The imported infant formula has been very popular in the cross-border e-commerce field, the purchasing volume has been growing over the years. Recently, 3 notices about cross-border e-commerce retail were published by Chinese authorities, which will all come into force on 1 January, 2019.
Namely,
(1) Notice of 6 Ministries including Ministry of Commerce about ‘Strengthening the Supervision of Cross-border E-commerce Retail’ (hereafter referred to as ‘NOTICE’) (published on 28 Nov., 2018).
(2) Notice of 3 Ministries including Ministry of Finance about ‘Improving the import Tax Policy of Cross-border E-commerce Retail’ (published on 29 Nov., 2018).
(3) Notice of 13 Ministries including Ministry of Finance about ‘Adjusting the List of Cross-border E-commerce Retail import Products’ (hereafter referred to as ‘LIST’) (published on 20 Nov., 2018).
According to the NOTICE, products (ONLY for self-use, reselling prohibited) imported via cross-border e-commerce channel will no longer be required for the first-time import license, registration or filing since 1 January, 2019, which will be considered as personal use and will be applicable to the following 37 pilot cities:
Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Tangshan, Hohhot, Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun, Harbin, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Yiwu, Hefei, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Nanchang, Qingdao, Weihai, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Nanning, Haikou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Guiyang, Kunming, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Pingtan.
Products with tariff number of 19011010 ‘Formulated milk powder’ are found in the LIST and infant formula belongs to this category. Meanwhile, the remark of ‘excluding the infant formula that is required for registration by Food Safety Law’ for ‘Formulated milk powder’ that occurred in the previous version of list in 2016 is also deleted.
In conclusion, importing infant formula via cross-border e-commerce does not require to obtain the formulation registration approval in those 37 pilot cities. However, infant formula that is imported in non-pilot cities still is subject to market supervision through general trade and needs to register its formulation according to relevant laws and regulations.
The new import policy of cross-border e-commerce retail brings great benefit to some overseas enterprises that have not obtained the approval of formulation registration in China. Global Foodmate believes that the implementation of the new import policy will also further expand the import scale of mainstream products such as milk powder via cross-border e-commerce channel.
Please note: Original article of Global Foodmate of Information Service and Business Department, please indicate the source from the Global Foodmate if reprint.