Import Duties & Taxes in China: The Wine Example

China is and will continue to be one of the most attractive markets for consumer goods.  With a population of more than one and a half billion people and a middle class of more than 300 million, that is projected to grow to at least 700 million in the next 20 years.  Based upon our experience in China and having been a part of the tremendous growth, we have seen that this emerging middle class, which is already larger than the U.S. population, is spending money like crazy and is not saving like previous generations.

Given that China is one of the only places in the world that has had double digit growth in GDP (except for this year which is still 8%), it has a burgeoning and spend crazy middle class, a developing legal system and excellent infrastructure, everyone should want to bring their products and services into this market.  It’s not that easy.  For many products, and services there are taxes.  China does not have a national sales tax on retail items like other countries and so it imposes import duties, value added taxes and consumption taxes which the importer, wholesaler or retailer must add to the price the consumer pays.  It’s all hidden, but, believe me they can be quite steep.  For example, the total duty on imported wine, which is the only wine worth drinking in China, is between 41 and 50% which can make many products cost prohibitive when compared to quality – the value is just not there.

And people think China is cheap!  I would offer that in the major cities in China, cost of living is higher than most cities in the U.S. and Europe and inflation has not stopped in the 10 years that we have been advising clients in China.  China aint cheap anymore, but, the domestic market where they don’t mind paying higher prices on quality items (that aren’t fake) is enormous and growing.

So, until the central government decides to either scrap it’s antiquated and cumbersome Value Added Tax “V.A.T.” system, which we don’t see that happening for a long time as too many people would lose a lot of money ,or they lower the import duties and consumption taxes on imported products - there might be other way to bring in imported products that are in high demand in China.

China and Hong Kong operate under a one country two systems arrangement that has been in place since the turnover in 1999.  Despite obvious cultural differences and the fact that there is a border crossing, most of us who do business in South China consider the two as one.  In fact, there is a treaty between Hong Kong and China which many people don’t know about that allows for Hong Kong companies and professionals to operate in China and also a few other things such as the duty free import of Hong Kong made products.  Below is a summary of the CEPA rules pertaining to importation of Hong Kong products which could provide a solution to the high import duties in China.

In order to enjoy zero tariffs under the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), goods exported from Hong Kong to Mainland China must fulfill the rules of origin and show evidence of being “made in Hong Kong.”

The execution of the rules of origin is detailed in the “Customs Provisions of the People’s Republic of China on Executing the Rules of Origin for Trade in Goods under the Mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (haiguanshuling No.106, hereinafter refers as ‘Provisions’),” which was promulgated in December 2003 and came in effect from January 1, 2004. Under the Provisions, “Hong Kong” as the origin of goods shall be determined according to the following principles:

1.  Goods entirely obtained in Hong Kong 2.Goods “substantially manufactured” in Hong Kong if not entirely obtained in Hong Kong Goods entirely obtained in Hong Kong According to the Provisions, goods entirely obtained in Hong Kong include:

• Minerals exploited or extracted in Hong Kong
• Plants or related products collected in Hong Kong
• Animals born and raised up in Hong Kong and their related products
• Animals hunted in Hong Kong
• Fish and other sea products caught by ships with Hong Kong licenses and regional flags and their related products
• Waste disposal for recycling from and collected in Hong Kong
• Waste and scrap for recycling resulting from manufacturing in Hong Kong
• Products made out of waste disposal or waste and scrap mentioned above Substantial processing, transformation, or manufacturing The criteria of determining whether the products are “substantially manufactured, transformed, or processed” in Hong Kong should include the following:

Manufacturing or processing operations.  The goods should be endowed with essential characteristics after principal manufacturing or processing operations in Hong Kong.

Change of tariff number.  Change of tariff number refers to a change of the four-digit tariff numbers and taxation categories after the manufacturing or processing operation of non-Hong Kong materials in Hong Kong. Moreover, no further manufacturing or processing should happen outside Hong Kong.

Ad valorem percentage.  Ad valorem percentage is the ratio between the total value of raw materials, components, labor and product development that are fully acquired in Hong Kong, and the FOB value of the finished product for export.

• Ad valorem percentage = (Value of raw materials + value of components + labor costs + product development costs) ÷ (FOB value of finished product for export) Products with an ad valorem percentage equal to or greater than 30 percent, and with the last manufacturing or processing procedures completed in Hong Kong, shall be regarded as “substantial processing.” The following stipulations apply:

• Calculation of the above “ad valorem percentage” should be consistent with generally accepted accounting standards and with the “Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.”
• “Product development” refers to product development conducted in Hong Kong for the purposes of producing or processing the exporting goods. Incurred expenses for development shall be related to the exporting goods, including the costs for self-developing of the producers and processors, as well as the costs for the developing of consigned natural or legal person. The expenses also includes fees for purchasing designs, patents, patented technologies, trademarks or copyrights processed by a natural or legal person in Hong Kong. The concerned value should be clearly identifiable under generally accepted accounting standards and the provisions of “Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.”
• If raw materials or components originating from Mainland China are used and they constitute part of the export products in Hong Kong, when calculating the ad valorem percentage of the export product, the raw materials or components from Mainland China should be deemed to be originating from Hong Kong. The ad valorem percentage of the export product should be greater than or equal to 30 percent, and greater than or equal to 15 percent excluding the price of the raw materials or components from mainland. Other criteria The “other criteria” refer to other criteria agreed by authorities of both Mainland China and Hong Kong in determining the origin of the products, besides the three above-mentioned criteria.

