Important notice! Cross-border e-commerce B2B export supervision pilot will be implemented soon

In order to implement the deployment requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on accelerating the development of new forms of cross-border e-commerce (hereinafter referred to as "cross-border e-commerce"), give full play to the positive role of cross-border e-commerce in stabilizing foreign trade and ensuring employment, and further promote the healthy and rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, the General Administration of Customs decided to carry out a pilot project for cross-border e-commerce B2B export supervision in Beijing Customs, Tianjin Customs, Nanjing Customs, Hangzhou Customs, Ningbo Customs, Xiamen Customs, Zhengzhou Customs, Guangzhou Customs, Shenzhen Customs, and Huangpu Customs from July 1, 2020. The pilot project will be replicated and promoted in customs across the country in a timely manner according to the pilot situation.

(Photo/Screenshot of the announcement from the General Administration of Customs)

In recent years, my country's cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly and has become a new growth point for foreign trade development. The General Administration of Customs has actively innovated the comparison of three cross-border e-commerce documents, paperless supervision throughout the process, and innovative measures for export returns, and actively supported the healthy and rapid development of new cross-border e-commerce formats. This year's "Government Work Report" clearly requires "accelerating the development of new formats such as cross-border e-commerce." In the "Approval on the Establishment of Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zones in 46 Cities and Regions including Xiongan New Area" (State Letter [2020] No. 47) recently issued by the State Council, it is required that relevant departments of the State Council should focus on exploring innovations in technical standards, business processes, supervision models and information construction related to cross-border e-commerce B2B, and study and introduce more support measures.

During the customs survey, enterprises generally reflected that the current cross-border e-commerce support measures are mainly concentrated in the field of retail import and export, and they hope to add a special supervision method code for cross-border e-commerce B2B exports to simplify declaration and facilitate customs clearance. Local governments in cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones such as Beijing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou, and Dongguan also hope that the customs will add a cross-border e-commerce B2B supervision method code and actively strive to participate in the pilot.

In the cross-border e-commerce B2B reform, the addition of regulatory method codes will provide a fulcrum for the commerce, finance, taxation, foreign exchange and other departments to introduce supporting measures.

Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the Canton Fair will be held online for the first time from June 15 to 24, and will simultaneously cooperate with cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones and cross-border e-commerce platform companies to conduct online transactions. Goods traded online at the Canton Fair can be cleared through customs through the new supervision method and enjoy the customs clearance convenience brought by the new model.

Innovating the cross-border e-commerce B2B export supervision model and adding corresponding customs supervision method codes will help customs to accurately identify and count cross-border e-commerce B2B export data.

After a domestic enterprise reaches a transaction with a foreign enterprise through a cross-border e-commerce platform, the domestic enterprise directly exports the goods to the foreign enterprise through cross-border logistics (hereinafter referred to as "cross-border e-commerce B2B direct export"). The customs has added the supervision mode code "9710", which is applicable to goods directly exported by cross-border e-commerce B2B.

Domestic enterprises deliver export goods to overseas warehouses through cross-border logistics, and after completing transactions through cross-border e-commerce platforms, the goods are delivered from overseas warehouses to buyers (hereinafter referred to as "cross-border e-commerce exports to overseas warehouses"). Customs has added the supervision mode code "9810", which is applicable to goods exported from cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouses.