It is spring, a season in which the import of seeds will surge to highs. Huang Yinhong, a salesman working with Guangdong King Zuo Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd., does not look a bit anxious despite of the ever-increasing workload. It is because she has now the online service launched by Guangzhou Customs District, which is a new model called “applying online, documents picking at counters”. Under this model, Huang can finish her tasks which might be done in two or more attempts in just one single attempt. The new model can save her a lot of time and make timely import of the seeds a more secure one.

“It makes things much easier for us to apply for duty exemption and reduction for seeds since the new model is put into operation. In the past springs, I would be now busy commuting between counters for examination/approval and ports of entry, handling all the stuff, like submitting documents, coordinating with people and handing in additional paper materials. I spent lots of time on traveling back and forth. Now with the new service system, I can apply and check the status of the application online. It is really a great convenience for us”, said Huang, who thinks highly of the online service. 

According to the statistics, from December 2014 till now, Guangzhou Customs District has handled the duty exemption or reduction formalities for USD 8.28 million worth of agricultural materials for spring planting, using the new online service model. The new model reduces by 1/3 the time Customs officers should have to spend on documents examination and approval and save enterprises out of the trouble of commuting. It is a good way to raise clearance efficiency for the prompt use of the agricultural materials.