Mixed criteria. The “mixed criteria” means that two or more of the above-mentioned criteria are used in determining the origin of the products.

Manufacturing or processing for the purpose of transporting or storing the goods, facilitating the packaging of the goods, or better packaging and displaying the goods is not considered as “substantial processing, transformation, or manufacturing.”

Simple diluting, blending, packaging, bottling, desiccation, assembling, sorting or decorating will not be regarded as “substantial processing, transformation, or manufacturing.”

Package, packaging materials, containers and accessories, spare parts, tools and explanatory materials accompanying the goods should be ignored in determining the origin of the goods.

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 by Frank Caruso.  Chair, China Practice Team

China to Discuss Three Way FTA with Korea and Japan

It has been reported in local news outlets that China, Japan and Korea have vowed to commence free trade negotiations and cooperate in alleviating the issues with North Korea.

Korea's Yonhap News has reported, in part, that:

During annual summit talks in Beijing, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda also agreed to start preparations to launch official negotiations on a three-way free trade agreement by the end of the year.

The summit came a month after North Korea unsuccessfully launched a long-range rocket on April 13. Though the rocket fizzled soon after takeoff, the liftoff drew international condemnation as it broke a U.N. ban adopted over concerns such a launch could be used to develop missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Concerns have since grown that Pyongyang could stage additional provocations, such as a nuclear test, which would be its third, as well as more missile tests and border clashes. Officials in Seoul have said the North appears to have completed preparations for a nuclear test.

"The leaders of the three countries appreciated the U.N. Security Council's strong and swift presidential statement regarding North Korea's long-range rocket launch and agreed that they cannot accept a nuclear test and other additional provocations by North Korea," the presidential office said.

The agreement on North Korea was seen as rare because the three countries have usually differed over how to deal with North Korea, with South Korea and Japan calling for a tougher stance, and China, the North's last-remaining major ally, being reluctant to criticize Pyongyang.

On the sidelines of the summit, the three countries also signed an investment guarantee treaty that calls for providing most-favored-nation status and other protective measures for investment from each other. The pact is the first economic treaty between the three countries.

The three countries also agreed to begin preparations to launch free trade negotiations before year's end. The envisioned pact, if realized, would create one of the world's largest markets as South Korea, China and Japan account for 20 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and 17.5 percent of all global trade.

The sides have carried out non-governmental academic research on the trilateral FTA since 2003.

The three countries also signed two other cooperation agreements, one of them on agricultural cooperation and the other on preventing desertification of forests and protecting wildlife.

After the trilateral session, the leaders attended a lunch meeting of business leaders.

Later in the day, Lee planned to hold a one-on-one summit with Wen, which is expected to include discussions on North Korea and free trade 

The full article may be found at Korea, Japan and China Agree to Work Together on N. Korea, FTA
We suspect that an FTA will not be forthcoming until, at least, until a couple of more years. 
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SeanHayes@ipglegal.com IPG is engaged in projects for companies and entrepreneurs doing business in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam and the U.S. www.ipglegal.com

Korea & Australia a Challenge to China's Rare Earth Mineral Market

Arafura, an Australian resources company, has reported that it has executed a non-binding agreement with a major Korean construction company to supply to the company rare earth minerals.   The company will provide, according to the company, a viable option to the Chinese rare earth minerals and the Chinese governments increasing grip over these resources. 

Most involved in the energy and natural resources industry know who the Korean conglomerate is, but I will refrain from mentioning the name until it is officially reported.

The company and other Korean companies have been aggressively attempting to secure resources throughout Asia, the Middle East and in the Pacific with many of these projects leading to substantial loses.  The loses occurred, mainly, because of the lack of qualified advisers and the lack of understanding of the nature of business in many of the parts of the world that they attempted to do business in. 

However, the proactive and aggressive approach has lead to Korea maintaining, for the foreseeable future, a supply of the resources needed to maintain the Korean manufacturing economy. 

Rare earth minerals are utilized in batteries, mobile phones and computers.

Other, recent, articles on Korea Energy & Natural Resources:

• Korea's Cap and Trade from 2015
• Korea's Proactive Energy Procurement Policy:  Another Failure?
• Korea's Blundering Natural Resources Procurement Policy

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Sean Hayes, IPG's Co-Chair of the Korea Practice Team, may be contacted at: SeanHayes@ipglegal.com

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SeanHayes@ipglegal.com