On May 9, 2025, the General Administration of Customs, in collaboration with the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, and State Taxation Administration, issued the Announcement on Adjusting Relevant Administrative Measures for Special Customs Control Zones, Bonded Supervision Sites, and Off-Zone Processing Trade (Announcement [2025] No. 83, hereinafter referred to as the "Announcement"). Effective on June 10, 2025, the Announcement adjusts administrative measures for goods subject to tariff-rate quota management, trade remedy measures, suspension of tariff concession obligations, imposition of additional tariffs, and retaliatory tariffs (collectively referred to as the four categories of measures) in special customs control zones (hereinafter referred to as special zones), bonded supervision sites, and off-zone processing trade.
I. Background of the Announcement
Special zones, bonded supervision sites, and off-zone processing trade policies have played a significant role in supporting the development of China's export-oriented economy. In recent years, as China accelerates the establishment of a new development paradigm, theproportion of processed products sold domestically by processing trade enterprises in special zones and off-site zones has been steadily increasing. To facilitate high-level openness and high-quality development, and to better integrate into the dual circulation of domestic and international markets, adjustments have been made to the relevant administrative measures for special zones, bonded supervision sites, and off-zone processing trade.
II. Scope of Applicable Goods
(I) Goods subject to tariff-rate quota management. According to the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China and relevant regulations, goods subject to tariff-rate quota management in China include wheat, corn, rice, cotton, sugar, wool, wool tops, and fertilizers.
(II) Implementation of trade remedy measures, suspension of tariff concession obligations, imposition of additional tariffs, and imposition of additional tariffs for retaliatory purposes. This primarily involves goods subject to anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures, or safeguard measures in accordance with China's relevant laws and regulations; goods for which tariff concession obligations are suspended and additional tariffs are imposed; and goods subject to additional tariffs for the purpose of levying retaliatory tariffs.
III. Special Ledger Management
For goods under the four categories of measures specified in the Announcement imported under bonded conditions into special zones, bonded supervision sites, or off-zone processing trade, enterprises must establish special ledgers in the Golden Customs Phase II system for management. Goods not recorded in these ledgers shall not enjoy bonded status.
Goods subject to additional tariffs for retaliatory purposes may qualify for applicable exclusion measures. Once all additional tariffs are excluded and no other administrative measures apply (e.g., tariff quota management, trade remedies, suspension of tariff concessions, or additional tariffs), such goods may be imported under existing bonded ledgers (hereafter referred to as ordinary ledgers).
IV. Relevant Administrative Measures
(I) The processing trade and bonded logistics operations with "both ends outside" remain unaffected.
1. The goods under the four categories of measures entering special customs zones, bonded supervision sites, and off-zone processing trade ledgers from overseas shall continue to enjoy bonded policies.
2. Finished products processed from imports under the four categories of measures that are directly exported outbound shall continue to enjoy bonded policies.
3. Unprocessed imports under the four categories of measures that are directly exported, placed in bonded storage, or sold domestically shall continue to enjoy bonded policies.
4. Processed finished products derived from the imports under the four categories of measures may still be exported overseas after bonded transfers between special ledgers.
(II) Adjustments have been made to bonded transfers and selective tariff collection for domestic sales.
5. Regarding bonded transfers: The imports under the four categories of measures and their processed products may circulate under bonded status between special ledgers, but not to regular ledgers. Finished products that have not undergone bonded circulation may be sold domestically; those that have undergone bonded circulation are prohibited from domestic sales. Logistics accounts of special customs zones and bonded supervision sites involving the four categories of measures shall not engage in simple processing that alters commodity codes or country of origin.
6. Domestic sales scenarios for enterprises in Comprehensive Bonded Zones, Bonded Port Zones (excluding pilot enterprises with general VAT taxpayer status), and enterprises within the Zhuhai Customs Park of the Zhuhai-Macao Cross-Border Industrial Zone.
(1) Where materials are imports under the four categories of measures, selective tariff imposition does not apply to the domestically sold processed products. Import duties shall be levied on all bonded imported materials, implementing the four categories of measures, with import-stage taxes assessed based on the goods' actual state (finished products).
(2) If the raw materials are not imported under the four categories of measures but the processed finished products are imported under the four categories of measures, such operations shall be conducted under general ledger accounts. When selling finished products domestically, selective tariff application is not permitted. Import duties and import-related taxes shall be levied based on the actual state of the goods (finished products), and Category IV measures shall be implemented.
7. Domestic sales scenarios for pilot enterprises with general VAT taxpayer status.
(1) When raw materials are imported under the four categories of measures, domestic sales of processed finished products shall be subject to import duties and import-related taxes based on the raw materials, with Category IV measures being implemented.
(2) If raw materials are not imported under the four categories of measures but the processed finished products are goods under the four categories of measures, such operations shall be conducted under general ledger accounts. Processed finished products not directly exported may only be shipped to special zones with tax rebate functions (excluding pilot enterprises with general VAT taxpayer status in this or other zones) and bonded supervision sites before completing domestic sales procedures.
8. Domestic sales by enterprises in bonded zones.
(1) When finished products processed entirely from bonded imported materials by enterprises in bonded zones are sold domestically, if the bonded materials include any of the imports under the four categories of measures, import duties shall be imposed on all corresponding bonded materials in accordance with the four categories of control measures. Import-related taxes shall be levied based on the actual state of the goods (finished products).
When finished products processed partially from bonded imported materials by enterprises in bonded zones are shipped out of the zone for domestic sales, if the bonded materials include any of the imports under the four categories of measures, import duties and import-related taxes shall be levied on the bonded materials contained, and the four categories of control measures shall be implemented.
