject to the RVC requirement under the China-New Zealand FTA, the value of the packaging materials and containers for retail sales thereof shall be included in the value of originating materials or non-originating materials for calculation as per their respective origins in the determination of the origin of the goods.
Article 11 For goods subject to the tariff classification change requirement under the China-New Zealand FTA, the accessories, spare parts, tools, and instructions presented with the goods, classified together with the goods in the Tariff Schedule, and not invoiced separately from the goods shall not affect the determination of the origin of the goods.
For goods subject to the RVC requirement under the China-New Zealand FTA, the value of their accessories, spare parts, tools, and instructions shall be included in the value of originating materials or non-originating materials for calculation as per their respective origins in the determination of the origin of the goods.
The quantity and value of the accessories, spare parts, tools, and instructions specified in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article shall be maintained within a reasonable range.
Article 12 In the determination of whether goods are originating goods, the following materials used in the production, testing, or inspection of the goods but not physically incorporated into the goods shall be disregarded:
1. fuel, energy, catalysts, and solvents;
2. equipment, devices, and supplies used for testing or inspecting goods;
3. gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, and safety equipment and supplies;
4. tools, dies, and molds;
5. spare parts and materials used in the maintenance of equipment and buildings;
6. lubricants, greases, compounding materials, and other materials used in production or used to operate equipment and buildings; and
7. other goods used in the production of the goods but not constituting the components thereof.
Article 13 In the determination of the origin of goods, the determination as to whether goods or materials, that are interchangeable for commercial purposes and whose properties are essentially identical, are originating shall be made either by:
1. physical segregation; or
2. an inventory management method which is recognized in the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles of the exporting Party and should be used continuously for at least one fiscal year.
Article 14 Goods transported from the exporting Party to the importing Party qualify as originating if they meet one of the following conditions:
1. they do not pass through other countries (regions); and
2. they pass through other countries (regions), but do not undergo any processing in the territory of such other countries (regions) except for unloading, reloading, repackaging, or splitting as required by the importing Party, application of labels or marks as required by the importing Party, or any other operations for keeping the goods in good condition, and are under the regulation of the Customs of such other countries (regions), and their stay does not exceed 12 months.
Article 15 The Proof of Origin under the China-New Zealand FTA includes a Certificate of Origin (Appendix II) and a Declaration of Origin.
Declarations of Origin include the Declaration of Origin issued by the approved exporter and the Declaration of Origin based on an advance ruling.
Article 16 A Certificate of Origin shall:
1. bear a unique Certificate of Origin number;
2. be applicable to one or more goods shipped in the same batch;
3. indicate the basis for the goods to qualify as originating;
4. be issued by the issuing agency of the exporting Party and bear an authorized signature and seal of such issuing agency;
5. be marked "ORIGINAL";
6. be completed in English; and
7. remain valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
Article 17 An approved exporter may, in accordance with the Measures, issue a Declaration of Origin for originating goods exported or produced by it. The Customs shall administrate approved exporters in accordance with the Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Approved Exporters. A Certificate of Origin issued by an approved exporter shall meet the following requirements:
1. bear the unique number of the approved exporter;
2. have a unique declaration number;
3. bear the name and signature of the certifying person;
4. bear the date on which the Declaration of Origin was completed;
5. the exporting Party shall have notified the other Party of the approved exporter's information; and
6. remain valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
A Declaration of Origin issued by an approved exporter shall at least contain the information as shown in Appendix III.
Article 18 Where the Customs has made an advance ruling for the same goods in accordance with the law and confirmed that the origin of the goods is New Zealand, and the advance ruling has not expired or been revoked, the consignee of the imported goods or the agent thereof may submit a Declaration of Origin to the Customs based on an advance ruling. A Declaration of Origin based on an advance ruling submitted by the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof to the Customs shall:
1. be made by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, or exporter of the goods;
2. comply with the format listed in Appendix IV hereto and be completed in English;
3. remain valid for 12 months from the date of issue; and
4. cover one or more of the imported goods of the same batch presented under a single import customs declaration.
Article 19 Imported goods with originating status may be subject to the tax rates under the China-New Zealand FTA.
Article 20 Where the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof applies for application of the tax rates under the China-New Zealand FTA to imported originating goods, it/he shall make a declaration in accordance with the relevant provisions of the GACC and attach the following documents:
1. valid Proof of Origin under the China-New Zealand FTA, except for the exemption from submission of Proof of Origin as prescribed in the Measures;
2. commercial invoices for the goods; and
3. whole-process transport documents on goods.
