China will implement new Provisions on the Administration of registration of enterprises producing imported food abroad

China will implement new Provisions on the Administration of registration of eThe new Provisions on The Administration of Registration of Enterprises Producing Imported Food Overseas (Decree No. 248 of the General Administration of Customs) will come into force on January 1, 2022.  The new regulation expands the scope of registration, adjusts the registration mode, innovates the way of registration review, clarifies the management of registration number, adjusts the validity period of registration from 4 years to 5 years, and clarifies the management requirements of alteration, extension, cancellation, cancellation of registration and enterprise rectification.
At present, China GAC has officially launched Import registration management system for overseas enterprises for food. Overseas enterprises can complete the application for registration online 7/24.  The time recommended by foreign officials through diplomatic channels and customs audit is 8:00-17:00 of working days. 
The Service Guide for Registration of Enterprises producing Imported Food overseas has also been officially released. Into the China GAC online government service platform "Internet + customs" "guide" subdirectory of the interface can be on the left side menu of "administrative examination and approval" found in the "import food production enterprise registration" section, click later to go into the "import overseas food production enterprise registration" guide page, can not only understand the basic information, transaction process and the required materials, download the PDF or Word version of the service guide, but also directly carry out "online handling" business. 

China promulgated specific Regulation of Rule of Origin and Measures for the Administration of Exporters approved by the China Customs for initializing RCEP in 2021

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) has met the entry into force requirements and will enter into force on 1 January 2022.  In order to complete the conversion of domestic laws related to the rules of origin under the agreement and promote the implementation of the rules of origin under the Agreement, it is necessary to formulate relevant customs regulations.
China GAC promulgated the Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on The Administration of Origin of Import and Export Goods under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on November 23, 2021 (Decree No. 255 of the General Administration of Customs), which will take effect on January 1, 2022. The Measures consists of six chapters and a total of 44 chapters. The first chapter "General Provisions" specifies the legislative purpose, legal basis and scope of application. Chapter II "Rules of Origin" specifies the rules for the identification of the qualification of origin and the country (region) of origin of goods under RCEP; The Chapter III, "Certificate of Origin", clarifies the substantive requirements of the certificate of origin under the AGREEMENT. Chapter IV "Preferential Procedures for Customs Clearance of Imported Goods" mainly regulates the requirements and procedures for application of tariff rates under RCEP for China's imported goods; The Chapter V "Export Goods Licensing Procedures" mainly clarifies the specific requirements of China's licensing agencies and approved exporters to issue or issue certificates of origin; Chapter VI "Supplementary Provisions" mainly provides provisions on document preservation, credit management, and definitions of terms. Since 10 of the current 15 Parties to the Agreement have completed their domestic legal approval procedures, those parties that have not will need to do so before the Agreement can be applied. Therefore, the measures only apply to the management of origin of imports and exports among members of the agreement (i.e., countries that have implemented the agreement), and the list of members is dynamically adjusted by public announcement.
RCEP permits Approved Exporter System thus relevant policy on condition of identification, application process, etc. are also promulgated officially. Attention please that Approved Exporter System are applicable to another three FTAs separately between China and Iceland, Swiss Confederation and Government of the Republic of Mauritius. 

EU Dual-use amending regulation published 6th January

The European Commission published Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1, updating the list of dual-use items contained in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/821 (the “EU Dual Use List”). Regulation (EU) 2021/821, which was published in June last year and came into effect on 9 September last year, introduced key changes to modernise the EU export controls regime for dual use items. The EU Dual Use List is updated by the European Commission each year to ensure it remains aligned with the control lists of relevant international non-proliferation regimes, in which Member States (and the EU itself) participate. Since the work of the non-proliferation regimes during 2020 and 2021 was disrupted by the pandemic there were few substantive changes to these lists, and the majority of amendments introduced by the update are editorial or correct spelling and typographic mistakes in the previous version of the EU Dual Use List. For more details, please click here

US President Signs Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into Law

The compromise version of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (HR 6256) (“Act”) was recently passed by both chambers of Congress, and the legislation is now cleared for President Biden’s signature. With strong bipartisan support, earlier versions of this legislation had passed the US House and Senate in the preceding months, and lawmakers reached an agreement that merged versions from each chamber. Compared to earlier versions of this legislation, the Act no longer includes broad notification requirements for US Securities and Exchange Commission filings, but it retains the earlier legislation’s establishment of a rebuttable presumption that all goods (i) “mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (“Xinjiang”), or (ii) produced by an entity on one of the lists required under the legislation, are made with forced labor, and would be prohibited from entering into the United States under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, enforced by US Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”).  The Act further requires a strategy to strengthen the existing prohibitions on the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured with forced labor, potential additional sanctions, and a diplomatic strategy to address alleged forced labor in Xinjiang. 

Update on Application of UK Customs Controls from 1 January 2022

HMRC has published a guidance note to remind traders that a number of customs changes will enter into force on 1 January 2022 in relation to the movement of goods between Great Britain and the EU. In particular, the guidance note flags the following changes that traders should be aware of:

Customs Declarations

For traders importing non-controlled goods which are entering Great Britain from Irish ports, there are no changes at the moment and traders can continue to delay making customs declarations for up to 175 days, as long as they make an entry in declarants imports at the time of import. For goods entering Great Britain from other EU countries, traders will no longer be able to rely on the “Staged Customs Controls” rules which applied during 2021 and most will have to make customs declarations and pay tariffs at the point of import.

Border Controls

For goods moving between Great Britain and the EU, goods will require a valid declaration and receive customs clearance in order to be released in the free circulation.

Rules of Origin

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“TCA”) between the UK and EU enables certain goods to benefit from a reduced or “preferential” duty rate. In order for the goods to benefit from this preferential duty rate, proof will be required that the goods imported into the UK from the EU qualify as ‘originating’ in the EU; and/or that the goods imported into the EU from the UK qualify as ‘originating’ in the UK.
This can generally be proven by a statement on origin or through the importer’s knowledge. When relying on a statement on origin, a supplier declaration may also be required. During 2021, traders were allowed to import goods under preference and obtain the supplier declaration later, however, from 1 January 2022, traders must have supplier declarations (where required) at the time the goods are exported.

Postponed VAT Accounting

Importers who are VAT-registered may still use Postponed VAT Accounting (“PVA”) on customs declarations to account for import VAT.

Commodity Codes

The UK commodity codes will change on 1 January 2022. Traders should check whether the changes affect the HS codes they are currently using.