Ningbo Launches "Supply-Before-Declaration" for Bonded Lubricants in Pioneering Move

 

 

On August 26, a truck from NINGB CHIMBUSCO MARINE BUNKER CO.,LTD delivered 31.3 tons of bonded lubricants to the vesselCAPE GENESIS. But this time, the company completed the ship supply operationbeforefiling its Customs declaration. The successful loading of this batch marked the launch of Ningbo’s first “supply-before-declaration” procedure for bonded lubricants, a landmark under the new regulatory model.

“The old model required declaration before ship supply, which often left us struggling with last-minute schedule changes or urgent orders,” said Zhu Jingjing, Business Manager at NINGB CHIMBUSCO MARINE BUNKER CO., LTD. “Now the new model is like using a ‘fast track’ - we can bunker the vessel as soon as it arrives and complete Customs formalities later. The approach is particularly beneficial for time-sensitive services such as anchorage bunkering, allowing companies to adjust order quantities flexibly without submitting amendments or cancellations to Customs declarations, significantly streamlining ship supply operations”.

As the world’s fourth-largest bunkering port, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port accounts for annual bonded lubricant demand of more than 45,000 metric tons. According to Wang Xinchang, Section Chief in charge of Free Trade Zone and Special Areas Supervision at the Free Trade Department of Ningbo Customs, the "Supply-Before-Declaration" model streamlines the process by deferring the Customs declaration step, which ensures regulatory effectiveness while significantly enhancing supply chain responsiveness. To ensure smooth implementation of the new model, the Customs authority has established a full-cycle supervision mechanism covering pre-operation filing, real-time monitoring, and post-operation verification, enabling whole-processrisk management in bunkering activities.

The “Supply-Before-Declaration” model is one of the pilot policy innovations introduced under thePlan for the Construction of a Bulk Commodity Resource Allocation Hub in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, reflecting wider efforts to for the Customs to serve the full industrial chain of bulk commodities. In recent years, Ningbo Customs has rolled out a suite of regulatory innovations targeting storage, transportation, trade, services, and processing of bulk commodities, providing integrated support for sectoral growth.

Targeting bulk commodities, Ningbo Customsinitially introduced a “pre-acceptance” mechanism that has helped enterprises like Zhejiang Guochu Logistics Co. Ltd  overcome capacity expansion challenges, to tackle storage and turnover challenges.In the processing trade, the reform of per-unit crude oil consumption standards implemented by Ningbo Customs has delivered significant results.

“The reform aligns management practices of per-unit consumptionwith actual production, allowing us to flexibly adjust export portfolios based on market demand,” stated a Customs affairs supervisor at Sinopec Zhenhai Refining& Chemical Company. By adopting process parameter models, Ningbo Customs has replaced rigid per-unit consumption controls with flexible risk-parameter management, offering companies stronger support for global market expansion.

As China’s first bulk commodity resource allocation hub, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is accelerating its development driven by innovative Customs supervision. Customs data show that from January to July this year, the value of bulk commodity imports, including crude oil, coal, and non-ferrous metals, through the Port of Ningboexceeded 140 billion yuan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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