New Cross-border E-Commerce (CBEC) regulations
On November 30, the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC announced new regulations around CBEC (Cross Border E-Commerce) which will come into force from 1 January, 2019.
What are the changes?
- The single transaction limit of CBEC retail imports will be raised from 2000 RMB to 5000 RMB. The annual transaction limit will be raised from 20,000 RMB to 26,000 RMB.
- 63 new tax items (sparkling wine, craft beer, fitness equipment,etc) will be added to the "List of Retail Imports of Cross-Border E-Commerce", all of which will be eligible to zero-tariff within the limits.
- The policy experimental zone has increased from 15 to 37 cities, including Beijing, Shenyang, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xi’an, Xiamen.
Please see the official announcement on the Ministry of Finance webpage (chinese only) or visit Australian Trade and Investment Commission, for more information.
Regulatory Arrangements
1. List of Retail Imports
CBEC retail imports must belong to the “List of Retail Imports of Cross-Border E-Commerce” (please check the list in Chinese here) and is limited to the conditions of personal use.
2. CBEC Enterprise Responsible Agent in China
CBEC enterprises shall have a responsible agent (an entity registered in China) that shall accept the responsibility of truthful declaration and bear joint liabilities together with the CBEC enterprise.
3. Customs Filing
CBEC enterprises shall perform filing with customs through an entity in China – either the responsible agent in China, CBEC platform or domestic service providers can assist CBECenterprises with the data submission to the customs.
4. Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests
CBEC enterprises shall be responsible for product information, goods return and exchange services,establishment of recall systems and compensation mechanisms.
5. Quality Traceability System
CBEC enterprises shall establish the quality traceability system that should cover at least the complete logistics trajectory from the foreign departure destination to thedomestic consumers, and encourage upstream traceability to overseas shippers and commodity producers.
Please see the official announcement on the Ministry of Commerce webpage here (In Chinese, for english please translate in your chosen browser). Please visit Australian Trade and Investment Commission for more information in english.
Implementation will start from 1 January, 2019. Enterprises that do not meet the new regulatory requirements are granted a transition period until March 31, 2019.