(2) If bonded imported materials used by enterprises in bonded zones are not the imports under the four categories of measures, but the processed finished products are goods under the four categories of measures, such business shall be conducted under general ledger accounts. For domestic sales of finished products, import duties and import-related taxes shall be levied based on the actual state of the goods (finished products), and the four categories of control measures shall be implemented.
9. Domestic sales by off-zone processing trade enterprises.
Off-zone processing trade enterprises importing goods under the four categories of measures from abroad shall, when selling processed finished products domestically, levy import duties and import-related taxes on all corresponding bonded materials and implement the four categories of measures.
If materials imported by off-zone processing trade enterprises from abroad are not goods under the four categories of measures, but the processed finished products are, domestic sales shall comply with existing regulations.
10. Processing trade scrap, defective products, and by-products under special ledgers may not be sold domestically but may be re-exported or destroyed per current regulations.
11. Contract processing.
(1) Special ledgers may not be used for contract processing operations in special zones.
(2) Enterprises within special zones utilizing duty-free equipment under customs supervision to conduct entrusted processing of corn, wheat, rice, and cotton provided by extra-zone enterprises shall operate under ordinary ledgers. No export license verification is required when these commodities enter the zone from domestic zones outside the zone.
12. Imports under the four categories of measures used in processing goods under the four categories of measures shall be managed under dedicated ledgers. Unused goods under the four categories of measures may be transferred to ordinary ledgers under bonded status. Such goods other than those under the four categories of measures include directly imported goods not subject to the four categories of measures, domestically procured goods with export tax rebates, and goods transferred from ordinary to dedicated ledgers.
For example, if enterprises in special zones use imported corn (goods subject to four categories of measures) for bonded feed processing operations, and utilize domestically procured soybean meal (goods other than those under the four categories of measures) exported to the zone under general trade, such soybean meal must be recorded in a dedicated ledger. Any unused soybean meal during processing may be transferred under bonded status to a general ledger.
13. Cross-border e-commerce goods involving Category IV measures shall be managed under dedicated ledgers and must not be transferred to general logistics ledgers, processing ledgers, or other non-cross-border e-commerce type general ledgers.
(III) License management.
14. For bonded imports of tariff-rate quota commodities processed by enterprises in special zones and subsequently sold domestically, a tariff-rate quota certificate must be presented when import duties are levied on the raw materials. Failure to present the tariff-rate quota certificate will result in application of out-of-quota tariffs. For sugar-related cases, an automatic import license for out-of-quota sugar must be provided.
15. For goods subject to prohibitive or restrictive import/export administrative measures, implementation shall comply with current relevant national regulations.
(IV) Management of imports.
For the goods under the four categories of measures that were declared to enter special customs zones, bonded supervision sites, or general off-zone processing trade ledgers outside before the official implementation date of this announcement, and for which customs declarations (import filing records) have been cleared, current regulations shall apply. Enterprises may alternatively opt to transfer such goods to specialized ledger management.
After the official implementation of this announcement, goods newly classified into goods under the four categories of measures due to policy adjustments, which have already entered special customs zones, bonded supervision sites, or off-zone processing trade ledgers, shall maintain their existing administrative measures without further adjustment. For example, after the official implementation of the June 10 announcement, due to policy adjustments, Commodity A was newly designated as subject to trade remedy measures effective on July 10. For Commodity A that had already entered special zones, bonded supervision sites, or ordinary/special off-zone processing trade ledgers (both within and outside the zone) before July 10, the original administrative measures remain unchanged; for Commodity A imported after July 10, the adjusted administrative measures shall apply.
(V) Relevant case studies.
A processing enterprise (non-VAT general taxpayer pilot entity) in a comprehensive bonded zone conducts business involving the processing of bonded imported sugar into premixed powder. The enterprise imports sugar from overseas under special ledger management, maintaining bonded status upon zone entry. While declaring the inbound filing list, Customs does not verify tariff quota certificates. Post-processing, the enterprise may either export the premixed powder (declaring an outbound filing list without tariff quota management), or conduct bonded transfer to downstream enterprises' special ledgers (prohibiting domestic sales after bonded circulation). Under the special ledger system, premixed powders that have not undergone bonded circulation may be sold domestically outside the bonded zone. As sugar is subject to tariff quota management, import duties shall be levied based on the sugar content, and tariff quota measures apply. Customs will verify the general trade "Agricultural Product Import Tariff Quota Certificate". If the enterprise does not possess this certificate for sugar, an "Automatic Import License" must be provided, with tariffs paid at the out-of-quota rate for sugar, while VAT and consumption tax are calculated based on the premixed powder.
V. Effective Date and Supplementary Provisions
(I) The term "special customs zones" in this announcement refers to comprehensive bonded zones, bonded port zones, free trade zones, and the Zhuhai Customs Park of the Zhuhai-Macao Cross-Border Industrial Zone; "bonded supervision sites" refers to bonded logistics centers, bonded warehouses, and export supervision warehouses.
(II) This announcement shall come into effect on June 10, 2025. Where existing regulations conflict with this announcement, the provisions of this announcement shall prevail. Joint Announcement No. 44 [2024] issued by the General Administration of Customs, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, and State Taxation Administration (Announcement on Adjusting Administrative Measures for Sugar in Special Customs Control Zones and Off-zone Processing Trade) is hereby repealed simultaneously.
(Contributed by: Department of Free Trade, Department of Tariff Affairs, Department of Commodity Inspection, Nanjing Customs, Wuhan Customs, and Guangzhou Customs)
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of GACC. The GACC version shall prevail.