Analysis of new regulations on inspection, quarantine and positive list for cross-border import e-commerce
The importance of cross-border e-commerce in the inspection and quarantine process of imported goods cannot be underestimated. The supervision policies of inspection and quarantine departments on cross-border imported goods have a profound impact on e-commerce sellers. Imported goods must comply with a series of requirements, including providing detailed product information and relevant certificates, to ensure product quality and safety.
According to the latest policy, for imported products sold on e-commerce platforms, sellers need to submit a list of product names, product codes, specifications and models, as well as a quality and safety assessment report and compliance statement obtained from a third-party testing agency. In addition, e-commerce sellers must also inform consumers of key product information in Chinese, including brand, net content, functional ingredients, country of origin, production date, etc. To this end, the Ministry of Finance has issued the “List of Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Imported Goods”. The implementation of this list not only standardizes the management of imported goods, but also improves customs clearance efficiency.
The new policy introduces “positive list” management, which specifies which goods can be imported, instead of the “negative list” of the past. This list mechanism makes the classification of imported e-commerce goods more clear and reduces the risk of non-compliant goods. However, the new “positive list” also introduces more stringent customs clearance requirements, including providing a “customs clearance form” as a necessary proof for inspection of inbound goods.
Among the categories affected by this new regulation, about 36% of the products are coded in the “Legal Inspection Catalog”, which means that these products must undergo additional inspection when clearing customs; while other products are not included in the list , such as fresh products, face new customs clearance challenges. For example, products such as cosmetics, food and health care products need to be registered with the Food and Drug Administration. The procedures are cumbersome and usually take several months to more than a year. This undoubtedly puts heavy pressure on cross-border e-commerce.
Capital and markets have been significantly affected by the new regulations. Cross-border B2C e-commerce orders from Ningbo, Hangzhou and other places dropped by more than 60% after the implementation of the new regulations. This rapid market reaction has led to the dismal stock market performance of some brands in the Chinese market, further reflecting the impact of the new policy on the cross-border import market.
Although the initial implementation of the positive list policy caused widespread controversy, the Ministry of Commerce subsequently decided to suspend the implementation of the policy to ease industry pressure. However, as the supervision of cross-border e-commerce intensifies, it is expected that imported goods will be handled according to more stringent “goods” regulatory standards in the future, and the entry threshold and operating methods of cross-border e-commerce in the market may undergo fundamental changes. .
After policy changes, the uncertainty faced by the industry and the recovery of market confidence will still take time. Industry participants need to pay attention to the impact of new regulations at any time to cope with future challenges.