Analysis of Import Tariff Changes on Printing Equipment Under the 2013 Tariff Implementation Plan

[ppzhan abstract] In 2013, there were three changes to import tariffs on printing equipment and materials: first, five photosensitive material products, including flexographic printing plates, were switched from specific duty to ad valorem duty; second, two new commodity tax lines for printing equipment and materials, including wide-format inkjet printing equipment, were added; third, the taxation schemes for three types of printing equipment and materials were adjusted.

Recently, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council issued the 2013 Tariff Implementation Plan (Tariff Commission [2012] No. 22), announcing that as of January 1, 2013, China would make partial adjustments to its import and export tariffs. Compared with 2012, there are three changes to import tariffs on printing equipment and materials in 2013: first, five photosensitive material products, including flexographic printing plates, were switched from specific duty to ad valorem duty; second, two new commodity tax lines for printing equipment and materials, including wide-format inkjet printing equipment, were added; third, the taxation schemes for three types of printing equipment and materials were adjusted.

Five photosensitive material products switch to ad valorem duty

Schedule 3 of the 2013 Tariff Implementation Plan is the Schedule of Specific and Compound Duty Rates on Imported Goods, which shows that China will continue to apply specific or compound duties to 47 categories of goods including photosensitive materials, with rates remaining unchanged, while applying ad valorem duties to five photosensitive material products. The five products are "laser imagesetting film for unexposed photomechanical platemaking," "PS plates for unexposed photomechanical platemaking," "CTP plates for unexposed photomechanical platemaking," "flexographic printing plates," and "other unexposed photosensitive hard and soft films for photomechanical platemaking." All five goods are subject to the condition that any side is >255 mm. Under the new tariff provisions, the general rate for these five goods in 2013 is 50%, and the MFN rate is 10%.

Relevant portions of the Schedule of Specific and Compound Duty Rates on Imported Goods concerning adjustments to printing equipment and materials (from left to right: commodity name, general rate, MFN rate)

It is worth noting that these five goods were all subject to specific duties in 2012, with a general rate of 70 yuan/m² and MFN rates of 3.7 yuan/m², 8.1 yuan/m² and 15 yuan/m² respectively. Switching from specific duties to ad valorem duties will help ensure reasonable taxation in line with changes in commodity prices and avoid excessively low or high tax burdens.

Two new import commodity tax lines for printing equipment and materials added

Schedule 4 of the 2013 Tariff Implementation Plan is the Schedule of Interim Duty Rates on Imported Goods, which lists 20 types of printing equipment and materials, two more tax lines than in 2012, namely "cross-cutting knife units for paper cutters" and "inkjet printing equipment with 297mm<web width≤360mm, capable of connecting to a network or automatic data processing equipment."

Among them, "cross-cutting knife units for paper cutters" have an MFN rate of 8% and a proposed interim rate of 3% for 2013. "Inkjet printing equipment with 297mm<web width≤360mm, capable of connecting to a network or automatic data processing equipment" has an MFN rate of 8% and a proposed interim rate of 5% for 2013.

Taxation schemes for three types of printing equipment and materials adjusted

In the Schedule of Interim Duty Rates on Imported Goods under Schedule 4 of the 2013 Tariff Implementation Plan, the import taxation schemes for three types of printing equipment and materials are adjusted. The names of these three types of printing equipment and materials are as follows:

Four-color sheet-fed offset printing press: single-sided printing speed on half-size sheets ≥17,000 sheets/hour; double-sided printing speed on half-size sheets ≥13,000 sheets/hour; single-sided printing speed on full-size or larger sheets ≥13,000 sheets/hour; five-color and above sheet-fed offset printing press: single-sided printing speed on half-size sheets ≥17,000 sheets/hour; double-sided printing speed on half-size sheets ≥13,000 sheets/hour; single-sided printing speed on full-size or larger sheets ≥13,000 sheets/hour; aniline printing press (flexographic printing press): linear speed ≥350 m/min, web width ≥800 mm.

Among them, the single-sided folio sheet-fed printing speeds of four-color sheet-fed offset presses and of five-color and above sheet-fed offset presses were both changed from "≥16000 sheets/hour" in 2012 to "≥17000 sheets/hour" in 2013; the linear speeds of aniline presses (flexographic presses) were changed from "≥300 m/min" in 2012 to "≥350 m/min" in 2013. In addition, the MFN tariff rates and interim tariff rates for these three commodities in 2013 showed no change compared with 2012. The recommended interim tariff rates for 2013 are 7%, 7% and 3% respectively, while the MFN tariff rate is 10% for all of them.

The section on printing equipment and materials in the Interim Tariff Schedule for Imported Commodities (from left to right: tariff line code, commodity name, MFN tariff rate, recommended interim tariff rate for 2013)

According to Tan Junqiao, advisor to the China Printing and Equipment Industry Association and honorary chairman of the Label Printing Branch, the tariff schemes for these three types of printing equipment and materials were adjusted because domestic enterprises can already meet the corresponding standards stipulated in the 2012 tariff implementation plan, and the adjustment was made to protect national enterprises.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362007.html