Regulatory Compliance updates February 2023

China updates multiple import & export license/permit catalog 

Multiple license/permit catalogs related to import & export were updated by China MOFCOM and all went effective on Jan 1 2023. The catalogs includes Catalogue of Goods subject to Automatic Import Licensing Administration (2023),Catalogue of Goods subject to Export License Administration (2023),Catalogue of Goods subject to Import License Administration (2023),Catalogue of Import and Export Licenses for dual-use items and technologies. Other than the new catalogue, there were also matters needing attention for special circumstances during application.

China: Announcement of the General Administration of Customs of the Ministry of Commerce on the issuance of the 2023 Catalogue for the Administration of Import and Export Licenses for Dual-Use Items and Technologies

In accordance with the Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China and Order No. 2005 of 29 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs "Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Licenses for Dual-Use Items and Technologies" and the 2023 Import and Export Tariff Rules of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs have adjusted the Catalogue for the Administration of Import and Export Licenses for Dual-Use Items and Technologies, and the adjusted Catalogue for the Administration of Import and Export Licenses for Dual-Use Items and Technologies (see Annex) is hereby published.

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulations on the Safety and Protection of Radioisotopes and Radiation Devices and the Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Licenses for Dual-Use Items and Technologies, the importer shall apply for an import license for dual-use items and technologies at the Quota Licensing Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce after submitting it to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for examination and approval, and go through the import procedures with the customs.

This announcement will be officially implemented from January 2023, 1, and the "Catalogue for the Administration of Import and Export Licenses for Dual-Use Items and Technologies published by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs in Announcement No. 1 of 2021" shall be abolished at the same time.

China has abolished the record registration system for foreign trade dealers

As a follow-up action to the revision of Provision 9 of Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China, China announced competent commercial departments shall stop handling the record registration of foreign trade dealers starting from Dec 30 2022. For market entities applying for import and export licenses, registration certificates of technology import and export contracts, quotas, state trade qualifications and other relevant certificates and qualifications, the relevant departments will no longer require them to provide copy of the record registration of foreign trade dealers. Enterprises and trading companies engaged in import and export business need not go to the Ministry of Commerce to go through the registration formalities. However, if the goods are delivered on its own title or declared independently, the consignee or consignor shall still be put on record by the customs; If the export enterprises need to refund the tax, they still need to go through the filing of the tax refund qualification.

EU-India: new Trade and Technology Council to lead on digital transformation, green technologies and trade

The EU and India have strengthened their relationship as strategic partners by setting up a new Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The new TTC will deepen strategic engagement on trade and technology between both partners. This follows the announcement by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on 25 April 2022 in New Delhi. It will be co-chaired on the EU side by Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis, and on the Indian side by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.

In a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, the EU and India have a common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development based on shared values. The TTC will provide the political steer and the necessary structure to coordinate approaches and advance technical work. To lay the groundwork, both sides have agreed to work on critical areas such as connectivity, green technologies and resilient supply chains.

EU and partner countries launch the ‘Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate

The European Commission, EU Member States, and 26 partners countries will launch “The Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate”, the first Ministerial-level global forum dedicated to trade and climate and sustainable development issues. The Coalition will foster global action to promote trade policies that can help address climate change through local and global initiatives. The Coalition aims to build partnerships between trade and climate communities to identify the ways in which trade policy can contribute to addressing climate change. It will promote trade and investment in goods, services and technologies that help mitigate and adapt to climate change.

A prominent element of the Coalition's agenda is to identify ways in which trade policies can support the most vulnerable developing and least developed countries that face the greatest risks from climate change.

This high-level political dialogue will see the participation of Trade Ministers from different regions and income levels. Civil society, business, international organisations and climate and finance communities will participate in the Coalition's work.
The Coalition is open to all interested countries, and so far consists of more than 50 ministers from 27 jurisdictions. The four co-leads are Ecuador, the EU, Kenya, and New Zealand. The other participants are: Angola, Australia, Barbados, Cabo Verde, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Iceland, Gambia, Japan (Foreign Affairs & Trade), Republic of Korea, Maldives, Mozambique, Norway, Philippines, Rwanda, Zambia, Singapore, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Vanuatu.

EU welcomes Japan’s decision to strengthen sanctions against Russia

The EU welcomes Japan’s decision taken today to further align its export controls with those taken by the EU, its allies and partners. Japan is strengthening its export controls on sensitive technologies as part of an unprecedented, coordinated global effort to ensure the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia.

