The General Administration of Customs ("GAC") has recently released the Announcement [2017] No.37 to provide clarity on administrative licensing items for operation sites under customs supervision. The Announcement will enter into force as of November 1, 2017.
According to the Announcement, an enterprise applying for operating an operation site under customs supervision is required to fulfill certain requirements and submit necessary materials as specified in Article 14 and Article 15 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Customs Supervision Areas of the People's Republic of China (including the Application for Registering as Enterprises Operating Operation Sites under Customs Supervision). The applicant should be responsible for the authenticity, legality and validity of all materials it provides. In addition, the Announcement stipulates that the competent customs office should prepare and issue a Registration Certificate of the [insert the name of a customs office] of the People's Republic of China for Enterprises Operating Operations Sites under the Customs Supervision, which is valid for three years as of the time it is prepared and issued, if the customs office affirms that all registration requirements are fulfilled. Moreover, the Announcement expressly states that in case of three situations, such as where the area of an operation site under customs supervision changes, the enterprise operating such site should go through customs procedures by submitting the Application for Changes to the Operation Site under Customs Supervision and relevant materials to its competent customs office.