Jin Xin Guan Fang Zhi [2020] No. 149

Working groups of the Tianjin Epidemic Prevention and Control Command, all members, and prevention and control commands in all districts,

The following measures are formulated to fully implement the gist of important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the meeting on coordinating the efforts of COVID 19 epidemic prevention and control as well as economic and social development, carry out the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council as well as the work requirements of the CPC municipal committee and the municipal government of Tianjin, support the work of "six stabilities" (stable employment, stable finance, stable foreign trade, stable foreign investment, stable investment and stable expectations), make greater efforts to support enterprises in overcoming epidemic effects and resuming work and production, further optimize the business environment at ports, increase efforts to reduce fees and raise efficiency, and give full play to the role of Tianjin Port to guarantee services.

I. We will periodically waive or reduce port administrative charges and government-set operating service charges. From March 1 to June 30, 2020, we will halve the collection of compensation funds for vessel-induced oil pollution damage, waive port construction fees for goods exported abroad and for goods imported from abroad, cut cargo dues and port facility security fees by 20%, both of which are set by the government, and cancel mandatory emergency response services and fees for non-tanker cargo vessels.

II. We will periodically waive or reduce charges for port and shipping enterprises. From March 17 to June 30, 2020, we will waive the port yard usage fees for empty containers transferred and allocated by foreign trade liner companies in Tianjin Port; the port year usage fees for imported heavy refrigerated containers for domestic and foreign trade that are picked up from the container operation terminals of Tianjin Port Group; and the train handling fees for the containers delivered by sea-rail combined transport to and from the special railway lines of Tianjin Port Group. We will encourage liner companies to continue to offer benefits such as reduction or exemption of container detention charges.

III. We will upgrade our efforts to support the development of foreign trade. We will upgrade the "Daily Shift" service of the inner branch lines around the Bohai Sea, and waive the port operation fees and yard usage fees for containers transported by inner branch lines around the Bohai Sea. We will reduce or waive the related fees incurred due to shutout and transhipment or expiration of the free storage period for exported container goods procured by the inland service marketing network; we will waive the charges incurred by yard pickup or expiration of the free storage period for the imported goods procured by the inland service marketing network. According to the market demand, we will input another RMB21 million to increase the storage capacity of refrigerated containers by 100% compared with 2019, so as to solve the difficulties for customers.

IV. We will ensure the efficient transport of goods by water. We will continue to give priority to piloting, anchoring, operating and distributing vesicles transporting epidemic prevention materials, key production and living materials and agricultural production materials, so as to ensure smooth handling and transportation in ports on the premise of epidemic prevention and control.

V. We will guide and help port and shipping enterprises to resume work and production in an orderly manner. We will continue to implement the support mechanism by assisting port and shipping enterprises in tiding over difficulties in staff return, raw material supply, material transportation, and epidemic prevention and control material support. We will urge these enterprises to strictly implement measures for epidemic prevention and control and production safety, promote the implementation of various national and municipal preferential policies in the port and shipping sectors, and guide the enterprises to resume work and production in an orderly manner and to further improve their ability to serve customers.

VI. We will strengthen government services. During the epidemic prevention and control period, we will improve the way of handling various government services such as water transport, port operation, water transport engineering projects, and maritime vessel inspection. We will fully implement non-in-person handling by adopting online approval, correspondence inspection in lieu of meeting inspection, and video bid opening and evaluation. Where the administrative license expires and the renewal procedures cannot be handled due to the epidemic, the extension shall be granted to the administrative license which may be renewed within 30 working days after the epidemic ends.

VII. We will ensure the rapid customs clearance of materials for epidemic prevention and people's livelihood. For the imported meat and other materials for people's livelihood, customs officers will go to the port for inspection and allow enterprises not to be present, thereby solving enterprises' lack of manpower and transport capacity. We will ensure that people wait for goods, rather than goods wait for people. With respect to the medical materials that are imported by enterprises for epidemic prevention and control and involve the national permits for the administration of imported drugs, the customs shall release them first on the basis of the certificate issued by the competent medical authority, and then go through the relevant procedures. Special goods such as vaccines, blood products and reagents used in the treatment, prevention and diagnosis of COVID-19 need not be subject to the health quarantine and approval. The customs shall register them with the original certificate issued by the relevant domestic competent authorities and then release them.

VIII. We will continue to promote coordinated innovation between customs and ports. We will deepen the operation models of "direct pickup from the vessel" and "direct loading and unloading upon arrival." For imported goods, as long as they are not under the controlled inspection, the enterprise can pick up the goods from the vessel directly. For exported goods, they will be reasonably congregated at the port within 24 hours before the vessel's clearance upon arrival at the port, so as to reduce the occurrence of "abandoning" by the shipping company due to inspection.

IX. We will innovate a new model without in-person handling. Under the premise of voluntary choice by the enterprise, the customs will directly deliver the urgently needed certificates to the enterprise by express mail. If there is any change in the registration information of the enterprise, no application needs to be filed for now and relevant procedures may be handled after the epidemic ends, except for the change in enterprise name which requires online application for change. Where the manuals (account books) of a processing trade enterprise are verified beyond the time limit, the enterprise shall be allowed to submit the relevant materials afterwards. The customs will not collect on site the bonded manuals (account books) that need to be verified and will accept the inventory data provided by the enterprise. If conditions permit, the customs will adopt remote video, electronic transmission of documents and data and other off-site methods to conduct inspection, so as to minimize the impact on the production and operation of the enterprise and reduce personnel gathering.

X. We will ensure that the national benefits of cutting taxes and fees are fully implemented. If an enterprise cannot pay tax due to the business difficulties caused by the epidemic or other reasons, the late fee shall be waived or reduced according to the law. If the imported goods are stranded at the port and cannot be declared, the starting date of collecting the delayed declaration fee shall be postponed to the date of the resumption of work. Tariff exemption shall be well applied to the materials imported by health authorities and directly used for epidemic prevention and control, and the relevant expenses shall be waived or reduced to the extent possible.

Tianjin Epidemic Prevention and Control Command
March 19, 2020