9 March 2021 –
Customs clearance times in Beijing were shortened dramatically in 2020, as the city continues to deepen the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Data from Beijing Customs show that in December 2020, import clearance times for the Beijing Customs Area averaged 29.31 hours, while export clearance times were 1.44 hours, a reduction of 72.8% and 90.6%, respectively, compared to times in December 2017.
“Now goods can be declared in advance even before they reach Chaoyang Customs. They can also be claimed directly upon arrival, saving the need for prior arrangements before picking up goods at the yard. There are hundreds of containers using such declarations each week, which greatly reduces our pick-up times,” said a manager of Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. who is responsible for the company’s customs affairs.
Beijing Customs took the lead in launching reforms of the regional customs clearance integration.
“Since the customs clearance integration reforms, Beijing’s customs clearance environment and the efficiency of customs clearance has been greatly improved,” said Liu Weiheng, deputy director of the Beijing Customs General Business Division. The official added that import and export enterprises can now choose declaration and tax ports according to their needs. “At present, Tianjin port-to-port cargo can be directly declared in Beijing without going through the formalities of customs transfer. The time needed for customs clearance has been greatly reduced,” Liu added.
Beijing Customs has also made well-coordinated efforts with customs in Tianjin and Hebei. So far, Beijing and Tianjin have successively issued eight Beijing-Tianjin joint announcements and introduced 148 measures, which have helped greatly improve the ease of transferring goods in China.
