Lately, the General Administration of Customs ("GAC") has issued the Announcement on the Electronization of Inspection and Quarantine Documents (the "Announcement"), effective from August 1, 2018.
The Announcement states that, in applying to the customs for going through inspection and quarantine formalities, the applicant may provide information on electronic documents as requested and does not have to submit written documents when filing the application. Where documents issued by domestic and foreign authorities or institutions could be verified through the interconnected intranets or checked on the internet, the applicant only has to input the numbers of these documents; however, if these documents cannot be verified through the interconnected intranets or checked on the internet, the applicant needs to submit the scanned copies of these documents. Moreover, the Announcement notes that, the applicant shall ensure information on electronic documents is truthful and valid and the formats of submitted scanned copies are consistent with requirements of the customs, and safekeep the relevant written documents as required. Furthermore, the Announcement expressly states that, where it is necessary to check the written documents during the customs regulation, for the sake of risk controls and endorsement operations, the applicant shall provide additionally requested relevant written documents.