As global economic development continues and international trade becomes increasingly frequent, customs administrations worldwide face growing challenges and opportunities in managing import and export goods. To better adapt to these changes, customs authorities are continuously reforming and innovating to enhance clearance efficiency, optimize the business environment, and promote foreign trade development. Recently, China Customs announced the implementation of a new integrated declaration mechanism for import and export goods effective August 1, 2023, marking a significant revolution in China's customs declaration and inspection systems.
1. Background and Significance of Integrated Declaration
Previously, import-export declaration processes involved cumbersome submission of customs declaration forms and inspection applications, requiring businesses to complete multiple declarations across different systems. This process was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also prone to errors, affecting clearance efficiency. Therefore, integrating customs declaration and inspection procedures became particularly important. The integrated declaration mechanism emerged under these circumstances, with its core purpose being to reduce time and costs for businesses during clearance by simplifying procedures and improving efficiency.
The new mechanism consolidates the original 229 declaration items for customs and inspection into 105 items, significantly reducing the number of forms and procedures that need to be completed. This change substantially lightens the workload for enterprises, reflected not just in numbers but also in providing more efficient services in practical operations, helping businesses maintain competitiveness in intense markets.
2. Implementation and Operation of Integrated Declaration
The implementation of integrated declaration wasn't achieved overnight but resulted from extensive research and evaluation. Customs authorities developed this new declaration process based on multiple rounds of research and public consultation, followed by detailed design and testing. At the operational level, the new declaration form adopts a landscape format and eliminates traditional pre-printed form requirements, switching to regular printing for greater convenience in business filings.
The new mechanism clearly specifies declaration content and requirements. Businesses preparing declarations should pay attention to several key aspects:
- Declaration Form Requirements: Enterprises must complete declarations according to customs-provided guidelines to ensure information completeness and accuracy.
- Parameter Code Usage: Accurate use of parameter codes during declaration is crucial for successful submission.
- Supporting Documentation Preparation: In addition to the main declaration form, businesses must prepare relevant supporting documents to ensure smooth clearance processes.
3. Business Feedback and Effectiveness Analysis
Since pilot implementation began, business feedback on integrated declaration has been overwhelmingly positive. For instance, an international air express company reported that after the new mechanism took effect, their customs declaration and inspection processing time decreased significantly, with workload generally reduced by 50%. This efficiency improvement not only saved human and material resources but also allowed companies to redirect more energy toward market expansion and business development.
Moreover, enhanced clearance efficiency represents significant benefits for businesses. Feedback indicates that after integrated declaration implementation, overall clearance times improved by 20% to 30%, substantially enhancing companies' foreign trade operations. Particularly during peak periods, this helps effectively reduce losses caused by clearance delays, giving businesses more operational flexibility.
More importantly, the promotion of integrated declaration has further strengthened business confidence. Facing complex and changing international situations, companies generally believe that customs' optimization of declaration processes provides them with a more favorable business environment, enabling them to respond more effectively on the global trade stage.
4. Impact on Customs Management
The implementation of integrated declaration doesn't merely improve business declaration processes—it actually raises new requirements for customs' management capabilities and service levels. Under the new mechanism, customs must continuously enhance data analysis and risk management capabilities to address various potential scenarios. Through effective operation of the new system, customs can also accumulate more data for future decision-making and adjustments.
To support this reform, customs has conducted extensive training across local branches, ensuring all levels of customs personnel can proficiently master new operational processes and provide timely, effective guidance to businesses. Training covers all aspects of new declaration form completion, ensuring quick responses when enterprises encounter problems using the new mechanism. This training framework not only demonstrates customs' commitment to serving businesses but also lays groundwork for further institutional reforms.
5. Future Prospects and Further Optimization
While integrated declaration implementation has achieved certain results, customs still faces room for further optimization and improvement in future development. Current domestic and international trade situations remain complex and volatile, and businesses may encounter various operational challenges. Therefore, in future work, customs should continuously monitor enterprise needs, using ongoing research and communication to further refine declaration mechanisms.
Conclusion
In summary, the implementation of integrated declaration for import-export goods represents an important step by customs to optimize the business environment and enhance clearance efficiency. This system not only improves declaration efficiency and clearance speed for businesses but also significantly reduces labor costs, optimizes resource allocation, and helps strengthen companies' participation and competitiveness in global trade. Simultaneously, this reform provides customs with richer data resources, facilitating future policy implementation and risk control.
Looking ahead, as global trade environments continue evolving, customs policies and processes must keep pace to ensure businesses can maintain optimal operations amid changing market conditions. The successful rollout of integrated declaration will undoubtedly inject new vitality into China's foreign trade development, driving high-quality economic growth.
