China’s 2010 Tariff Schedule: Printing Equipment Import Duty Changes

Editor’s note: With State Council approval, China introduced a new Tariff Schedule from 2010, focused on adjusting provisional duty rates and reducing import tariffs. Two tariff lines—thermal print heads and contact image sensors—lost their provisional rates and returned to most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment, among other changes.

A comparison of the 2010 and 2009 Import and Export Tariff Schedules shows that the printing equipment import headings—58 in total—along with MFN rates and export tax rates, remained unchanged from 2009. Issued and revised annually, the Import and Export Tariff Schedule of the People’s Republic of China reflects national trade policy and supports orderly import and export activity between China and global markets.

As the new year began, and in line with China’s WTO commitments and foreign trade requirements, the State Council approved a new Import and Export Tariff Schedule of the People’s Republic of China (the new Tariff Schedule), effective January 1, 2010. With China due to mark the tenth anniversary of WTO accession at the end of this year, attention turned to what the revised schedule would change and what preferential policies would follow—especially for printing equipment imports. The main contents and changes in the 2010 schedule are as follows:

1. WTO tariff-cut commitments completed. The new Tariff Schedule confirms that, under China’s 2001 WTO accession commitment to lower tariffs, nine years of work have enabled China to fully meet its WTO tariff concession obligations ahead of schedule. The overall tariff level fell from 15.3% at WTO accession to 9.8%. Average agricultural tariffs moved from 18.8% to 15.2%, while average industrial tariffs dropped from 14.7% to 8.9%; total tax reductions and concessions reached RMB 123 billion. In 2010, China also applied preferential tariff rates to 41 countries. This demonstrates that China is a responsible country that honors its commitments.
2. WTO accession supported economic growth. According to a Ministry of Finance official, China’s merchandise import total rose from US$243.6 billion in 2001 to US$1,133.1 billion in 2008—a 3.65-fold increase, averaging 24.6% annual growth. China’s share of global imports climbed from 3.8% in 2001 to 6.9% in 2008, ranking third worldwide. This underscores that reform and opening-up, together with WTO accession, have been important drivers of China’s economic development.
3. Tariff adjustments and new provisional rates. In response to the current financial and printing crisis, and to support agriculture and rural development, encourage independent innovation, advance high-tech and advanced manufacturing, and promote industrial upgrading—while also conserving energy and resources, protecting the environment, and adapting to supply-demand and price shifts at home and abroad—lower provisional rates were applied to more than 600 categories of goods. This included 17 types of printing equipment and components.
4. Changes in import tariffs for printing equipment.

The above covers the macro picture. For the printing industry, the key questions are: How did 2010 tariff headings and import duties for printing equipment differ from 2009? Were import tariff rates lowered? And which printing equipment imports benefited from state preferential policies?

Comparing the new 2010 Import and Export Tariff Schedule with the 2009 version reveals these main features:

1. The 58 import tariff lines for printing equipment, MFN rates, and export tax rates were unchanged from 2009.
2. Provisional rates were adjusted, reducing some import tariffs. Seventeen tariff lines with provisional rates relate to the printing industry. Compared with 2009, two lines were removed and three added. In practical terms, this year’s adjustments covered seven items:

(1) A provisional rate was added for tariff line 84419010, curved tubes for paper cutting machines, cutting the import printing tariff from 8% to 4%.

(2) Notably, under tariff line 84431313, last year’s provisional rate for four-color sheet-fed offset presses—half-sheet, single-sided printing speed ≥16,000 sheets/hour—was joined by a new provisional rate for half-sheet, double-sided printing at ≥13,000 sheets/hour, plus provisional rates for two offset press specifications: full-sheet or super-full-sheet, single-sided printing at ≥13,000 sheets/hour.

(3) Under tariff line 84431319, alongside the existing provisional rate for five-color and above sheet-fed offset presses (speed ≥16,000 half-sheets/hour), new provisional rates were added for half-sheet double-sided printing at ≥13,000 sheets/hour and for full-sheet or super-full-sheet single-sided printing at ≥13,000 sheets/hour. The import tariff fell from 10% to 7%.

(4) Under tariff line 84431600, the 2009 provisional rate of 3% remained for aniline printing machines (flexographic presses) with a linear speed ≥300 m/min and web width ≥800 mm. Added to this was a provisional rate for stack-type flexographic printing machines equipped with hot-stamping, holographic, or screen-printing units, linear speed ≥160 m/min, 250 mm ≤ web width. (5) A printing provisional rate was added for tariff line 84439111, automatic web feeders (feeding linear speed ≥12 m/s); the MFN rate is 12% and the provisional rate is 4%.

1. The provisional rates for thermal print heads and contact image sensors were removed, returning these two tariff lines to MFN treatment. In the 2009 schedule, the provisional rate for products under these two printing tariff lines was 0. After the 2010 removal of the provisional rate and restoration of the MFN rate, imports of both products face a 6% MFN tariff.

—This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362184.html