Customs office reforms stabilize, improve foreign trade

Yu Guangzhou, head of the customs general administration, recently launched the Shenzhen Customs Online Service Hall. Part of a series of comprehensive reforms the Shenzhen Customs has been carrying out, namely, "setting up two platforms and carrying out four reforms", the office's efficiency drive has helped to steadily increase the functionality of the city's ports.

Yan Nan, head of Shenzhen Customs, said: "Reform and innovation are creating a win-win situation for enterprises and our customs office. In a complicated and unstable foreign trade environment, we at Shenzhen Customs have insisted on innovation-driven policies to help stabilize and improve foreign trade."

According to Shenzhen Customs, it is setting up an online service hall and a business operation monitoring platform, while carrying out collective reforms in the processing of customs clearance, in the checking and approving of supplied raw materials processing trade, in examining and monitoring, and in follow-up monitoring.

Since the beginning of 2016, Shenzhen Customs has pinpointed 39 important projects and reforms, adhering to the country's innovation-driven orientation, to deal with unstable and complicated foreign trade conditions.

The customs office has coordinated with the local innovation development plan and has fully supported the construction of Shenzhen's Qianhai and Shekou Area of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, connecting Shenzhen with the country's Belt and Road Initiative.

Shenzhen Customs has emphasized lowering business costs and improving customs clearance efficiency, to help stabilize and improve the city's foreign trade environment. The office has also greatly supported emerging companies which offer cross-border e-commerce and comprehensive foreign trade services.

According to the customs office, the city's total import and export volume reached 2.6 trillion yuan ($379.3 billion) in 2016, maintaining its lead among China's top - and second-tier cities.

Shenzhen's export reached 1.6 trillion yuan in 2016, taking the lead among Chinese top and second-tier cities for the 24th consecutive year.

Two online platforms

The launch of the Shenzhen Customs Online Service Hall has initiated an online era for customs operations, making the process much more convenient and efficient.

Enterprises can choose to conduct most of their customs work online, at home, or at any of one of the city's customs branch offices.

According to Shenzhen Customs, the online service has streamlined all 80 services into one department. In tax reduction services alone, this has helped enterprises to save 200,000 sheets of paper and 13,000 trips.

Also, Shenzhen Customs' business operation monitoring platform has adopted an innovative internet plus customs management pattern. It can simultaneously conduct monitoring and automatic identification and correction, so as to ensure legal and customs clearance efficiency.

Four collective reforms

The collective reforms in the processing of customs clearance have further shortened operation times and raised clearance efficiency.

The collective reform of checking and approving raw materials processing trade has enabled enterprises to deal with most processing trade without leaving their premises. This has shortened the time taken for a single operation by more than 70 percent, benefiting more than 6,000 enterprises across the city.

The collective reform in examining and monitoring processes has helped to quicken customs clearance via an intellectualized system.

The customs office has also enacted follow-up monitoring reforms, which avoid repeated checks and uncontrolled fieldwork, saving 15 manual approval tasks and benefiting 19,000 enterprises.

"We arrange production during the day and declare entry in the evening. The next morning the dividing, declaring and transporting work will be finished, so that the goods can get on that day's flights at Hong Kong airport and be dispatched globally," said a manager of Shenzhen DJ-Innovations who is responsible for the company's global logistics.

Since the customs office's reforms were carried out, Shenzhen DJ-Innovations' goods can be transported to international clients within three days.

Partners boost Shenzhen

Shenzhen Customs has actively adapted to demand for a global logistics hub while the city is becoming a modern and international metropolis.

On Jan 9, Shenzhen Customs signed a memorandum with China Merchants Group to set up a strategic cooperation relationship, to promote the construction of Shenzhen's Qianhai and Shekou Area of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

It has actively promoted the innovative new policies of the General Administration of Customs and the Guangdong provincial government.

In the first 11 months of 2016, Shenzhen's cross-border e-commerce businesses saw a total value of 2.24 billion yuan, an increase of 112 percent year-on-year.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/20/2017 page16)