Basic Information
| Type of Affair |
Administrative License |
Type of Document |
Commitment Document |
| The Subject |
Import and Export Food Safety Bureau of General Administration of Customs |
Executive Hierarchy |
National Level/Bureau (Office, Committee) |
| Charge or Not |
No |
Processing Manner |
Online Processing |
| Times of Arrival at Office |
0 |
Instructions on Times of Arrival at Office |
None |
| Commitment Time of Completion |
20 Business Days |
Legal Time of Completion |
20 Business Days |
| Instructions on Commitment Time of Completion |
The General Administration of Customs shall make a decision within 20 business days from the date of accepting the application. If a decision cannot be made, an extension of 10 working days may be granted upon the approval of the person in charge of the administrative organ (experts’ evaluation time is not included in the processing time). |
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| Instructions on Legal Time of Completion |
The General Administration of Customs shall make a decision within 20 business days from the date of accepting the application. If a decision cannot be made, an extension of 10 working days may be granted upon the approval of the person in charge of the administrative organ (experts’ evaluation time is not included in the processing time). |
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| Consultation |
Customs Service Hotline 12360 |
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| Supervision and Complaints |
Customs Service Hotline 12360 |
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| Processing Time |
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| Processing Site |
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Processing Flow (Written Instructions)
(1) Application, acceptance, verification and decision of the license
1. Application
Any overseas production enterprise exporting food in the List of Registration of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food shall fill in the Application Form for Registration of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food (see Appendix) and submit the application for registration.
2. Submission
When applying for registration in China, an overseas enterprise shall evaluate whether its sanitary conditions conform to the relevant provisions of Chinese laws, regulations and standards, and submit a written application to the General Administration of Customs through the competent authorities of the country (region) where it is located.
3. Acceptance
After the applicant submits the written application materials, the General Administration of Customs shall conduct a formal review and process the application according to the following different conditions:
(1) If the application has no need to require permit according to law, the applicant shall be informed immediately that the application is not accepted;
(2) If the application is not within the scope of the authority of our organ according to law, the decision of not accepting the application shall be made immediately, and the applicant shall be informed to apply to the relevant administrative organ;
(3) If the error in the application materials can be corrected on the spot, the applicant shall be allowed to correct it on the spot;
(4) If the application materials are incomplete or do not conform to the legal form, the applicant shall be informed of all the contents that need to be supplemented and corrected on the spot or within 5 working days from the date of receiving the application materials. If no notification is made within the time limit, the day when the application materials are received shall be deemed as the day of acceptance;
(5) The application for administrative license shall be accepted if the application matters are within the scope of the authority of our organ, the application materials are complete and conform to the legal form, or the applicant submits all the supplementary and rectifying application materials as required by the organ.
If the application is accepted, the notification of acceptance shall be fed back to the applicant. The feedback information shall be directly sent to the foreign embassies and consulates in China and other relevant institutions.
4. Expert Review
(1) Document review. The General Administration of Customs shall organize experts to conduct document review and form written document review opinions, and advise on whether to carry out on-site review.
(2) On-site review. The General Administration of Customs shall organize an expert group to conduct necessary on-site review. On-site review shall include evaluation and verification of the regulatory system for registration of domestic food production enterprises by overseas authorities and the auditing and certification system for China's laws and standards, and the recommendation procedures for enterprises applying for registration in China (“two systems and one procedure”), as well as the random examination of whether the relevant enterprises applying for registration in China conform to China's relevant laws and standards.
(3) On-site review work report. The expert panel shall complete the first draft of the on-site review work report. On-site review work report shall include the regulatory system for registration of food production enterprises of exporting country (region), the review and certification system for laws and regulations of China and the recommendation procedures for enterprises applying for registration in China (“two systems and one procedure”), the sanitary control status of the enterprises being randomly examined and existing problems, the conclusion of examination of the enterprises applying for registration in China and the enterprise registration conditions, etc.
5. Verification
The General Administration of Customs shall organize an expert committee to evaluate the first draft of the on-site review work report and confirm the first draft of the on-site review work report for external feedback.
6. Approval of License Registration
The General Administration of Customs shall draft an external letter to feed back the first draft of the on-site review work report to the overseas official authorities for comments. If there is no objection, the first draft of the report shall be confirmed as the final draft. The General Administration of Customs shall complete the examination and approval within the specified time, approving the registration of qualified overseas food enterprises, and inform the overseas official competent authorities by letter of the approved and rejected enterprises. The General Administration of Customs regularly publishes the list of overseas food enterprises with the registration approval on its official website.
(2) Change of License
In case of any change in the registration issues of an registered overseas food production enterprise, the General Administration of Customs shall be informed of the relevant information in a timely manner through the competent authorities in the country (region) where it is located or by other prescribed means.
(3) Extension of License
The enterprise shall apply to the General Administration of Customs for the renewal of registration through the competent authorities of the country (region) where the enterprise is located or by other prescribed means one year before the expiry of the registration period. The General Administration of Customs shall make a decision on whether to grant the extension before the expiry.
(4) Cancellation of License
The enterprise shall apply to the General Administration of Customs for cancellation through the competent authorities of the country (region) where it is located or by other prescribed means, and go through the cancellation procedures after being examined and approved by the General Administration of Customs.
Material Catalogue
| Material Name |
Sample for Material Filling |
Material Type |
Material Source |
Copies of the Material |
Necessity of the Material |
| Basic status report of animal and plant epidemic situation, veterinary health, public health, plant protection, pesticide and veterinary drug residues in exporting country (region) (Chinese or English) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| Laws, regulations and standards on the registration and management of food production enterprises and the requirements of enterprise sanitary standards (Chinese or English) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| Establishment and personnel of competent authorities in exporting country (region) (Chinese or English) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| Assessment of the actual situation of quarantine and sanitary control of the enterprises recommended by the competent authorities in the exporting country (region) (Chinese or English) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| List of overseas food manufacturers applying for registration (Chinese or English) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| Application for enterprise registration, as well as the plan of plant, workshop and cold storage when necessary. (Chinese or English) |
Enterprise registration application form (aquatic animal products production enterprises are temporarily not required to submit the application for registration) |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| Statement of the competent authorities of the exporting country (region) that their recommended enterprises are consistent with the requirements of Chinese laws and regulations |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| List of overseas food production enterprises applying for changes (Chinese or English) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| Comparison between the content applying for changes and the original |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| Statement of the competent authorities of the exporting country (region) that their recommended enterprises applying for changes are consistent with the requirements of Chinese laws and regulations |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| List of overseas food production enterprises applying for cancellation (Chinese or English) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
| The cancellation application and a brief explanation of the cancellation reasons issued by the official of the exporting country (region) |
None |
The original copy |
Applicant's self-provided documents |
A copy of electronic material |
Necessary |
Conditions of Admissibility
(1) The veterinary service system, plant protection system and public sanitary management system related to registration in the country (region) where the enterprise is located are qualified after assessment;
(2) The animal and plant raw materials used in the food exported to China shall come from non-epidemic areas; If the food exported to China may have the risk of animal and plant disease transmission, the competent authorities of the country (region) where the enterprise is located shall provide the certification documents and relevant scientific materials to prove that the risk has been eliminated or controlled;
(3) The enterprise shall be approved by the relevant competent authorities of the country (region) where it is located and under its effective supervision, and its sanitary conditions shall comply with the relevant provisions of Chinese laws, regulations and standards.