Where the goods are transported to China via other countries or regions, supporting documents issued by the Customs of such other countries or regions or other supporting documents approved by the Customs shall be submitted. When necessary, the Customs may require the submission of the documents for warehousing of the goods in other countries or regions.
If the transport documents mentioned in Item 3, Paragraph 1 of this article submitted by the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof can meet the relevant requirements on direct transport, the supporting documents or warehousing documents specified in Paragraph 2 of this article may be exempted from submission.
Article 21 Where no Certificate of Origin is issued before or at the time of shipment due to force majeure, unintentional error, negligence, or other reasonable causes, the issuing agency in China or New Zealand shall, at the request of the exporter, reissue a Certificate of Origin within one year from the date of shipment of the goods.
The reissued Certificate of Origin shall be marked "ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY" and be valid for one year from the date of shipment of the goods.
Article 22 Where a Certificate of Origin is stolen, lost, or damaged and is not used, the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof may require the exporter or manufacturer of the imported goods to apply in writing to the original issuing agency for issuance of a certified copy of the Certificate of Origin during the validity period of the original Certificate of Origin. The copy shall be marked "CERTIFIED TRUE COPY OF THE ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER DATED." After the certified copy of the original Certificate of Origin is submitted to the Customs, the original shall become invalid.
Where the original Certificate of Origin has been used, a certified copy thereof will be invalid.
Article 23 Neither erasures nor superimpositions shall be permitted on any Certificate of Origin, Declaration of Origin, or any other documentary proof of origin. Any amendment shall be made by striking out the erroneous information and making any addition which might be required. Such alterations shall be endorsed by the person who made them.
Any unused space in a Certificate of Origin, Declaration of Origin, or any other documentary proof of origin shall be crossed out to prevent any addition subsequent to certification.
Article 24 If the customs value of the same batch of originating imported goods does not exceed USD1,000, the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof may be exempted from submitting the Proof of Origin when applying for application of the tax rate under the China-New Zealand FTA.
The preceding paragraph shall not apply to the split declaration of imported goods to evade the provisions herein.
Article 25 Unless otherwise specified by the GACC, where the origin of imported goods is declared as New Zealand, the consignee or the agent thereof that has not obtained a valid Proof of Origin before completing customs procedures shall, prior to the clearance of the goods, make a supplementary declaration regarding whether the imported goods qualify as originating from New Zealand to the Customs before completing customs procedures (see Appendix V).
Where the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof makes a supplementary declaration regarding whether the imported goods qualify as originating from New Zealand to the Customs in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1 of this article and provides a duty guarantee, the Customs shall go through the relevant import procedures in accordance with the law, except for the circumstances under which the guarantee is not allowed according to laws and administrative regulations. If, due to early release and other reasons, a duty guarantee equivalent to the total maximum duty that the goods may bear has been submitted, it shall be deemed that the goods comply with the provisions of this paragraph on the provision of duty guarantees.
Article 26 The Customs shall, in accordance with the law, handle the procedures for returning the guaranteed property and rights if:
1. the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof has made a supplementary declaration to the Customs in accordance with the Measures and submitted a valid Proof of Origin under the China-New Zealand FTA; and
2. the verification results of the Customs are sufficient to identify the originating status of the goods.
Article 27 In order to determine the authenticity and accuracy of the Proof of Origin and determine the originating status of imported goods, the Customs may verify the origin in the following ways:
1. require the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof, the consignor of exported goods or the agent thereof, or the producer to provide information and materials relating to the origin of the goods and the issuance of the Certificate of Origin;
2. require New Zealand to verify the authenticity of the Certificate of Origin and the originating status of the goods and provide relevant information on the exporter or the producer as well as the goods where necessary; and
3. such other procedures as the Customs of China and New Zealand may jointly decide.
Where necessary, the Customs may either conduct on-site inspections of the overseas exporter or producer with the consent of the relevant competent authority of New Zealand, or conduct inspections by other means negotiated with the relevant competent authority of New Zealand.
During the period of waiting for the verification result, upon the application of the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof, the Customs may grant guarantee-based clearance in accordance with the law, except under any circumstance where it is prohibited to grant guarantee-based clearance in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations.
