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What are the Requirements for Imported honey? There was a Diagram of Import Flow
Post Time:2019-07-23Author:Food2China-Carmen

China imported about 3,823.8 tons of honey in 2018, worth about 460 million yuan; and the top 10 countries and regions in trade volume were New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Germany, Spain, Malaysia, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Thailand.

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Customs officers in Jinan carried out inspection on imported honey


Enterprise Qualification 

Imported food shall be included in the business scope of business license of the consignee of imported honey products. If the consignor has the right of foreign trade, it may import by itself; if it does not, it may entrust importation to a company with the right of foreign trade to act for it.


Filing of the Consignee in China

The import consignee shall be put on record through the "Registration System for Importers and Exporters of Imported Food and Cosmetics" (http://ire.customs.gov.cn) and submit paper materials required for the record to the customs at the place of industrial and commercial registration, and the filing number shall be generated after the electronic application for filing has been approved by the customs.


Paper Materials Required for the Record

★Application form for the record of consignee shall be completed accurately and completely;

★Photocopies of business license, organizational code certificate (or business license with uniform social credit code for legal entity and other organizations approved and issued by the Industry & Commerce Department), identity certificate of legal representative, registration form for the record of foreign trade dealers, etc. shall be submitted, and the original shall be handed over for examination.

★Enterprise Quality and Safety Management System;

★Organization structure, department functions and post responsibilities related to food safety;

★Category of food to be operated and places of storage;

★For those who have been engaged in the import, processing and sale of food within two years, relevant descriptions (food varieties and quantities) shall be provided;

★The enterprise must obtain registration qualification of customs declaration unit.


Filing of Overseas Exporters or Agents 

Overseas exporters or agents exporting food to China shall be put on record through the "Registration System for Importers and Exporters of Imported Food and Cosmetics", in accordance with the requirements of the Notice on the Promulgation of Imported Food Importers and Exporters Filing Regulations and Administrative Provisions on Records of Import and Sales of Food (No. 55 of 2012), while imported honey products must come from countries and regions approved by World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) assessment that accredited by China, and should be within the scope of "Directory of Food to China for countries and regions that meet the requirements of assessment and review with traditional trade: List of Bee products".


Customs Declaration

The customs shall examine and verify the declaration materials submitted by the importer or his agent and accept them if the materials meet the requirements; if they fail to meet the requirements, it shall not accept them.


Declaration Documents Required for Examination & Verification

★Contract, invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and other necessary documents;

★Official quarantine (health) certificates of exporting countries (regions) required by laws and regulations, bilateral agreements, protocols and other provisions;

★For honey products imported for the first time, the original label sample with official seal, Chinese translation of the original label and the sample of Chinese label, etc. shall be provided, and relevant supporting materials shall be provided if the winning of prizes, the obtaining of certificates, producing areas and other contents, or the emphasis on containing special ingredients are emphasized in the labels or specifications;

★For imported honey products with organic certification, copy of the certificate of organic product certification obtained in China, copy of sales certificate of organic products, certification marks and product identification documents, etc. shall be submitted; while those not imported for the first time, document of label filing and sample sheet of the label in Chinese and foreign languages shall be provided;

★Names of importers and exporters of imported honey, filing number, and import and sales records of the last batch of food. Note: Chinese labels shall conform to the "National Standards for Food Safety, General Rules for the Labeling of Pre-packaged Food" (GB 7718-2011) and "National Standards for Food Safety, General Rules for the Nutrition Labeling of Pre-packaged Food" (GB 28050-2011) ; New Zealand honey exported to China requires importers to attach an official certificate issued by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries certifying that "the honey is natural and does not contain any added Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and methylglyoxal (MG)".


Conformity Assessment

If the imported honey is cleared according to the conformity assessment procedures, the customs shall issue the inspection and quarantine certificate for imported goods before it can be sold and used. The customs shall order the parties concerned to return or destroy the imported honey found to be unqualified in terms of safety, health and environmental protection after inspection and quarantine; if the other items fail to meet the standards, technical treatment may be carried out under the supervision of the customs, and the honey can be sold and used after passing the re-inspection. The consignee of imported honey shall fill in the import and sales records of imported food through the "Registration System for Importers and Exporters of Imported Food and Cosmetics" in time. The customs shall inspect the record of the importer within its jurisdiction as well as the import and sales records of the importer.


Honey under Customs Tariff

The customs tariff code for honey is 0409.0000, which refers to honey produced by bees and other insects, whether centrifugally separated, still in the hive or with pieces of the hive, but without sugar or any other substance. Honey can be named according to the source of the flower, place of origin, or color. This item does not include artificial honey or mixtures of natural honey and artificial honey. The current tax rates of imported bottled honey (levied in RMB) are: 15% customs duty; no consumption tax; 11% value-added tax.

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Honey


Graphical process of honey import

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Source:China Customs Magazine

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