China will offer a one-year transitional period for new tax rules on imported products via e-commerce platforms.
According to the finance ministry, the new first-time import rules will not apply to goods such as cosmetics, baby formula, medical instruments and special food imported before May 11, 2017.
China started a pilot project of e-commerce importing in 10 cities in 2012, including Tianjin, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Chongqing. All e-commerce imported goods in these cities will be covered by the transitional period.
The exemption of registration procedures will save e-commerce dealers an average of six months to a year to get import permits.