There are new regulations for the declaration of imported cosmetics

In order to further standardize the declaration of imported cosmetics, on June 20, 2022, the General Administration of Customs issued Announcement No. 51 of 2022 (Announcement on Adjusting the Declaration Requirements for Some Imported Cosmetics) (hereinafter referred to as "Announcement No. 51"). The key points are introduced.

Background of Announcement 51

On September 30, 2016, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation issued the "Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on Adjusting the Consumption Tax on the Import of Cosmetics" (Caiguan [2016] No. 48), adjusting the scope of consumption tax on the import of cosmetics to high-end cosmetics , the specific standard is that the imported duty-paid price of cosmetics is 10 yuan/ml (gram) or 15 yuan/piece (sheet) and above. In order to guide enterprises to correctly apply the tax items and rates of consumption tax in the import of cosmetics, the General Administration of Customs issued Announcement No. 55 of 2016 (Announcement on Adjusting the Consumption Tax Policy on Cosmetics). Since 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Drug Administration and other departments have successively issued a series of normative documents for cosmetics. This time, the General Administration of Customs revised Announcement No. 55 of 2016 and re-issued Announcement No. 51, which clarified the scope of cosmetics tax items, the legal measurement unit of cosmetics, and the declaration of the legal quantity of cosmetics. Since June 20, 2022 implementation.

Highlights of Announcement 51

Highlight 1. The scope of tax items for cosmetics has been clarified

Announcement content:"When the consignee of the imported goods and its agent declare the cosmetics under the imported commodity tax items 3303 and 3304, they should fill in the customs declaration form according to the following regulations."

Interpretation:Announcement No. 55 of 2016 publicized the consumption tax list of cosmetics import links, and listed the cosmetics tax items to the ten-digit customs commodity code. Due to the innovation in the cosmetics market, the ten-digit commodity codes of cosmetics have changed accordingly, resulting in the inconsistency between the actually effective cosmetic codes and the public announcement codes. 2022 is the revision year of the "Coordinated Commodity Name and Coding System". Taking into account the above factors, the General Administration of Customs has clarified the item-level scope of cosmetics tax items after the revision of the Harmonized System, so as to ensure the consistency of cosmetics tax items across years. sex.

Highlight 2. The calculation method of the weight of different dosage forms of cosmetics is clarified by enumerating methods

Announcement content:"For cosmetics whose content is marked on the package by weight, the first legal quantity shall be declared according to the net content, that is, the weight of the liquid/milk/paste/powder part."

Interpretation:Regarding how to calculate the net weight of cosmetics, there have been changes in the filling specifications of the import and export declaration forms over the years. For example, the General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 20 of 2016 (announcement on the revision of the "Regulations for Completing Customs Declaration Forms for Imported and Exported Goods of the Customs of the People's Republic of China") requires including the net weight content of the inner direct packaging; the General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 13 of 2017 (Announcement on Amending the Customs of the People's Republic of China Customs Import and Export Goods Declaration Form Completion Specifications) requires filling in according to the weight of the liquid part; General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 18 of 2019 (About the revision of the Customs Import and Export Goods Declaration Form of the People's Republic of China The announcement of Filling Specifications) is required to be filled in according to the weight of the liquid/emulsion/paste/powder part. Announcement No. 51 abandoned the requirement of “Not Including the Weight of Inner and Outer Packaging” in Announcement No. 55 of 2016, and adopted the standard practice of filling out the customs declaration form in Announcement No. 18 of 2019, requiring the customs declaration form to be completed It is simpler and easier to operate, and at the same time avoids inconsistent requirements of different announcements.

Highlight 3. The extension of independent packaging has been extended

Announcement content:"Packaging... Declare the second legal quantity according to the number of bottles/cans/branches with independent packaging."

interpret: Announcement No. 55 of 2016 defines the independent packaging as "bottle (can)", but the actual independent packaging of cosmetics is not limited to bottles and cans. For example, the independent packaging of lipstick is a branch, and the independent packaging of a facial mask is a bag, both of which are beyond the scope of bottles (cans). Bulletin No. 51 adopts the expression of "bottle/can/branch, etc.", and adopts a list of independent packaging forms, providing room for operation in the quantity declaration of various individual packaging.

Highlight 4. Clarified how to declare the weight of cosmetics with special packaging specifications such as "pieces" and "sheets"

Announcement content:"Cosmetics whose packaging is labeled as 'tablets or sheets' shall declare the first legal quantity according to the net content, that is, the weight of the liquid/milk/paste/powder part... For other cosmetics that are labeled with specifications, refer to paragraph (2) of this article. reporting requirements.”

interpret: Unlike most cosmetics that use the packaging specification of g/ml, the packaging specification used for facial masks, face stickers, etc. is generally "piece/sheet". For this type of cosmetics, Announcement No. 55 of 2016 requires the declaration of the first legal quantity according to the net weight of the product, but it is not clear whether the net weight of the product includes the weight of the cosmetic base material. Announcement No. 51 stipulates that the declared net content of such cosmetics is the weight of the liquid/milk/paste/powder part, that is, the weight of the base material is not included.