Article 28 The tax rates under the China-New Zealand FTA shall not apply to imported goods if:
1. the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof neither applies for application of the tax rates under the China-New Zealand FTA in accordance with the Measures before completing customs procedures nor makes a supplementary declaration in accordance with the Measures;
2. the imported goods do not qualify as originating from New Zealand;
3. the Proof of Origin fails to meet the provisions herein;
4. the imported goods listed in the Proof of Origin are inconsistent with the actual imported goods;
5. within six months of the date when the request for verification is made, the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof, overseas exporter, or producer fails to provide the required information during the verification, and the Customs fails to receive the verification feedback, or the feedback results are not sufficient to determine the authenticity of the Proof of Origin or the originating status of the goods; and
6. the consignee of imported goods or the agent thereof commits other violations of the relevant provisions herein.
Article 29 The consignor of exported goods and the agent thereof, or domestic producer and the agent thereof who has completed the record-filing of the enterprise which has applied for a Certificate of Origin (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "applicant") may apply for issuance of the Certificate of Origin to an issuing agency of China.
Article 30 The applicant shall apply for issuance of the Certificate of Origin before the goods are shipped, and at the same time, submit the materials that prove the originating status of the goods. The applicant shall be responsible for the authenticity, completeness, and accuracy of the materials submitted.
Article 31 The issuing agency shall examine the materials submitted by the applicant, and issue a Certificate of Origin. If the issuing agency decides to reject the issuance of a Certificate of Origin as the materials do not comply with the provisions herein, it shall inform the applicant in writing and provide reasons.
The issuing agency may verify the originating status of goods in the following ways when conducting an examination:
1. require the applicant to provide supplementary information and materials related to the originating status of the goods;
2. conduct on-site verification of the originating status and country (region) of origin of production equipment, processing procedures, raw materials and parts of exports, as well as specifications, packaging, trademarks, marks and marks of the origin of exports; and
3. consult and copy relevant contracts, invoices, account books, and other related materials.
Article 32 At the request of the New Zealand Customs, the China Customs may verify the origin of exported goods in the following ways:
1. require the applicant to provide supplementary information and materials related to the originating status of the goods;
2. conduct on-site verification of the originating status and country (region) of origin of production equipment, processing procedures, raw materials and parts of exports, as well as specifications, packaging, trademarks, marks and marks of the origin of exports; and
3. consult and copy relevant contracts, invoices, account books, and other related materials.
Article 33 When declaring the export of goods, the consignee of exported goods or the agent thereof shall, in accordance with the Customs' requirements on declaration, fill out a Customs Declaration Form of the People's Republic of China for Exported Goods.
Article 34 The consignor and producer of exported goods that apply for a Certificate of Origin, and the approved exporter who issues the Declaration of Origin shall, within three years from the date of issuance of the Proof of Origin, keep sufficient documents that can prove the originating status of goods.
The consignee of imported goods subject to the tax rates under the China-New Zealand FTA shall, within three years from the date of completion of customs procedures, keep the Proof of Origin.
The issuing agency shall, within three years from the date of issuance of the Certificate of Origin, keep the application materials for the Certificate of Origin.
The above-mentioned documents may be stored in electronic or paper form.
Article 35 For the purpose of the Measures, the following terms shall be defined as below:
1. "production" means methods of obtaining goods, including growing, raising, mining, harvesting, fishing, farming, trapping, hunting, capturing, gathering, collecting, breeding, extracting, manufacturing, producing, processing, or assembling goods;
2. "material" refers to any substance used for the production of goods, which physically forms a part of other goods or is used for producing other goods;
3. "non-originating materials" or "originating goods" mean materials or goods which qualify as originating in accordance with the Measures;
4. "non-originating goods" or "non-originating materials" mean goods or materials that fail to qualify as originating in accordance with the Measures, as well as any goods or materials of unknown origin;
5. "generally accepted accounting principles" mean one Party's accounting standards for the recording of revenues, expenses, costs, assets and liabilities, and information disclosure and preparation of financial statements, as well as consensus or substantive authority support recognized by it, which include generally applicable broad guiding principles, as well as detailed standards, practices, and procedures;
6. "WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation" means the Agreement on the Implementation of Article 7 of GATT 1994 as an integral part of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization;
7. "issuing agency" means an entity designated or authorized by a Party to issue a Certificate of Origin and notified to the other Party in accordance with the China-New Zealand FTA; Chinese issuing agencies include the Customs directly under and affiliated to the GACC, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and its local branches; and
8. "Declaration of Origin based on an advance ruling" means a declaration made by the holder of an advance ruling on the origin of goods in accordance with the domestic laws and regulations of a Party.
Article 36 The Measures shall be interpreted by the GACC.
Article 37 The Measures shall come into force as of April 7, 2022.
