The General Administration of Customs China (GACC) has issued an announcement (Announcement No. 56 (2017) to adjust the manifest rules of inbound and outbound cargo whether by sea or by air. The adjusted rules will become effective on 1st June, 2018.
The announcement has been publicised on the GACC website in Chinese here and you can also read the literal English translation here.
The 18-digit USCC (Uniform Social Credit Code – consisting of numerals and letters) identifies registration authority, entity type, registered region as well as the organisation and checking code. USCC effectively replaced the old Business Registration Number and Tax (Payer) identification Number. For example a USCC would look something like this 89700054730001203F.
With immediate effect, for all import and export cargoes to and from China – Shipping lines / airlines must be provided with USCC during shipping instruction submission. If your USCC is not provided your consignment may be at risk of being held by the Chinese Authorities.
What does this mean to you?
For exporters from Australia – The USCC of your Consignee in China must be noted when booking is placed and must be noted on all shipping line / airline documentation. The essential information of your buyers full address, contact name, email address and telephone number is still required. Failure to provide this information could result in delays and additional costs.
For importers from China – Your suppliers will be advised by our agents in China of this new requirement.
The adjusted rules will include the following key points for close attention in future documentation work:
- Manifest submissions must be made 24 hours prior to loading.
- Cargo Description must be complete and accurate.
- The full contact details of the Shipper are mandatory – Including contact Name, phone and email address and the Enterprise Codes/USCC//ABN. (Australian Business number).
- The full contact details of the Consignee are also mandatory – Including contact Name, phone and email address and the Enterprise Codes/USCC.
EES respectfully requests our customers to provide accurate and complete shipping instructions before the documentation cut off time.
We will keep you posted when further developments regarding implementation of the regulation is available.
If you require any further information regarding the above, please kindly contact our Export Department.
