Decree of the General Administration of Customs
of the People's Republic of China
No. 228
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 Australia
were adopted at the executive meeting of the General Administration of Customs on 7
December 2015, are hereby promulgated and shall be effective as of 20 December
2015.
Minister
18 December 2015
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 Australia
Article 1
These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Customs Law of
the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred as the Customs Law), the
Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on 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 Australia (hereinafter referred to as the
China-Australia FTA) for the purpose of the correct determination of the origin of
imported and exported goods under the China-Australia FTA and the promotion of
economic and trade relations between China and Australia.
Article 2
These Measures apply to the administration of the origin of goods
imported and exported between China and Australia under the China-Australia FTA.
Article 3
Imported goods under any of the following circumstances shall be
deemed originating in Australia:
(1) wholly obtained or produced in Australia;
(2) produced entirely in the territory of Australia, exclusively from materials
whose origin conforms to the provisions of these Measures; or
(3) not wholly obtained or produced in the territory of Australia, but conforming
to a criterion of tariff classification change, a regional value content (RVC)
requirement, a process requirement or other requirements specified in the
Product Specific Rules of Origin of the China-Australia FTA;
The Product Specific Rules of Origin of the China-Australia FTA, shall be an
integral part of these Measures, for which the General Administration of
Customs shall make an announcement separately.
For those goods originating in Australia, and consigned directly from the
territory of Australia into the territory of China, the tariff rate agreed in the
China-Australia FTA, as specified under the Customs Tariff of Import and
Export of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the
Customs Tariff) shall apply, upon application in accordance with the
provisions of these Measures.
Article 4
The goods “wholly obtained or produced in Australia” as mentioned in
Item (1), Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of these Measures refer to:
(1) live animals born and raised in the territory of Australia;
(2) goods obtained from live animals referred to in item (1) of this Article;
(3) goods obtained directly from hunting, trapping, fishing, farming, gathering or
capturing conducted in the territory of Australia;
(4) plants or plant products harvested, picked or gathered in the territory of
Australia;
(5) minerals and other naturally occurring substances, not included in items (1)
to (4) of this Article, extracted or taken in the territory of Australia;
(6)
goods, other than fish, shellfish, plant and other marine life, extracted or
taken from the waters, seabed or subsoil beneath the seabed outside the
territorial waters of Australia, in accordance with the China-Australia FTA;
(7) fish, shellfish, plant and other marine life taken from the high seas, by a
vessel registered with Australia and flying the flag of Australia;
(8) goods obtained or produced on board factory ships registered with Australia
and flying the flag of Australia, from the goods referred to in item (7) of this
Article;
(9) waste and scrap derived from processing operations in the territory of
Australia, or used goods collected in the territory of Australia and fit only for
the recovery of raw materials; and
(10) goods produced in the territory of Australia solely from goods referred to in
items (1) to (9) of this Article.
Article 5
The tariff classification change specified in Item 3, Paragraph 1 of
Article 3 of these Measures refers to the change of tariff serial number in the Customs
Tariff for those goods processed and/or made in Australia using non-originating
materials.
Article 6
The regional value content (RVC) specified Item 3, Paragraph 1 of
Article 3 of these Measures shall be calculated according to the following formula:
V - VNM
RVC = --------------- x 100%
V
where:
“V” is the value of the good, as determined in accordance with the provisions of the
Customs Valuation Agreement, adjusted on an FOB basis; and
“VNM” is the import cost of the non-originating materials, transportation and
insurance costs of the materials to the port or place of destination, determined in
accordance with the provisions of the Customs Valuation Agreement, including the
value of materials of undetermined origin. The value of the non-originating materials
shall be the value determined in accordance with the Customs Valuation Agreement,
when the non-originating materials are acquired by the producer of the goods within
the territory of Australia, not including freight, insurance, packing costs or any other
costs incurred in transporting the non-originating materials from the supplier’s
warehouse to the producer’s location.
For the purpose of calculating the RVC of a good in accordance with the first
paragraph of this Article, no account shall be taken of the non-originating materials
used to produce originating materials that are subsequently used in the production of
the good.
Article 7
Where materials originating in China are used in the production of a
good produced in the territory of Australia, the materials shall be regarded as
originating in the territory of Australia.
Article 8
In the case of goods subject to a criterion of tariff classification
change set out in the China-Australia FTA, if the non-originating materials used in the
production of the goods do not meet the criterion of tariff classification change but the
value of the non-originating materials determined pursuant to the Customs Valuation
Agreement does not exceed 10% of the FOB value of the goods, and the goods meet
all other applicable provisions of these Measures, the goods shall nonetheless be
regarded as originating goods.
