With approval from the State Council, the Tariff Adjustment Plan for 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") takes effect on January 1, 2025. The General Administration of Customs (GACC) recently issued an announcement on implementing procedures, providing details on commodity code declarations and other related matters.
I. Import and Export Tariff Rates
(I) MFN Rate.
Within the scope of China's World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, increase the MFN Rate on certain imported syrups and sugar-based premixes. Imports from the Union of Comoros are subject to MFN rates.
(II) Provisional Tariff Rate.
Starting January 1, 2025, provisional import tariff rates are applied to 935 commodities (excluding commodities subject to tariff quotas). Export duties will remain in effect on 107 commodities, including ferrochrome, among which 68 will be subject to provisional export tariff rates.
The main adjustments include measures to foster New Quality Productive Forces driven by technological innovation, such as lowering import tariffs on certain items including cyclic olefin polymers, ethylene–vinyl alcohol copolymers, and automatic transmissions for special-purpose vehicles like fire engines and emergency repair vehicles. The second adjustment is to protect and improve people's livelihoods amid development by reducing import tariffs on sodium zirconium cyclosilicate, viral vectors used in CAR-T tumor therapy, and nickel-titanium alloy wires for surgical implantation, among other products. The third adjustment focuses on advancing green and low-carbon development by lowering import tariffs on ethane and certain recycled copper and aluminum raw materials. In addition, in line with domestic industrial growth and changing supply-demand dynamics, China will raise import tariffs on certain commodities, including vinyl chloride and battery separators, within the framework of its commitments to WTO.
(III) Tariff Quota Rates.
We will continue applying tariff quota administration for eight categories of commodities, including wheat, with no change to the current tax rate. Among these, the quota tax rates for urea, compound fertilizers, and ammonium hydrogen phosphate will remain at a provisional tariff rate of 1%. Sliding tariffs will continue to apply to a certain volume of cotton imported beyond quota limits.
(IV) Agreed Tariff Rates.
According to the free trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements that have come into force between China and relevant countries or regions, certain commodities covered by 23 agreements and originating from 33 countries or regions are now subject to agreed tariff rates. In accordance with the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Maldives, certain imported goods originating from the Maldives will be subject to the first-year tariff rate under the agreement.
(V) Preferential Duty Rates.
China will continue to offer zero-tariff treatment and apply preferential duty rates in 2025 on 100% tariff items for products from 43 least-developed countries that have established diplomatic ties with China. Among these, for commodities subject to tariff quotas, only the within-quota tariff rate is lowered to zero, while the out-of-quota rate remains unchanged. We will continue to apply preferential tariff rates to certain imported goods originating from Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, in line with the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement and the exchange of notes between China and relevant ASEAN member states.
II. Tariff Item
Adjustments will be made to the annotations of certain tariff items and domestic sub-items in 2025. After this adjustment, the total number of tariff items now stands at 8,960.
III. Key Matters
GACC has assigned 10-digit customs commodity codes to goods covered by partial import and export tax policies under non-full tariff items. It has also compiled the "2025 List of Corresponding Customs Commodity Codes for Imported and Exported Non-full Tariff Items Information Technology Products," the "2025 List of Corresponding Customs Commodity Codes for Imported and Exported Goods with Provisional Tariff Rates for Non-full Tariff Items," the "2025 List of Corresponding Customs Commodity Codes for Some Commodities Subject to Import VAT and Consumption Tax Policies for Imported and Exported Non-full Tariff Items," the "2025 List of Corresponding Customs Commodity Codes for Commodities in the Extension List of Additional Tariffs on the United States for Imported and Exported Non-full Tariff Items," and the "2025 List of New Customs Commodity Codes for Anti-dumping Goods" (see the Annexes to the Announcement for details). When enterprises import or export commodities that fall under the aforementioned import and export tax policies, they shall declare using the commodity codes listed in the relevant tables of the annex to the announcement. The scope of policy application is determined by the Tariff Adjustment Plan for 2025, relevant import-stage VAT and consumption tax policies, any extended exclusion lists for commodities subject to additional tariffs on the United States, and applicable anti-dumping measures.
In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Tariff Law, previously released domestic subheading notes and related documents issued by the customs authority are hereby repealed.
All commodity classification decisions and administrative rulings rendered invalid by adjustments to the Explanatory Notes to the Commodities and Headings of the Customs Import and Export Tariff Schedule (2022 Edition), or changes to tariff items, will be posted on the Department of Tariff's portal under GACC (http://gszgs.customs.gov.cn/) and updated on an ongoing basis.
The tariff item and tax rates adjusted under the Tariff Adjustment Plan for 2025, as well as the (2025 Edition) catalogue of Customs Standardized Declaration Standards for Imported and Exported Commodities, are available for reference on GACC's official website.
Submitted by: Department of Customs, tax bureaus (Shanghai, Beijing-Tianjin and Guangzhou), Tianjin, Shenzhen, Ningbo, Manzhouli, Beijing and Nanjing Customs
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of GACC. The GACC version shall prevail.