Ministry Of Commerce: Cancel The Registration Of Foreign Trade Operators

According to the Ministry of Commerce on January 3, on December 30, 2022, the 38th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress passed a decision on amending the Foreign Trade Law, deleting the provisions on the registration of foreign trade operators in Article 9 of the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China.

Many experts said that it is an international practice to exempt foreign trade operators from filing and registration procedures, which reflects China's attitude and pace of promoting high-level opening-up, and will effectively improve the operating efficiency and vitality of foreign trade enterprises.

For market entities applying for import and export licenses, technology import and export contract registration certificates, quotas, state-owned trade qualifications and other relevant certificates and qualifications, the relevant departments will no longer require them to provide foreign trade operator registration materials. According to the decision, as of December 30, 2022, the competent commerce departments in various regions will stop the filing and registration of foreign trade operators. For market entities applying for import and export licenses, technology import and export contract registration certificates, quotas, state-owned trade qualifications and other relevant certificates and qualifications, the relevant departments will no longer require them to provide foreign trade operator registration materials.

This means that from now on, enterprises engaged in import and export business will no longer go through the filing and registration procedures for foreign trade operators, and enterprises will automatically obtain the right to import and export! (Customs registration is still required to obtain customs clearance authority).

Article 9 of the deleted Foreign Trade Law stipulates that foreign trade operators engaged in the import and export of goods or technologies shall register for the record with the competent foreign trade department under the State Council or its entrusted institution; However, it is not necessary to put on record and register according to laws, administrative regulations and the competent foreign trade department of the State Council. The specific measures for filing and registration shall be formulated by the competent foreign trade department under the State Council. Where a foreign trade operator fails to go through the record keeping registration according to the provisions, the customs shall not go through the formalities of customs declaration, inspection and release of import and export goods.

In fact, since December 1, 2019, the cancellation of the filing approval of foreign trade operators has been piloted in the Free Trade Zone, and enterprises registered in the Free Trade Zone have automatically obtained the import and export right qualification since its establishment. After the pilot policy is introduced nationwide this time, all enterprises can obtain import and export rights without filing with foreign trade operators.

Optimize business environment to "reduce burden" for enterprises

In fact, as one of the troikas driving economic growth, exports have always played an important role in China's economy. However, due to the complex international situation, the COVID-19 epidemic and other unexpected factors, foreign trade is facing considerable pressure. Since 2022, foreign traders have generally felt that the order is insufficient.

The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year made it clear that greater efforts should be made to promote the stability of the scale and structure of foreign trade, the stability of the stock and expansion of foreign capital, and the cultivation of new growth points in international economic and trade cooperation. Bloomberg said that the focus of China's economic work in 2023 will be to revitalize GDP and vigorously promote economic development.

Data shows that by the end of 2021, there are 48.423 million registered enterprises and 103 million individual businesses in China.

Xu Kai, an associate professor of the School of Economics of Zhejiang University, pointed out that the cancellation of the registration of foreign trade operators has given the majority of operators a "reassurance". After that, foreign trade is no longer a special business item, but a part of daily business.

"This is especially true for private enterprises." Hong Tao, director of the Business Economics Research Institute of Beijing Technology and Business University, stressed that this will bring tangible benefits to market players and foreign trade industry in many aspects, such as streamlining foreign trade procedures, improving process convenience, reducing administrative links, and improving enterprise digital management.

According to the data, in the first 11 months of 2022, the number of private enterprises with import and export performance nationwide increased by 7.3% year on year, with a total import and export of 19.41 trillion yuan, up 13.6% year on year, accounting for 50.6% of China's total foreign trade in the same period, 2.2 percentage points higher than the same period last year, and continuing to play the role of "main force" in foreign trade.

Promote high-level opening up

The head of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce said that this is a major reform measure in the field of foreign trade management, and an important institutional innovation for the Chinese government to firmly promote trade liberalization and facilitation. The cancellation of record keeping and registration means that China has made further significant progress in streamlining administration and delegating power in the field of trade, and it also meets the needs of China's pursuit of the implementation of the dual cycle strategy and high-quality development through institutional opening up.

"The cancellation of the filing and registration system for foreign trade enterprises has opened the door to the integration of domestic and foreign trade." Zhao Ping, Vice President of the Research Institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that this move has cleared away the qualification barriers for domestic market entities to carry out foreign trade business, promoted better connectivity between the domestic market and the international market, and helped various market entities make full use of the international and domestic markets and resources, It can not only enhance the endogenous power and reliability of domestic large cycle, but also improve the quality and level of international cycle.

"This is a step for China to be in line with the prevailing international rules, and everything will come naturally." Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that it is an international practice to exempt foreign trade operators from filing and registration procedures, which is in line with China's proactive opening-up strategy, and also meets China's need to move from a big trading country to a strong trading country.