The General Administration of Customs ("GAC") has recently issued the Implementing Rules for the Administration of Registration of Domestic Consignees of Imported Solid Waste Usable as Raw Materials (the "Rules"), with effect from August 1, 2018.
The Rules stipulate that, to apply for being registered as a consignee of imported solid waste that could be recycled into raw materials, an enterprise has to register itself with the customs as a consigner/consignee for exported/imported goods in the first place. An enterprise applying for being registered as a consignee requires the fulfillment of four requirements, one of which reads that "the applicant should be a processing enterprise that has obtained the legal qualification for import business". Meanwhile, the Rules clearly specify that an applicant shall submit its registration application through the inspection and quarantine supervision system for inbound goods and provide the customs with direct jurisdiction with written documents within 30 days after it has successfully submitted its registration application online. The customs with direct jurisdiction shall form an expert panel for review, within ten days from the acceptance of such application, to review the written materials and carry out on-site inspections. Furthermore, the Rules note that the customs will subject consignees to the credit-based administration and carry out supervision and administration by multiple means, such as on-site inspections, verification, and follow-up inspections of situations concerning the environmental protection and quality of goods, over consignees according to its functions and duties.