On August 26th, the State Council executive meeting once again made specific arrangements for “cleaning up and standardizing the import and export link fees and reducing the burden on enterprises”, which clearly stated that “to promote competitive service access and marketization of fees, and to investigate and punish monopoly status or power. A fee-free project.”
In the view of many freight forwarders, the root cause of opaque and non-uniform charging items is that the service party (charger) occupies a monopoly position and the market lacks competition. “Taking the port group company as an example, many ports have only one such company. The cargo ship comes to the port. Only this company can handle it, so how many people can only accept the offer.” A staff member of China Shipping Logistics is accepting the reporter. Said in the interview.
When the reporter asked if the charging project would be more reasonable after the market was opened, the staff member hesitated for a while before saying: “I can hardly imagine what would happen after the introduction of competition. It should be much better.”
Mr. Cha told reporters that the port terminal charges are now mandatory. The freight forwarding companies may only have slightly different agency fees, and the import and export enterprises “have no right to speak at all”.
There are also encouraging signs. In June 2014, Lianyungang New Oriental Container Terminal Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Lianyungang Port Group and Singapore International Port Group (PSA), officially opened. Lianyungang has a second terminal company in addition to New Oriental International Container Terminals Co., Ltd. “This shows that our market is slowly opening up, foreign investment has brought competition, and it has real benefits for import and export trading companies.” A staff member of Lianyungang Port Group told reporters.
The staff pointed out to reporters that this benefit is not limited to cost concessions. “For example, the two terminal companies will compete to ensure the efficiency of the handling of the goods, and not allow the ‘selling goods’ (low loading efficiency or insufficient booking space to cause the goods to be incompatible with the fashion ship). Compared with the charges, these services are Import and export companies are more important.”
Notice on Further Cleaning and Regulating the Charges for Import and Export Links (Development and Reform Price [2015] No. 1963
Development and Reform Commission, Price Bureau, Finance Department (Bureau), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Transportation (Bureau, Committee), Department of Commerce (Bureau, Committee), Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs, Tianjin, The Shanghai Special Administrative Office, each directly under the Customs, is directly under the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau:
Since last year, in order to alleviate the burden of import and export enterprises and promote the steady growth of foreign trade, the relevant departments and localities of the State Council have carried out a series of rectification and regulation of import and export links, further optimized the business environment and played a positive role in stabilizing foreign trade. However, due to the long chain and cross-section of the import and export links, there are many market entities involved and the interests are complicated. The reform of relevant institutional mechanisms is still not in place, and some charging behaviors are still not standardized. In order to implement the 103rd executive meeting of the State Council and the instructions of the State Council’s leadership instructions, with the consent of the State Council, the relevant matters concerning the further clean-up and regulation of import and export link fees are as follows:
First, the general idea of clean-up norms revolves around the outstanding problems in the import and export link fees. In accordance with the principle of “breaking monopoly, promoting competition, standardizing behavior, and perfecting supervision”, we vigorously cancel unreasonable charging items, reduce high-level charging standards, and reduce the burden on foreign trade enterprises. Vigorously clean up and standardize the “red top intermediary” relying on administrative organs, relying on administrative power to provide compulsory services, and compulsory fees, promote fair competition and equal transactions; vigorously promote service market reform, liberalize competitive services and charges, and more Let the market adjust; vigorously strengthen the charging supervision and anti-monopoly law enforcement, improve the charging supervision rules, realize the list of charging items, and create a good environment for the stable growth of foreign trade.
Second, the scope of the cleanup norms and key areas of cleanup and standardization work, port terminals, customs, entry and exit inspection and quarantine and other departments, as well as related services, agency business and other related directly involved in the import and export links, including government-administered administration Institutional fees, government funds and operating service charges, as well as various fees for market-adjusted prices.
The main points of the clean-up work are as follows: First, clean up the illegal charges for foreign trade ships, goods and transport vehicles at ports, terminals and ports along the coast, along the river, along the border. The second is to cancel the administrative examination and approval (management) pre-service charges without legal and legal basis in the import and export process, and to manage the port inspection and inspection process and various electronic platforms for import and export management, relying on administrative power and administrative status to compulsory service and charging behavior. The third is to regulate the behavior of ports, terminal enterprises and shipping companies to charge foreign trade enterprises. It is strictly forbidden to use monopoly status to specify services, compulsory services and charges, and resolutely correct the charges of illegal business services.
Third, the main measures to clean up the norms
(1) Reducing a batch of charging standards. The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance will combine the work of cleaning up the norms of enterprises involved in the fees and reduce the charging standards for the import and export links of the central government. The finance and price departments of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) carried out a comprehensive clean-up of the administrative fees for local import and export links, and the competent pricing departments conducted a comprehensive clean-up of the operating service charges, canceling a batch of unreasonable and illegal charging items, and reducing the high Charges. For the service charge items that are required to be retained and implemented by the government’s pricing management, it is necessary to re-approve the charging standards. In principle, the standards will only fall and the burden of foreign trade enterprises will be effectively reduced.
(2) Improve the charging supervision rules. The Ministry of Transport and the relevant departments will study and revise the port charging rules, formulate the port charging supervision measures, unify the internal and foreign port charging and charging regulations, and regulate the port terminal cargo handling, ship entry and exit and other charging activities. The Ministry of Finance, in conjunction with the relevant departments, has studied the incorporation of cargo port fees into port construction fees. According to the principle of matching the powers of affairs and expenditures, the Ministry of Finance has rationally divided the proportion of central and local port construction fees to ensure the maintenance of local port public infrastructure maintenance. All localities should gradually establish regular cost supervision and examination and disclosure systems for the implementation of government pricing management, and improve the scientific and transparent pricing of the government; and establish a cost investigation system for the key areas that have been released but the enterprises reflect more prominently. Timely grasp the dynamic changes in costs and charges, and guide enterprises to determine the charging standards reasonably.
(3) Establish a list of the catalogues of import and export links. After clearing the regulations, the administrative and institutional fees for the import and export links, government funds, and operating service charges for the implementation of government pricing shall be compiled by the central and provincial financial and price departments to clarify the project name, establishment basis, and charging standards. It also announces to the public, does a good job in information disclosure, and actively accepts social supervision. Other operating service charges other than the list of items are regulated by the market. In the future, if it is necessary to establish an administrative service fee for the import and export link, a government fund, and a government service charge management service charge project, it must have a clear legal or administrative regulatory basis or be approved by the State Council and be included in the list management. Traffic, commerce, customs, inspection and quarantine departments shall disclose the information on the charges in the list, including the name of the charging project, the basis for establishment, the levying standards, the levying procedures, and the legal responsibilities, etc., through the portal website and public media.
(4) Strengthening fee inspection and anti-monopoly law enforcement. The competent pricing departments of various localities shall organize special forces, combine the self-examination and self-correction of relevant departments, carry out special inspections of import and export link charges, and focus on investigating and dealing with relevant enterprises and units that are concentrated in the enterprise, relying on administrative power charges, exceeding standards, and arbitrarily charging items. Indiscriminate charging behavior, public exposure of typical cases investigated and dealt with. Strengthen the anti-monopoly law enforcement of import and export links, investigate the market share and service charges of key enterprises such as shipping companies, and investigate and deal with monopolistic agreements and abuse of market dominance. We will play the role of the 12358 national four-level online price reporting system and alleviate the burden and reporting system at all levels, promptly accept complaints and reports from enterprises and the masses on unreasonable charges, and strengthen social supervision.
(5) Deepening the market-oriented reform of import and export services. In accordance with the principle of “separation of government and government, separation of government and enterprise”, we will speed up the promotion of administrative examination and approval agencies and associations in the import and export links, and resolutely ban delisting, inspection, freight forwarding, shipping, and port services, relying on administrative agencies and relying on administrative power to provide compulsory services. “Red top intermediary” that does not have qualifications and only charges and does not serve. Any administrative examination and approval intermediary service items and fees that have no statutory basis will be cancelled, and the intermediary services can be set up and charged by strengthening the matters that are resolved afterwards. Where the customs, entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments and other departments need other extended supporting services when performing their inspection duties, the inspected party shall select the service party by itself, and the relevant departments or units may not designate services, compulsory services and charges, nor may they restrict access. Set hidden barriers; if it is necessary to specify services, it must be introduced to the service party through public bidding. Actively promote the “three ones” of the inspection and cooperation cooperation, the “single window” reform of international trade, unify the construction of the electronic port platform, simplify the procedures for import and export, merge and eliminate duplicate and cross-link fees, and improve customs clearance efficiency. (6) Strictly implement the policies and measures that have been introduced. First, strict implementation of the port-enterprise labor charges and billing policy, port enterprises may not set up separate charges for any port operations included in the scope of the package fee, and will be charged separately. Second, the administrative and institutional fees and government fund projects that have been cancelled, suspended or exempted by the state, and the reduced fees and charges, must be implemented one by one, and the regions and relevant departments must not delay or refuse to enforce them for any reason. No change of name or transfer to operating service charges will continue to be charged. The third is to strictly implement the relevant requirements of the “Several Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting Stable Growth of Imports and Exports” (Guo Ban Fa [2015] No. 55) to enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of port inspections, and the Ministry of Finance and other relevant departments will conduct advances at some ports. The pilot reform of the cost of hoisting, shifting, warehousing, etc., summed up the experience, and introduced the implementation plan on this basis.
Fourth, the organization and implementation
(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine have established a joint working mechanism to jointly deploy a special clean-up of import and export link charges nationwide. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are responsible for clearing the overall coordination of normative work. The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine are responsible for the self-examination, self-correction and rectification of the import and export links of this system. All localities should establish a working mechanism led by the price, finance, and industrial credit departments, transportation, commerce, customs, and entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments, formulate specific work plans for clean-up specifications, and make overall arrangements and conscientious implementation. All relevant departments must make connections and cooperate with each other to avoid long inspections and repeated inspections.
(2) Defining work tasks. Traffic, business, customs, entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments at all levels shall, in accordance with the requirements, complete the self-examination, self-correction and rectification of the import and export links of the system by the end of October this year. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, form a joint supervision team to supervise and spot check the implementation of self-examination and rectification of various regions and departments, and select 4-6 representative ones. The port conducts typical research and key analysis. The provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) shall, on the basis of organizing comprehensive clean-up and regulation, select two typical ports for analysis, and find out every link, every charge and every problem of import and export business. In-depth analysis of typical cases and deep-level institutional mechanisms, and research and suggestions to fundamentally reduce the burden on import and export enterprises, timely report to the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
(3) Do a good job in the implementation of the work. Relevant departments of all localities should attach great importance to the work of cleaning up and standardizing the import and export links, conduct in-depth research and scientific argumentation, and advance steadily and orderly in order to achieve practical results. We must pay close attention to implementation, clarify time and tasks, regularly supervise and strengthen accountability, and ensure that all policy measures take root. If the work of cleaning up norms is not carried out according to the requirements, if it is not cleaned up and concealed, it shall be strictly investigated for responsibility. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen communication with the mainstream media, use new media such as Weibo and WeChat, accurately interpret the national clean-up policy for import and export, and actively promote the effectiveness of the clean-up work, promptly answer and respond to hot-charge charges of social concern, and create a good The atmosphere of public opinion.
(4) Do a good job summary. The transportation, commerce, customs, entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) shall form written materials for self-inspection and self-correction and implementation of rectification work, and report to the competent department of the State Council before the end of October this year. The relevant industry departments of the State Council shall summarize the administrative fees, operating service charging items, standards, scope, basis, and implementation of national policies collected by the business units and their subsidiaries of the system, and send them to the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance before the end of November. Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The price, finance, and credit departments of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) shall comprehensively summarize the local clean-up regulations, including administrative and commercial fees and standards for import and export links, and operating service charging items and standards for implementing government pricing management. Case analysis, measures taken, work results, etc., and the written materials will be submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology before the end of October. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will report the clean-up specifications of various departments and localities to the State Council by the end of 2015.
National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Information Technology, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine
August 28, 2015
Wang Hua, deputy general manager of Lianyungang Oriental Port Co., Ltd., expressed his special thanks to the seminar, which gave the company an opportunity to deepen its understanding of Nigerian ports, Sino-Nepal economic and trade exchanges, discuss cooperation and develop together. The Oriental Company will include the “Lianyungang-Lagos” route ship as a priority ship priority operation, one-to-one tracking service, fully consider the facilities and process characteristics of the Nigerian port in the loading phase, and make the ship unloading convenience Technical adjustment.
