The Changsha Customs of the People’s Republic of China will provide all-round quality service for the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (hereinafter referred to as “CAETE”), and supervise the inbound and outbound goods and personnel of CAETE in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, including the Customs Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine, the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Import and Export Duties.

During the CAETE, Changsha Customs will designate officers to provide consulting service in Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center (main venue) and China-Africa Economic and Trade Innovation Park (sub-venue at Hunan Gaoqiao Grand Market).

For exhibits imported temporarily but not under ATA carnets for CAETE, the agent entrusted by the Secretariat of CAETE Organizing Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Agent”) provides the guarantee for duty and tax payable to the Xingsha Customs under Changsha Customs. Overseas exhibitors or their entrusted Designated Official Forwarders submit to the Customs the Certificate for Goods Imported for the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (Annex 1) and the list of corresponding imported goods issued by the Agent, instead of providing guarantee for each transaction.

I.Registration of CAETE

The Agent will register the relevant customs clearance information of CAETE with Xingsha Customs in advance through the “Single Window” and “Internet Plus Customs”. The mode of “one-off registration and submitting the list by batches” will be adopted to go through the customs formalities so as to guarantee efficient customs clearance for CAETE materials.

II. Approval and Entry of Exhibits

The exhibitor shall submit application to the Customs before the entry of animals, plants and their products and special articles that are subject to quarantine examination and approval. Such exhibits can enter China only after approval by the Customs (Annex 2). Animal and plant products that have not obtained import inspection and quarantine access are not allowed to enter China. 

The exhibits shall meet the requirements of the Restriction List for Inspection and Quarantine during the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (Annex 3) and the Prohibition List for Inspection and Quarantine during the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (Annex 4).

III. Declaration of Imported Materials

The integrated customs clearance will be adopted for the CAETE’s temporarily imported goods, where the Agent lodges declaration with Xingsha Customs before port Customs inspects and releases the goods. Regarding inbound materials for the CAETE through other trading modes, overseas exhibitors or their agents shall complete customs formalities according to the existing regulations.

For goods to be imported temporarily under an ATA carnet for CAETE, the competent Customs house shall perform the examination and endorsement, and the expiration date of the time limit for re-exportation shall be the same as that of the ATA Carnet.

Animal and plant products and animal and plant-derived foods that have been thoroughly processed to eliminate the risk of animal and plant epidemics may be exempted from providing quarantine certificates issued by the exporting countries or regions. Yet for animal and plant-derived foods, health certificate from the exporting country or region is still required; for exhibits that are subject to the compulsory product certification supervision and meet the conditions for exemption from compulsory product certification, the exemption certificate for compulsory product certification shall be provided for customs clearance. Where the General Administration of Customs or Changsha Customs has other special requirements for the declaration of exhibits, such provisions shall prevail.

IV. Inspection and Release of Exhibits

The imported exhibits for CAETE shall be examined, inspected and quarantined according to the relevant regulations. The Agent shall submit the application to the Customs in the event of exhibits, under special circumstances, needing the on-site inspection at the exhibition venue before such exhibits can be transported to the exhibition venue for on-site inspection upon the approval of the Customs. The Secretariat of CAETE (hereinafter referred to as the Secretariat) shall provide office space and necessary inspection facilities for the Customs.

The pre-packaged foods, cosmetics, etc. to be imported for exhibition purposes only may be exempted from sampling inspection and Chinese labeling; pre-packaged foods and cosmetics to be imported for trial, tasting and gifting during the exhibition are subject to sampling inspection based on the examination and inspection condition (samples may be provided before the exhibition) and may be exempted from Chinese labeling; if the sample has passed the inspection and the products are for trial sale on a small amount basis, such exhibits may be exempted from Chinese labeling upon the approval of Changsha Customs. For imported foods and cosmetics that are exempt from Chinese labeling, the names, taboos, and edible (use) methods must be indicated in Chinese next to the exhibits.

 V. Customs Control during the Expo
During the Expo, the Customs will dispatch officers to the exhibition venue to perform control duties pursuant to laws and regulations. The Secretariat, the Agent and exhibitors shall comply with the management regulations set forth by the Customs for the display and sale of exhibits and cooperate with the control work of Customs officers.

VI. Disposal of Exhibits

i. Consumption of Articles during CAETE
The Secretariat shall urge the exhibitors to submit the written report on consumption forecast to Xingsha Customs in advance and specify the purpose (for trial, taste, or distribution) and quantity (within a reasonable limit that matches the scale of the event) of exhibits. For articles to be tried, tasted, and distributed, the exhibitors shall provide conformity certificate meet the requirements (official certificate of the country of the exhibitor/the third-party testing reports

lf-check conformity reports of the exhibitor/conformity statements of the exhibitor).
The Customs will, in line with actual conditions, check and verify the quantity and total value of the following import articles used for the CAETE. If they are within a reasonable range, tariff, value-added tax and excise will be exempted according to relevant regulations.

