At 0:00 on January 1, 2022, at the certificate of origin examination and signing center of RCEP Qingdao pilot innovation base for economic and trade cooperation, Qingdao Customs officers issued the country’s first RCEP certificate of origin for more than 2800 tons of calcium chloride exported to Japan by Qingdao Bay Group Co., Ltd. “With this certificate of origin, the tariff rate paid after the goods arrive in Japan can be reduced from 3.3% to 3%.” Liu Kun, the company’s business manager, said that the tax relief for this batch of goods alone reached nearly 10000 yuan.
The regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP) covers about 30% of the global population, 30% of the total economy and 30% of foreign trade. It is a free trade agreement signed by China so far with the largest participating population, the most diverse membership structure and the greatest development potential. According to the statistics of Qingdao Customs, in the first 11 months of 2021, the import and export of Shandong Province and other RCEP member countries reached 937.19 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 35.4%.
“The annual export volume of our company to Japan reaches more than 45 million yuan. According to the tax reduction list of RCEP, the import tax rate of sodium bicarbonate in Japan is immediately reduced from 3.9% to 0, and the import tax rate of calcium chloride in Japan is gradually reduced from 3.3% to zero tariff. In the first year of RCEP’s entry into force, the company’s export goods can pay about 1 million yuan less tariff in Japan. After Japan completes the tax reduction process, the amount of tariff reduction will increase Step by step. ” Liu Kun said that driven by the favorable RCEP tariff concession policy, the company’s daily export volume is expected to increase by about 10% year-on-year in 2022.
In Linyi, Shandong Province, in the early morning of January 1, Linyi customs under Qingdao Customs issued RCEP certificate of origin for a batch of clothing purchased and exported to Japan by Shandong Kangrong International Trade Co., Ltd., which is also the first RCEP certificate of origin issued by Shandong Province for market procurement and export goods.
“With this RCEP certificate of origin, our products can enjoy tariff relief during customs clearance in Japan. For example, when these more than 20000 underwear are cleared in Japan, the tariff rate can be reduced from 7.4% to 6.9%.” Company manager Wang Xinrong said.
After RCEP came into force, China and Japan implemented bilateral tariff concessions for the first time. According to the static trade data of Shandong Province to Japan in 2020, in the first year of RCEP’s entry into force, the export commodities of Shandong Province can enjoy tariff concessions of about 380 million yuan in Japan; After RCEP completes the tax reduction process, Shandong’s imports from Japan can reduce the tariff cost by about 900 million yuan. In the future, not only will consumers buy imported goods at a cheaper price, but also the development environment of foreign-funded enterprises of RCEP members in Shandong will be further optimized.
On January 1, Yangma engine (Shandong) Co., Ltd., a Japanese funded enterprise located in Qingdao, imported a batch of engine parts made in Japan with a value of 249000 yuan from Huangdao port. This is the first batch of imported goods applying for RCEP treaty tax rate in Shandong Province after RCEP came into force.
“Due to production needs, the company will import some key parts from Japan. The import tax rate of engine filters will be reduced from 5% to zero tariff in the first year when RCEP comes into effect, and the tax on engine cables and other spare parts will be reduced to zero step by step. In the first year when RCEP comes into effect, the tariff cost of our spare parts imported from Japan will be saved by 2 million yuan, which will increase year by year.” Wang Ping, the company’s customs manager, said that the reduction and exemption of import tariffs will eventually be reflected in the production costs of enterprises, which will help enterprises improve their market share. Thanks to the favorable policies, it is expected that the company will import nearly 400 million yuan of spare parts from Japan in 2022.
In Yantai, Shandong Province, on January 1, the air conditioning compressor valves and other spare parts imported from Japan by Yantai Shougang Toyota Industrial Air Conditioning Compressor Co., Ltd. arrived at Yantai port.
“The amount of this batch of imported goods is 11 million yuan, and it is estimated that we can enjoy tariff preference of 60000 yuan. We import 600 million to 700 million yuan of spare parts from Japan every year. After RCEP takes effect, it is estimated that nearly 1 million yuan will be saved in that year. The tax rate of these products will be reduced year by year. After the transition period, it is estimated that the annual tax burden can be reduced by 30 million yuan.” Bu Shuqing, the company manager who is handling customs declaration formalities at the port office of Yantai customs under Qingdao Customs, introduced that the dividends of this part of tariff preference will also be transferred to customers, and the ultimate beneficiaries will be ordinary Chinese consumers.
RCEP has not only reduced the tariff cost of cross-border trade between members, but also launched a series of facilitation measures such as the independent declaration system of origin of approved exporters to promote the low-cost and efficient flow of commodities and manufacturing raw materials among members. While the first RCEP certificate of origin was issued, Shandong Zhongdi import and Export Co., Ltd., a senior customs certification enterprise, became the first non production approved exporter in China in the early morning of January 1.
“RCEP has implemented the system of independent declaration of origin of approved exporters on a large scale for the first time, and the Chinese customs has expanded its recognition conditions from the previous production-oriented advanced certification enterprises to all advanced certification enterprises. After being recognized as an approved exporter by the customs, it can independently declare its origin and enjoy tariff concessions according to the requirements of the agreement, and there is no need to apply to the customs or CCPIT and other visa agencies Certificate of origin. ” Bi Haijun, director of the customs office of Qingdao Customs, said.
Bi Haijun said that in the next step, Qingdao Customs will continue to work together with commerce, CCPIT and other units to optimize management, facilitate customs clearance and publicize policies, constantly explore new mechanisms and models, give full play to the advantages of RCEP policies, enable foreign trade enterprises to seize new opportunities of RCEP, improve the level of cross-border trade facilitation and improve the level of institutional openness, Promote the high-quality development of foreign trade import and export.
(Zhao Guangying, Hu Xiaozheng Jun, Wang Zhiwei, Xu Xingkai)
(International Business Daily)