Article 9
A good shall not be considered to be originating only by reason of
having undergone one or more of the following minor operations or processes, with
no other operation or process:
(1) operations or processes to ensure preservation of goods in good condition for
the purposes of transport or storage;
(2) packaging or repackaging;
(3) sifting, screening, sorting, classifying, grading, matching (including the
making-up of sets of articles);
(4) placing in bottles, cans, bags, cases or boxes, fixing on cards or boards, and
other simple packaging operations;
(5) affixing or printing marks, labels, logos and other like distinguishing signs on
products or their packaging; or
(6) disassembly of goods.
Article 10
Packing materials and containers used for protection of goods during
transportation shall not affect the determination of origin of the goods.
In the case of goods whose origin is subject to an RVC requirement set out in the
Product Specific Rules of Origin of the China-Australia FTA, the value of the
packaging materials and containers used for retail sale shall be taken into account as
originating materials or non-originating materials, as the case may be, in calculating
the RVC of the goods.
In the case of goods whose origin is subject to a requirement other than the RVC
requirement set out in the Product Specific Rules of Origin of the China-Australia
FTA, and the packaging materials and containers in which the goods are packaged for
retail sale are classified with the goods, the origin of the packaging materials and
containers shall not affect the determination of origin of the goods.
Article 11
In the case of goods whose origin is subject to an RVC requirement set
out in the Product Specific Rules of Origin of the China-Australia FTA, the value of
accessories, spare parts and tools presented with the goods upon importation shall be
taken into account as originating materials or non-originating materials, as the case
may be, in calculating the RVC of the goods.
In the case of goods whose origin is subject to a requirement other than the RVC
requirement set out in the Product Specific Rules of Origin of the China-Australia
FTA, accessories, spare parts and tools presented with the goods upon importation
shall not affect the determination of origin of the goods, provided that they are
classified with the goods under the Customs Tariff and are included in the price of the
goods.
The quantities and values of the accessories, spare parts and tools as mentioned in the
first and second paragraphs of this Article shall be within reasonable limits.
Article 12.
In determining the origins of a good, the origins of the following
materials or goods shall not be considered, provided that the materials or goods are
not physically incorporated into another good.
1. Materials or goods used in the production of another good:
(a) fuel and energy;
(b) tools, dies, and moulds;
(c) gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, safety equipment, and supplies;
(d) catalysts and solvents;
2. Materials or goods used in the maintenance of equipment and buildings:
(a) spare parts and materials;
(b) lubricants, greases, compounding materials, and other materials;
3. Equipment, devices, and supplies used for testing or inspecting the goods;
4. Any other goods that are not incorporated into the good but whose use in
the production of the good can reasonably be demonstrated to be a part of
that production.
Article 13.
In determining the origins of a good, the determination of whether
fungible materials are originating materials shall be made either by physical
separation of each of the materials or by the use of an inventory management method
recognised in the general accepted accounting principles of the exporting Party.
Fungible materials means materials which are interchangeable for commercial
purposes, whose properties are essentially identical, and between which it is
impractical to differentiate by a mere visual examination.
Article 14
The “direct consignment” referred to in Section 3 of these Measures
means a good that is directly transported from Australia to China without passing
through the territory of any other country or region (any other country or region
hereafter) under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
A good of Australian origin transported to China through any other country or
region, with or without trans-shipment or temporary storage in such country or region,
shall be considered as a “direct consignment”, provided that:
1. When passing any other country or region, the good does not undergo any
operation there other than unloading and reloading, repacking, or any
operation required to keep it in good condition;
2. In cases where the good is temporarily stored in any other country or
region, the stay of the good shall not exceed 12 months from the date of its
entry;
3. The good remains under Customs control in those countries or regions.
Article 15
Unless otherwise regulated by the General Administration of
Customs, when making an import declaration, the consignee or agent of the imported
good shall complete a Customs Declaration for Imported Goods of the People’s
Republic of China (Customs Declaration for Imported Goods hereafter), declare the
applicability of the tariff treatment agreed under the China-Australia Free Trade
Agreement, and provide the following documents:
1. A valid Certificate of Origin issued by an authorised body of Australia
(template available in Annex 1), or a Declaration of Origin completed and
duly signed by the producer or the exporter (template available in Annex
2);
2. Commercial invoices and transport documents from Australia to China.
In cases where the goods are transported into the territory of China with transit
through any other country or region, certification documents issued by the customs
authority of this country or region, or other certification documents accepted by the
Customs shall be submitted.
