Interpretation of the announcement on the implementation of the 2022 Tariff Adjustment Plan

        With the approval of The State Council, the tariff Adjustment Plan for 2022 (hereinafter referred to as the Plan) will come into effect on January 1, 2022. The General Administration of Customs recently released the Announcement of the General Administration of Customs on The Implementation of the Tariff Adjustment Plan in 2022 (Announcement no. (2021) 119), which adjusts the import tariffs and tariff items of some commodities and clarizes related matters of customs clearance.

        I. Import and export tariff rates

        (I) MFN tax rate.

        1. Temporary import tariff rate.

        From January 1, 2022, 954 items (excluding goods subject to tariff quota) will be subject to temporary import tariff rates, of which 947 items will be subject to temporary import tariff rates and 7 items of information technology products will be cancelled.

        Major adjustment include: one is the new or lower part of the pharmaceutical products and equipment, consumer goods import temporary tariff rate, the new cancer drugs zero tariff for radium chloride injection, reducing intracranial should stent, artificial joints, such as part of the medical product import tariffs, reduce the salmon and other high-quality aquatic products, baby clothes, ski part such as consumer goods import tariffs. Second, we will lower tariffs on some resource products such as pyrite and potassium chloride, and on environmental products such as peat and particle traps for gasoline engines. Third, import tariffs on key components such as graphite accessories for silicon carbide epitaxy of the third generation of new semiconductor materials, high-voltage cables for high-speed motor vehicles, membrane electrode assemblies and bipolar plates for fuel cells, and import tariffs on raw materials such as cocoa beans, essential oils and furs will be reduced. Fourth, the temporary import tax rate on frozen pork will be cancelled, and the temporary import tax rate on isopropylamine, gelatin, orange juice raw materials and other commodities that already have corresponding production capacity or technological advantages will be cancelled or increased.

        2. Most-favored-nation rate for information technology products.

        According to the agreement on tax Reduction for INFORMATION technology products, the seventh step of tax reduction will be implemented for 62 information technology products from July 1, 2022.

        (II) Tariff quota rate.

        We will continue to implement tariff-rate quota management on eight categories of commodities, including wheat, corn, rice and rice, sugar, wool, woolen sliver, cotton and chemical fertilizer, with unchanged tax rates. Among them, the quota tax rate of urea, compound fertilizer and ammonium hydrogen phosphate three kinds of fertilizer will continue to apply the temporary import tax rate, the tax rate will remain unchanged. To continue to import a certain amount of cotton quota sliding duty, the tax rate unchanged.

        (III) Contractual rate and preferential rate.

        China will implement 19 free trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements in 2022. Among them, starting from January 1, 2022, China’s free trade agreements with New Zealand, Peru, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Iceland, South Korea, Australia, Pakistan, Georgia and Mauritius will further reduce taxes. Starting from July 1, 2022, the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement will reduce the tariff rate of some products expanded by the INFORMATION technology Agreement. In accordance with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP), tariff rates will be applied for the first year of the AGREEMENT on goods of origin under RCEP from January 1, 2022 for nine parties in force, including Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; According to the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, tariff rates for the first year of the agreement will be applied to some imported goods originating in Cambodia starting from January 1, 2022. When the MFN rate is lower than or equal to the agreed rate, if there are provisions in the agreement, the provisions in the relevant agreement shall apply; In the absence of provisions in the agreement, both shall apply at a lower level.

        In 2022, preferential tax rates will be applied to 44 least developed countries including the Republic of Angola that have established diplomatic relations with China and completed exchange of notes.

        (IV) Export duties.

        From January 1, 2022, export tariffs will continue to be levied on 106 commodities including ferrochrome, and export tariffs will be increased on other phosphorus except yellow phosphorus and two commodities including crude copper.

        II. Tax provisions and tax items

        China’s import and export tariff items will be adjusted simultaneously with the 2022 version of the Harmonized Commodity Names and Codes system, and some tariff items will be adjusted according to domestic needs. Major adjustments include: first, the addition of ventilators, rapeseed oil, seabuckthorn juice, tungsten hexafluoride and other commodity tax items; Second, optimize the tax structure of shrimp, prawns and video game controllers; Third, delete other jewelry, other non-plug-in hybrid vehicles and other commodity tax items. After the adjustment, there are 8,930 tax items in 2022, a net increase of 350 items compared with 2021. Among them, 581 new versions were added and 279 deleted; 91 new ones were added and 43 deleted by independent adjustment.

        III. Customs clearance matters

        The General Administration of Customs has published on the portal website of the Customs Tariff Department of the General Administration of Customs the revision and adjustment contents of the Notes on Commodities and Headings of Import and Export Tariff, and the list of commodity classification decisions and administrative rulings invalid due to the adjustment of tariff headings（http://gszgs.customs.gov.cn/）. Among them, invalid commodity classification decision and administrative ruling list will be updated dynamically.

        The tariff items and tariff rate content adjusted according to the tariff Adjustment Plan 2022 and the Catalogue of Customs Declaration for Import and Export Commodities of the People’s Republic of China (2022 edition) can be queried through the portal website of the General Administration of Customs for reference in customs clearance.

Article source：General Administration of Customs, PRC