Customs officers supervise the unloading of import autos from the ship.

On July 1, the first day of implementing tariff reduction for import automobiles and auto components, south China-based Xinsha Port met the peak of automobile import volume and Xinsha Customs House, subordinate to Huangpu Customs District, facilitated the customs clearance with multiple measures, helping a large batch of import autos be quickly cleared and distributed to the domestic market.

That morning, upon the arrival of a roll-on-roll-off ship, loaded with 1,970 automobiles from Europe including “BMW” and “Audi” brands, Xinsha Customs officers immediately conducted ship clearance and cargo control at the wharf and, within 30 minutes, completed all customs formalities for the import autos. 

“The tariff reduction got automobile import prices to be more competitive and many automotive enterprises have increased their import volumes since this May to meet the upcoming sales peak; at present, the number of import autos at Xinsha Port has exceeded 25,000, marking a record high,” said Tang Lening, a manager of Xinsha Stevedoring Co., Ltd.

In order to achieve the fast smooth clearance, Xinsha Customs reached the importers in advance to explain the preferential policies and understand the enterprises’ demands; on the other hand, optimized intelligent clearance system with early declaration and prior processing so that the import autos can be unloaded and inspected on arrival, minimizing their duration of port stay.