Article 16
If an imported good is declared to be of Australian origin, but the
consignee or agent has failed to provide the Certificate or Declaration of Origin upon
declaring, the consignee or agent shall make a supplementary declaration (template
available in Annex 3) supporting the claim of origin status before any tax is imposed.
Customs shall handle the import formalities in accordance with the law once
the supplementary documents and relevant securities have been provided by the
consignee of the imported goods or the agent, for supporting the claim of Australian
origin, unless such securities are prevented under another law or regulation. Under
this section, the securities requirement of a good shall be considered as being fulfilled
if an amount equalling the maximum tax payable had been provided for an early
release.
The tariff treatment agreed under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement
shall not be applied on an imported good if the consignee or agent has failed to
declare the applicability of such tariff treatment upon declaring, and has also failed to
provide supplementary documents supporting the claim of the origin status of the
goods subsequently. If the application for tariff treatment is lodged after any tax has
been imposed, there shall not be any changes to the tax paid.
Article 17
Any imported goods originating from Australia, when imported in the
same batch and audited by Customs in accordance with the law to have a dutiable
value not exceeding 6000 RMB, shall be exempted from providing Certificates or
Declarations of Origin.
The above paragraph does not apply to any single or multiple importation(s)
manipulated to circumvent these Measures.
Article 18
The Certificate of Origin provided by the consignee or agent of the
imported goods shall meet the following requirements:
1. The Certificate of Origin shall be issued by an authorised body of Australia
before or at the time of exportation;
2. Contains the sample stamps or other security features that are informed by
Australia to the Chinese Customs;
3. Written and completed in English;
4. Valid within 12 months from the date of issue.
Article 19
In cases where a Certificate of Origin has not been issued before or at
the time of exportation, a retroactive certificate may be issued within 12 months from
the date of shipment. The retroactive certificate shall bear the mark “issued
retroactively”, and remain valid for 12 months from the date of shipment.
In cases of theft, loss or destruction of a Certificate of Origin, the consignee or
agent of the imported good may request the exporter or producer to apply to the
authorised body of Australia that issued the original certificate for a certified copy,
within the validity period of the Certificate of Origin, provided that the original
Certificate of Origin had not been used. The certified copy shall bear the words
“certified true copy of the original Certificate of Origin (number__ date __)”. The
certified copy shall have the same term of validity as the original Certificate of
Origin.
The original copy shall expire once the certified copy of the Certificate of
Origin is submitted to Customs. In cases where the original copy had been used, the
certified copy shall be invalid.
Article 20
For any consignment of goods covered by an advance ruling issued by
Customs in accordance with the law that deems the good to qualify as originating
from Australia, so long as the facts and circumstances on which the ruling was based
remain unchanged and the ruling remains valid, the consignee or agent of such goods
may provide a Declaration of Origin
and declare the applicability of the tariff treatment agreed under the ChinaAustralia Free Trade Agreement.
The Declaration of Origin provided by the consignee or agent of the imported
good shall meet the following requirements:
1. Complies with the template provided in Annex 2, and is written and
completed in English;
2. Completed and duly signed by the exporter or the producer;
3. Any imported goods listed shall belong to the same batch and match the
same Customs Declaration for Import Goods;
4. Valid within 12 months from the date of issue.
Article 21
In Principle neither erasures nor superimpositions shall be permitted on
any Certificate or Declaration of Origin.
In exceptional cases where amendments are required, such amendments shall
be made by striking out the erroneous information and making any addition which
might be required. Any such alterations shall be endorsed by the person who made
them. And for a Certificate of Origin, such alterations shall be verified by the
authorised body that issued the Certificate of Origin.
Any empty space on a Certificates of Origin or Declaration of Origin shall be
crossed out or otherwise marked.
Article 22
For the purpose of determining the authenticity and accuracy of a
Certificate of Origin or Declaration of Origin, the origin status of the goods
concerned, or the fulfilment of any other requirements under these Measures,
Customs may conduct a verification process in sequence by means of:
1. requesting the assistance of Customs administration of Australia;
2. written requests for information from the exporter or producer in Australia;
3. written requests to the authorised body of Australia that issued the
Certificate of Origin to verify the validity of the Certificate;
If all verification actions under paragraph 1 of this section have failed to resolve
the concern of Customs, a verification visit may be conducted at the premises of
the exporter or producer with the prior consent and assistance of the Australian
Customs. Other procedures jointly decided by Customs administrations of both
Parties may also be applied.
In cases of a pending verification, upon application lodged by the consignee or
agent of the imported good, Customs may release the good against the securities
provided in accordance with the law.
Prohibited or restricted goods must not be released by Customs until the
verification process has completed.
