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.