The EU works closely with international partners, including Japan, to starve Russia of sensitive technologies that risk being used to fuel Russia’s unjustified aggression against Ukraine or to support Russia’s military-industrial complex. Our sanctions have curtailed the possibility to export dual-use goods to Russia, severely limiting Russia’s access to a broad range of advanced technologies, including drones, software for encryption devices, semiconductors, and chemicals used for the production of weapons and military systems.

EU Commission launches stakeholder consultation on how data is collected around export controls

The EU Dual Use Regulation (EU) 2021/821 mandates the collection of certain information relevant to the implementation and enforcement of export controls. All stakeholders with an interest in export of dual-use items and technologies (e.g. exporters, industry associations, government authorities, academia, research institutions and non-governmental organisations) are invited to answer a survey on how information is collected for this purpose by 28 February 2023.

EU: All excise duty transactions in the EU become fully electronic as of 13 February

On 13 February, Member States will start applying new excise duty rules following an update of the Directive on general arrangements for excise duty. These rules will make the taxation of alcohol, tobacco and energy products fully paperless across the EU. The move to digitalised and immediate information exchange on the movement of such products across the Union will help authorities fight excise duty fraud – a problem which costs Member States millions in budget contributions a year.

At the same time, the new standardised, electronic system will simplify life for traders, especially energy suppliers and smaller producers of alcohol, and will help speed up trade in the relevant sectors. Digital excise duty procedures were previously available only to traders operating under the so-called ‘duty suspension’ procedure. Until now, goods needed to be accompanied by physical hard copy paper declarations when the excise duty was being immediately accounted for at their destination.

Under the new measures entering into application on Monday, all traders moving excise goods from one Member State to another in the EU will only need to submit digital transaction information into the already existing EU Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS). The system will capture and process information about the movements online, validate the data entered and allow real time notification of the dispatch and receipt of excise goods. It also allows the immediate exchange of secure online messages containing specific consignment and movement information between Member States, freeing up administrative costs, time and resources for businesses, and giving authorities the information, they need to crack down on fraud more effectively.

India: amend notification to extend the exemption benefit to Warm blood horse for equestrian sports and extend 

India customs authority has further amended notification No. 146/94-Customs, dated the 13th July, 1994 to extend the exemption benefit to Warm blood horse for equestrian sports and extend the validity of said notification up to the 31st March, 2028.

EU: Member States update EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes

On 14 February 2023, EU Member States agreed on the latest update the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Following the update, Annex I of the EU list is made up of 16 jurisdictions due to their lack of commitment to improve their tax good governance or due to the lack of progress in delivering on their previous commitments. Those countries are American Samoa, Anguilla, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Fiji, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, Trinidad & Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.

At the same time, 18 jurisdictions now make up Annex II based on commitments they have taken to improve their tax good governance. The EU will closely monitor these commitments to make sure they are followed up on.

UK: Border procedures and formalities in the United Kingdom (UK) has been postponed until the end of 2023

The United Kingdom (UK) has postponed the introduction of the border procedures and formalities announced for 1 July 2022 et seq. In concrete terms, this means that the business community does NOT have to prepare for the moment for:

• Mandatory safety declarations for all cargo – ENS
• Certification for majority of veterinary and phytosanitary cargo
• Checks of this veterinary and phytosanitary cargo at Border Control Posts
• Certification and checks for all dairy products
• Certification and checks for all remaining veterinary cargo

The UK government has announced it will publish a new regime for import controls in autumn 2022. This is done in a Target Operating Model. The introduction will then start at the end of 2023.

USTR Requests Comments on Extending COVID Exclusions from China Section 301 Tariff

The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced that it is seeking public comments on whether to further extend COVID related product exclusions in the Section 301 Investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation.

The exclusions, which cover 81 medical-care products, were initially granted in December 2020, and were previously scheduled to expire on February 28, 2023.

As explained in a formal notice, USTR is requesting public comments on whether to extend particular exclusions for COVID-related products for up to six months.  The notice also announces an interim 75-day extension of the exclusions, through May 15, 2023, to allow for consideration of public comments.

United States: Postal Code Required for Imports from China

On March 18, 2023, it is anticipated that U.S. Customs and Border Protection will require the input of Chinese postal codes into the ACE entry process.

The ACE deployment schedule indicates the following.

The UFLPA Region Alert will add three new validations that will be performed when Country of Origin is China for Entry and for Manufacturer Identification Code (MID) creation for both Trade and CBP users.

• Postal code will be a required field
• Users will receive an error message if the postal code provided is not a valid Chinese postal code
• Users will receive a warning message when a Uyghur region postal code has been provided
• Ability to update an existing MID with a postal code
• Includes EDI Impacts