Major technical equipment, including key medical equipment components and raw materials, will see their import duties and taxes reduced for eligible importers.
From the 1st of January 2019, key medical equipment components and raw materials imported into China will be exempt from customs duties and VAT, for those importers that meet certain criteria. This will apply to technical components for major equipment such as MRI, CT/CAT, PET-CT, DR, and others.
This new policy on medical equipment, accessories, and components is in line with the continuous development of China’s domestic equipment manufacturing industry, the import industry, and other supporting industries in recent years.
Earlier this year, import duties on a vast majority of daily consumer goods were reduced, followed by a reduction of import tariffs on common and cancer drugs to 0%. Now, China is looking to the tariffs on large technical equipment, components, and raw material to encourage more global imports.
Together, the Ministry of Finance, the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Administration of China Customs, the State Administration of Taxation, and the Energy Administration jointly issued the upcoming proposal.
Named the “Notice on Adjusting the Catalogue of Import Tax Policies for Major Technical Equipment,” it will cover a broad range of product categories.
The special equipment for medical products list includes 1.5T and above superconducting magnetic resonance systems, 64 rows and above CT, PET-CT, digital mammography, DR, magnetic resonance or CT guided real-time navigation equipment, 6MV and above high-energy medical linear accelerators, as well as hemodialysis machines and other medical equipment use related accessories.
The policy has been developed alongside opinions from industry authorities, industry associations, and enterprise representatives.
Keith Jackson, CEO of Brandon Medical, says, “This is one of a series of significant measures in expanding China’s opening-up. It will support exports enhancing healthcare for China’s ageing 1.4bn population, so opportunities for innovative British technology are huge. With the right expert support, it can be realised. Brandon Medical are working with ACOLINK, making strong progress to access this huge market with our cutting-edge audio-visual solutions.”
As partners with China’s E-commerce Research Centre and member of the China (Henan) Food & Drug Supervision association (which supervises 200+ hospitals and 100+ medical equipment companies in Henan alone), ACOLINK is continually at the forefront of developments in the pharmaceutical and medical trade industry. Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province and the location of ACOLINK’s main China office and bonded facilities, is currently the only inland pharmaceutical port.
We are compiling and validating the list. An interactive search will be soon available on ACOLINK’s website where, with a brief description of your products and their HS code(s), you can find out whether your product is eligible.
