More items can now be traded on cross-border e-commerce platforms

The Chinese Ministry of Finance has announced 92 more items to the growing list of products that can be traded on cross-border e-commerce platforms. These new items have been added to the Cross-Border E-Commerce (CBEC) list of commodity goods, as of January 1^st 2020.

In a further move to promote cross-border import, the Chinese Ministry of Finance announced that foreign companies can now trade 92 more commodities on cross border e-commerce platforms, such as Alibaba.

These commodities mainly fall under the following categories:

• Home products and electric appliances, glass lenses, office and stationary goods, industrial/raw materials and equipment and TVs, which are taxed at 9.1 percent;
• Imported food, which is taxed at 6.3 percent;
• Alcohol, which is taxed at 28.88 percent, with an exception for vermouths (17.89 percent).

For the CBEC LIST for a detailed list of goods recently added.

The system is particularly advantageous for foreign brands that wish to sell online in China without establishing a legal entity in the Mainland. Foreign companies can store their goods in one of the 20 free trade zones and then clear them through customs only after consumers actually place an order online.