On 31 March 2006, Yantian Port Bonded Logistics Zone officially came on-stream, marking an important step towards the area becoming a free trade zone. Customs will then make possible a one-stop clearance service from declaration and inspection to release of import and export cargo, a move which has been long anticipated by shippers. The other port administrative departments will also introduce more support services for the convenience of operators within the zone. This enables shippers to enjoy the most efficient declaration services in the region and helps transform the zone into one of the most important logistics facilities in Southern China.
The Yantian Port Bonded Logistics Zone has been granted a number of beneficial Customs clearance concessions by the Customs Authority, in which simple processing and value-added services will be offered within the zone, while outbound cargo destined beyond the territory’s parameters, will be exempt from export duties, except where provisions set down by law and other administrative rules prevail. Customs allows bonded procedures to be applied to the processing of inbound and outbound cargo, transit cargo and the cargo of foreign owners temporarily stored inside the zone. For domestic cargo and its packaged material, taxes will be refunded upon entering the zone.
Yantian Inspection and Quarantine Bureau expressed that for cargo entering the zone from aboard, only quarantine but no inspections will be carried out. For inland bound cargo leaving the zone, inspections will be undertaken but quarantining will not be required. Warehousing and transit cargo will be allowed to circulate freely within the zone. The bureau is committed to providing customers with a round-the-clock service.
The Yantian Port Logistics Zone is situated adjacent to Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT), it is considered to be one of the best located zones amongst those participating in the Zone-port Interactive policy trials, as a direct passageway under 24 hour electronic surveillance, connects YICT with the zone. Similarly, warehouse operators are able to have their cargo moved from the zone to the port or vice versa at any time. Upon the official commencement of operations at the Bonded Logistics Zone, import cargo can then be pre-declared, separated at the quayside and trucked into the zone around the clock. Thus operations of both the port and zone will be integrated.
Mr. Liu Yingli, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, senior officials from the General Administration of Customs, Mr. Zhou Zhiwu, Director of Shenzhen Customs, and other guests were present to witness the inauguration ceremony. It is understood that a Customs Information system for the zone and its new entry and exit gatehouses were also simultaneously launched.