General

The inland waterway freight deduction measures of the General Administration of Customs have been implemented in Zhejiang! On June 16th, a "Shanghai Anji" container ship slowly docked at the Anji Port terminal, loaded with linen and other goods transitioning from Shanghai to Anji. Anji County Jiahe Hema Textile Factory applied for "inland waterway freight deduction" for one batch of imported goods, which deducted 2100 yuan of inland waterway freight from the dutiable price of goods. This marks the official implementation of the "inland waterway freight deduction" measure introduced by the General Administration of Customs in Zhejiang. Next, eligible enterprises can apply for deductions to save a certain amount of expenses.

This new measure can deduct inland waterway freight from the price of goods, saving tax expenses, which is a tangible benefit. As a pioneer of the new measure, the head of the textile factory, Ye Qingen, said.

Lin Zhuangzhuang, Deputy Chief of the Price Management Department of the Customs Office of Hangzhou General Administration of Customs, introduced that in international trade, the freight for imported goods transferred between customs includes two stages: sea freight and inland waterway transportation. The goods imported through the CIF price transaction method, as the freight is the full process freight, the inland waterway freight is included in the overall freight. It is difficult for enterprises to distinguish the inland waterway freight separately, and can only be included in the sea freight for tax declaration together.

Recently, the General Administration of Customs issued the "Guidelines for Valuation of Inland Waterway Transportation and Related Costs Not Included in the Duty-paid Price of Imported Goods", which specifies that enterprises can refer to the inland waterway transportation related cost information issued by the transportation enterprise that carries imported goods, declare to the customs the inland waterway transportation costs and allocation basis that meet objective quantitative standards. After customs review, the corresponding inland waterway transportation costs can be deducted.

After the guidance was issued, Hangzhou Customs, in conjunction with themed education, immediately conducted visits and research in multiple units such as ports, shipping companies, freight forwarding enterprises, etc., quantifying the freight levels of routes from Shanghai to Anji, Deqing, and other places, providing a basis for enterprises to deduct freight when applying for import to the General Administration of Customs; At the same time, we will provide "one-on-one" policy guidance for some enterprises to enable them to enjoy practical benefits as soon as possible.

It is reported that after the full implementation of this measure, Hangzhou Customs is expected to deduct more than 11 million yuan of inland waterway freight from the dutiable price of imported goods at Anji Port throughout the year, save more than 1.5 million yuan of corporate tax, further optimize the port business environment, and help Zhejiang build a national first-class Inland navigation system. (Translated from: Zhejiang Daily - Reporter: Bai Zhezhe)