Analyzing the EU New Legislation to Boost China-EU CBEC

The scene of the salon

On July 13, the third "Customs Salon" co-hosted by China Customs Brokers Association and Silk Road Cities Alliance was held in Beijing. This event invited the customs counsellors of embassy of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in China to elaborate on new VAT e-commerce regulation in the EU that has come into force on July 1. Mr. Bai Fengchuan, Secretary General of China Customs Brokers Association, Mr. Song Ronghua, founder of Silk Road Cities Alliance, Mr. Oren Ben Shabat, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Israel, Mr. Jiang Xiaoping, Director of Re-code, Ms. Zhou Yanyu, General Manager of ECMS Express in the US region, and representatives of well-known logistics enterprises participated in the salon online and offline.

The scene of the salon

To create a level playing field for both cross border e-commerce and trade within the EU, and have better regulations for imported goods, the EU began its e-commerce VAT reform on July 1, 2021. The current VAT exemption at importation of small consignments of a value up to 22€ is removed. This means all goods imported in the EU will be subject to VAT. A new special scheme for distance sales of the goods of maximum 150€imported from other countries is created. The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) has been launched to simplify the declaration and payment of VAT. Online sellers, including online marketplaces/platforms can register in one EU Member State and this will be valid on all sales within the EU.

In addition to the EU's unified policy, they shared perspectives from Belgian, German and Dutch customs on CBEC.

（Ms. Isabelle Bedoyan, Customs counsellor of Belgian Embassy in China makes a speech）

Belgium is the gateway to the European market and an important hub in global supply chains. With its central geographic location, decent transport infrastructure and competitive warehouse, Belgium’s strength in logistics is internationally recognized. Ms. Isabelle Bedoyan introduced, since 2018 BE-gate as a unique solution for e-commerce allows efficient customs inspections based on risk analysis. It has established a level playing field for all operators, with improved communication for maximum transaction speed. Since April of 2021, Belgium has already opened registration for IOSS, and a specific IT declaration system called IDMS-H7 went live on July 1st, which will replace BE gate for the declaration of low value CBEC parcels (up to 150€) using a super reduce the data set. Belgium opens its door to CBEC companies from all over the world.

（Mr. Uwe Hoellein, Customs counsellor of German Embassy in China makes a speech）

Germany's trade is closely linked with other countries in the world, and the  e-commerce market has maintained a rapid growth for ten consecutive years. Mr. UWE Hoellein, customs counsellor of the German Embassy in China, mentioned that with the implementation of the new regulations, comprehensive management of electronic data is needed. From July 1, Germany started to use the conventional electronic customs declaration based on risk analysis and import data control system. In order to achieve more efficient customs clearance, the new Import Handling of Postal and Courier will be launched on January 15, 2022.

（Mr. Mostafa Amini, Customs counsellor of the Dutch Embassy in China makes a speech）

Mr. Mostafa Amini emphasized the rapid increase of e-commerce by showing trend charts. He briefly explained the criteria for IOSS and special arrangements which are VAT related. Also, Dutch Customs introduced since 1 July the electronic import declaration system called DECO which applies for the e-commerce small consignments with duty exemption (up to €150) and a referral to the Dutch E-commerce White Paper was made.

It is reported that the Customs Salon is a non-profit platform jointly sponsored by SRCA and CCBA, and participated by officials of foreign embassies and consulates, as well as international import and export enterprises. The Customs Salon aims to explore the issues of "policy, tendency and universality" in customs affairs, to help the participants keep updated on China’s customs policies, regulations and development trend, to strengthen Sino-foreign customs exchanges, and to build a bridge for Sino-foreign trade facilitation. The Customs Salon will be held every two months. In addition to lectures, visits and exchanges to China's airports, ports and free trade zones will be organized to help participants learn about China’s customs procedures. The Customs Salon will also recommend qualified third party customs service companies.

The event was organized by Silk Road Global Information Co., Ltd. and Yunmaofu (Beijing) Information Technology Co., Ltd., with the support of Baidu AI Simultaneous Interpreting and CIFCO Health Care.