1.Small samples (excluding alcoholic beverage, tobacco, and fuel) in exhibitions, including imported food or beverage samples with original packaging or made of bulk raw materials imported during the CAETE, shall meet the following requirements:
(1) They shall be offered by exhibitors for free during the CAETE, which are exclusive for visitors to use or consume.
(2) The samples feature low unit price and are used for advertisement.
(3) They shall not be used for commercial purposes, with their unit capacity obviously smaller than that of the smallest retail packaging.
(4) Food and beverage samples which are actually consumed in the activities although they have not been distributed in accordance with the packaging requirements of (3) under this term.
2.Materials consumed or damaged during the demonstration of exhibited machine or device.
3.Low-value goods consumed for setting and decorating the temporary booth.
4. Relevant publicity materials distributed to visitors for free during the CAETE.
5. Files, forms and other documents used for the CAETE.
The part exceeding the limited import quantity of CAETE-used articles listed in Term 1 shall be taxed pursuant to laws; unused or unconsumed parts of those listed in Term 2, 3 and 4 shall be re-exported, or imported in line with regulations.

ii. Sale after the CAETE
For the remaining exhibits for sale after the CAETE, the Agent shall, pursuant to relevant customs regulations, be responsible for Customs import clearance. Where the administration of permissions and certificates are involved, relevant permissions and certificates shall be obtained before the sale.
If the inbound exhibits are allowed to be listed in the cross-border e-commerce retail import goods and enter the special control area or bonded logistics center (type B) (hereinafter referred to as “the Area or the Center”) registered in the Customs after the exhibition, they can be sold in accordance with the cross-border e-commerce online shopping bonded retail import goods mode (1210) if eligible.

iii. Re-exportation
The temporarily imported exhibits for the CAETE shall be re-exported within the period provided by the Customs.
For the temporarily imported CAETE exhibits not using ATA Carnet, after they are transported into the Customs special control area and bonded supervision site (exhibited automobiles shall be transported into the Customs special control area and bonded supervision site entitled of vehicle bonded warehousing business) after the CAETE, the temporary import declaration shall be written off subsequent to relevant customs formalities.

iv. Extension of Exhibits
The extension procedure shall be processed at Xingsha Customs pursuant to regulations in the event of the extension necessity for temporarily imported exhibits of the CAETE to be re-exported.

v. Bonded Exhibition and Trade
After the enterprises in the Area or the Center submit the guarantee for bonded goods, they can be transported to the halls of the CAETE outside the Area or the Center for display and sale.

vi. Disposal of Exhibits
Any animals, plants, or relevant products that have not obtained import inspection and quarantine access, or do not meet the necessary quarantine requirements and cannot be effectively treated, must either be returned or destroyed. After the CAETE, they shall be destroyed if not re-exported. The Customs supervision personnel shall oversee the whole process of disposal.

VII. Tax Exemption for Exhibits Sold after the CAETE

i. The imported exhibits within the duty-free limit, which are sold during the exhibition, will be exempt from import tariffs, import-related value-added tax, and consumption tax. However, if the exhibits sold during the exhibition are not on the list of exhibits eligible for preferential tax policies or not within sales limit, or if the exhibits are not sold during the exhibition and are not returned to the source country or region afterwards, taxes will be charged in accordance with applicable state regulations.

ii. For imported exhibits applying for preferential tax policies, the CAETE Organizing Committee or its entrusted agency shall serve as the domestic consignee and apply to the Customs for both import declaration and tax reduction procedures.

The CAETE Organizing Committee or its entrusted agency shall promptly submit to the Customs the list of exhibitors and the list of exhibits intended for sale during the exhibition to apply for preferential tax policies.

iii. For specific categories and sales limit of the exhibits eligible for preferential tax policies, please refer to the Notice by the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration on Preferential Tax Policies for the Imported Exhibits Sold during the International Exhibitions in Central and Western Regions during the “14th Five-Year Plan” Period (No. 21 [2021] of the Ministry of Finance).

VIII. Journalists’ Recording Equipment

For the temporary import of recording equipment brought by journalists into the expo, Customs clearance procedures shall be handled in accordance with relevant Announcements (i.e. No. 104 of 2008, No. 19 of 2009 and No. 31 of 2009) issued by the General Administration of Customs.

For inbound and outbound materials for the expo which fail to comply with customs formalities as required, the Customs shall take actions in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Matters not specified in this Notice shall be handled in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Annex: 

1. Certification for Import Goods for the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo

2. Inbound Animals, Plants and Relevant Products and Special Articles Requiring Approval for Entry

3. Restriction List for Inspection and Quarantine during the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo

4. Prohibition List for Inspection and Quarantine during the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo