Edible vegetable oil refers to vegetable crude oil made from edible vegetable oilseeds as raw material, and edible vegetable oils and fats made from edible vegetable oilseeds or vegetable crude oil as raw material. With the continuous improvement of residents' living standards, imported edible vegetable oil has become an important supplement to China’s edible oil market. This article introduced how the Customs controls and supervises imported edible vegetable oils from the aspects of enterprise qualifications, Customs declaration documents, inspection and testing, and transportation and storage.

01 Requirements for Enterprise Qualification

• Registration of overseas manufacturers

Overseas manufacturers exporting edible vegetable oils to China should register with the General Administration of China Customs. The list of enterprises registered in China can be accessed in the "Registration and Management System for Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food".

• Filing of importers and exporters

Importers and exporters of edible vegetable oils should submit filing applications to the Customs through the international trade "Single Window" or "Internet + Customs". Importers can also submit a paper Filing Application Form for Consignee and relevant materials to the local customs for filing. The filing information of importers and exporters of edible vegetable oils can be accessed through the column of "Catalogue of Specific Qualification Administrative Counterparty" of the "China Customs Enterprise Import and Export Credit Information Publicity Platform".

02 Requirements for Customs Declaration Documents

The required documents for declaration mainly include but are not limited to: inspection and quarantine certificates issued by the exporting country or region, proof materials that comply with China's current national food safety standards, bills of lading, packing lists and invoices. among which:

(1) When importing bulk edible vegetable oils, a list of goods loaded on the first three voyages of the transportation vehicle should be attached.

(2) Imported edible vegetable oils declared as genetically modified should be entered with the approval number of the Agricultural Genetically Modified Organism Safety Certificate.

03 Entry Inspection, Quarantine and Handling of Nonconforming Products

• Conduct qualification assessment

When edible vegetable oils arrive at the port of entry, the Customs will conduct qualification assessment on imported products according to relevant regulatory requirements, such as document review, on-site inspection and supervision sampling. Those that have passed the qualification assessment are allowed to be imported.

• Handling of nonconforming products

For non-compliant items involving safety, health and environmental protection, the Customs will notify the importer in writing and order them to destroy or return the goods. For other non-compliant items, only those that meet the qualification assessment requirements after technical processing are allowed to be imported. If the imported edible vegetable oil cannot be technically processed within the prescribed time or is still unqualified after technical processing, the Customs will order the importer to destroy or return it.

04 Key Points for Storage and Transportation of Imported Bulk Edible Vegetable Oils

(1) Copper and its alloy materials are prohibited from being used in storage tanks and transportation containers for imported bulk edible vegetable oils, with stainless steel being the most suitable material.

(2) Imported bulk edible vegetable oil international transportation storage tanks and containers should be kept clean and hygienic, and regular cleaning and maintenance inspections should be carried out.

(3) For the transportation of imported bulk edible vegetable oils using disposable containers such as liquid bags, the disposable containers should be made of clean, hygienic, non-toxic, harmless materials that can directly come into contact with food, should be used once within the expiration date (shelf life) and not be reused.

(4) Oil tanks loaded with edible vegetable oils should be used for transporting goods that are foods or items listed in the Codex Alimentarius List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes. Oil tanks previously loaded items listed in the List of Recently Transported Goods Prohibited by the Codex Alimentarius should not be used for transportation. For imported bulk edible vegetable oils transported in non-disposable containers, domestic importers or agents should provide a list of goods transported by the transportation vehicle in at least the first three voyages when declaring imports.

(5) For imported bulk edible vegetable oil transported from the port to the destination which requires replacement of transportation vehicles or containers, or is circulated in the Customs special supervision areas, bonded supervision places, or imported after production and processing, it should be transported by qualified domestic carriers using specialized transportation vehicles or containers that meet the requirements of the Hygienic Requirements for the Bulk Transportation of Edible Vegetable Oils (GB 44917).

Source: Huangpu Customs 12360

Note: This article is compiled by Antion. Please indicate the source for reprint.