“Implementation Rules for the Administration of Import Tariff Quotas on Wool and Tops”

Issuing unit: Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China
​Issue No. 2014 No. 65
Release date 2014-09-26
According to the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Import Tariff Quotas for Agricultural Products (000061, Stock Bar)” (Ministry of Commerce and Development and Reform Commission Order No. 4 of 2003), the Ministry of Commerce has formulated the implementation details for the management of import tariff quotas for wool and tops in 2015, which are hereby announced as follows:
1. The total import tariff quota for wool in 2015 is 287,000 tons; the total import tariff quota for tops is 80,000 tons.
2. The import tariff quotas for wool and wool tops in 2015 will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants apply for wool and tops import tariff quotas (including processing trade) based on wool and tops import contracts and relevant materials. The Ministry of Commerce authorizes agencies to issue “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificates” to qualified applicants. When the cumulative quantity issued reaches the total tariff quota for wool and wool tops in 2015, the agency authorized by the Ministry of Commerce will stop accepting applications.
3. Application conditions
(1) Enterprises that hold 2014 wool and tops tariff quotas and have import performance (hereinafter referred to as applicants with performance) or enterprises that are newly built and put into production and have an annual processing capacity of wool and tops of more than 5,000 tons (hereinafter referred to as applicants without performance) ;
(2) Enterprises registered with the industrial and commercial administration department before January 1, 2015, and published annual reports;
(3) There are no records of violations in customs, industry and commerce, taxation, quality inspection, foreign exchange, social security, environmental protection, etc. in the previous year;
(4) There is no violation of the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Import Tariff Quotas for Agricultural Products”, the “2014 Implementation Rules for the Administration of Import Tariff Quotas for Wool and Tops” and the “2014 Implementation Rules for the Administration of Country-Based Tariff Quotas for Imports of Wool and Tops”.
4. Applicants for tariff quotas who meet the above conditions shall submit an application with the wool and wool top import contract to the Ministry of Commerce authorized agency in the place where the industrial and commercial registration is located (the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission supervised enterprises in Beijing directly submit the application to the Quota License Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce, the same below). Applicants must truthfully fill out the “Application Form for Import Tariff Quotas on Wool and Tops” (see Appendix 1), and provide the above-mentioned relevant materials to the agency authorized by the Ministry of Commerce when applying for the first time that year.
Applicants without actual performance must first provide the competent department’s approval documents for the construction project (project proposal or feasibility study report) and completion acceptance report, and then submit an application for the 2015 wool and top import tariff quota after approval by the Ministry of Commerce.
5. Applicants for tariff quotas can obtain the “Application Form for Import Tariff Quotas of Wool and Tops” from the Ministry of Commerce authorized agency or download it from the Ministry of Commerce website (www.mofcom.gov.cn/).
6. Applicants with actual performance can apply for tariff quotas multiple times during the year, but in principle, the cumulative quantity of wool and tops tariff quotas applied for before September 30, 2015 shall not exceed the import quantity under the same trade method in 2014. The import quantity is calculated based on the cumulative quantity of “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificates” received by agencies authorized by the Ministry of Commerce and verified online and signed by the customs (the same below).
7. After September 30, 2015, if the total amount of tariff quotas has not been applied for, those who have achieved quotas and have achieved the import quantity specified in Article 6 can continue to apply for import quotas with the approval of the Ministry of Commerce; Approved applicants without actual performance can submit quota applications, and the number applied for shall not exceed the approved number.
8. After an application is accepted by an agency authorized by the Ministry of Commerce, and if it meets the requirements of Articles 3, 6 and 7 upon review, it shall be declared through the computer network system of the Ministry of Commerce in a timely manner. The order of applications shall be subject to the display on the Ministry of Commerce’s management network terminal.
9. After receiving the complete online application, the Ministry of Commerce will notify the Ministry of Commerce authorized agency online of the approval results within 5 working days.
10. After receiving the approval notice, the agency authorized by the Ministry of Commerce will issue the “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” to the end user within 5 working days according to the quantity approved by the Ministry of Commerce. If the certificate is expired and the certificate is not issued, the system will take back the applied quantity and accordingly deduct the quantity that the enterprise can apply for that year.
11. The “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” is valid for 3 months from the date of issuance, and shall not exceed December 31, 2015 at the latest.
12. For shipments from the port of origin before December 31, 2015, and the goods need to arrive in the following year, the tariff quota holder must hold the shipping documents and a valid “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” before December 31. 》Apply for extension to an agency authorized by the Ministry of Commerce. The extended validity period of the “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” shall not exceed February 29, 2016 at the latest.
13. During the validity period of the “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate”, if the tariff quota holder has not used or has not used up the applied tariff quota, he must return the original tariff quota certificate to the agency authorized by the Ministry of Commerce that issued the certificate. The Ministry of Commerce authorizes the agency to promptly write off the used quantity in the system and return the unused quantity. At the same time, it shall be noted in the remarks column of the corresponding original “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” and retained for future reference. The Ministry of Commerce will take back the remaining quota listed in the tariff quota certificate and include it in the balance of the wool and wool tops tariff quotas. The latest surrender date for the tariff quotas that cannot be completed in the current year shall not exceed September 15, 2015. Those who fail to return the goods on time will be regarded as incomplete imports, and the amount that can be applied for in 2016 will be deducted by the same amount.
14. Tariff quota holders shall, within 20 working days after completing customs procedures for imported goods, submit the “Agricultural Products” signed by the customs.The original first copy of the Product Import Tariff Quota Certificate (the copy for customs procedures for the consignee) shall be submitted to the agency authorized by the Ministry of Commerce that issued the certificate. Institutions authorized by the Ministry of Commerce must perform write-offs in the system in a timely manner and retain the originals. The latest write-off period for the extended “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” shall not exceed March 31, 2016. Those who fail to write off on time will be regarded as unfinished imports, and the amount that can be applied for in 2016 will be deducted by the same amount.
15. Anyone who forges contracts or materials to obtain the “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” will be punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quotas”.
16. Anyone who forges, alters, or buys and sells the “Agricultural Products Import Tariff Quota Certificate” will be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the relevant laws for the crime of illegal business operations or the crime of forging, altering, or buying and selling official documents, certificates, and seals of state agencies. At the same time, the Ministry of Commerce and the agencies authorized by the Ministry of Commerce will no longer accept applications for tariff quotas on imported agricultural products within two years.