Article 23
Under any of the following circumstances, the consignee of the
imported goods or its agent thereof may, within one (1) year as of the date of
importation, apply to Customs to lift the requirement for duty guarantee within the
time limit permitted by Customs:
(1). it has made a supplementary declaration and submitted a Certificate of
Origin or Declaration of Origin for imported goods to Customs in accordance with
the Measures;
(2). inspection to verify the origin has been completed in accordance with the
Measures and the result of which is considered sufficient to prove the true origin of
the imported goods.
Article 24
Under any of the following circumstances, the tariff rate agreed in the
FTA shall not be applied to imported goods where:
(1). the consignee or its agent thereof has not declared the tariff rate agreed
in the FTA being applicable at the time of importation, and fails to make a
supplementary declaration as provided in Article 16 of the Measures;
(2). the goods fail to qualify as originating in Australia;
(3). the Certificate of Origin or Declaration of Origin fails to conform to
the requirements as prescribed in the Measures;
(4). within three (3) months as of the date of request for origin verification,
China Customs has not received supplementary information that is to be submitted by
the exporter or manufacturer, or the reply given by Australian Customs does not
contain information sufficient to conclude the authenticity of the Certificate of Origin
or substantiate the true origin of the imported goods;
(5). other requirements prescribed in the Measures are not satisfied.
In the event Customs concludes that, under Clause (1) of this Article, the tariff rate
agreed in the FTA is not applicable to the imported goods, the Customs shall provide
in writing to the consignee of the imported goods or its agent thereof (see Annex 4
for template).
Article 25
In making export declaration for goods, the consignor of the export
goods or its agent thereof shall, in accordance with Customs declaration requirements,
fill out the Declaration Form for Export Goods of the Customs of the People’s
Republic of China, and submit to Customs the electronic data of the Certificate of
Origin or Declaration of Origin, or a copy of the original, under the FTA.
Article 26
Where goods imported or exported under the FTA and their packages
bear the marks of origin, the marks of origin shall be in conformity with the origin of
the goods determined in accordance with the Measures.
Article 27
The Customs is obliged to keep confidential, as prescribed by law, any
commercial secret obtained under the Measures. Without the consent of the consignee
or consignor of imported or exported goods, Customs shall not disclose the
commercial secret or use the commercial secret for other purposes, unless otherwise
provided for in laws, other administrative regulations and relevant judicial
interpretations.
Article 28
Acts in violation of the Measures that constitute smuggling, violation
of Customs control regulations or other breaches of the Customs Law shall be dealt
with by Customs in accordance with the Customs Law and the Regulations of the
People’s Republic of China on Implementing Customs Administrative Penalty.
Where such an act constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be imposed
accordingly.
Article 29
For the purposes of the Measures:
The term “DECLARATION OF ORIGIN” refers to the statement made by the
consignor or manufacturer in relation to the origin of the goods, for the purpose of
confirming and declaring the goods are goods of an origin.
The term “GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES” refer to
accounting standards that are recognised or officially endorsed by China or Australia
with respect to the recording of revenues, outgoings, costs, assets and liabilities, the
disclosure of information and accounting principles based on which the financial
statements are prepared. These standards may encompass broad guidelines of
general application as well as detailed standards, practices and procedures.
The term MATERIALS refers to any object, matter or substance used to produce
the goods, and is physically incorporated into the goods.
The term ORIGINAL MATERIALS refers to the materials that qualify for
originating status in accordance with the Measures.
The term MANUFACTURE refers to the means of obtaining goods, including but not
limited to, growing, extracted, harvesting, trapping, fishing, hunting, producing,
processing or assembling goods.
Article 30
The right of interpretation of the Measures shall remain with the
General Administration of Customs (GACC)
Article 31
The Measures shall go into effect as of 20 December 2015
Annex.
1. Certificate of Origin
2. Statement of Origin
3. Declaration of qualification of origin
4. Notification of Denial of Agreed Tariff Rate to Import Goods
cc: GACC Guangdong Branch; Tianjin Special Commissioner Office; Shanghai
Special Commissioner Office; all regional Customs; Customs Schools; Editorial
Office of the State Council; Gazette Office of Ministry of Commerce
GACC: principle officials (8), all departments of head office, all subsidiary Customs
units in Beijing, for filing
GACC General Office
Issued on 18 December 2015
For the purpose of the translation:
The Measures -- Measures of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s
Republic of China on the Administration of Origin of Goods Imported and Exported
under the Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of the People’s Republic
of China and the Government of Australia
GACC – General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China
FTA – Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of
China and the Government of Australia