One-stop clearance smooth import, export path

Shanghai Customs is striving for a better China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone with measures like unifying entry-exit and quarantine measures to provide one-stop services for companies and simplifying procedures.

Integration of inspection and quarantine has cut the time companies spend on customs clearance from two to three days to only six to 10 hours.

MicroPort Scientific Corporation, a local medical device developer and manufacturer, is among the beneficiaries. MicroPort concentrates on research and development of cardiac valves. The major material — bovine pericardium — is transported to Shanghai from Australia by air.

Bovine pericardium has to be delivered within 72 hours, or function and quality are impaired.

After local customs was informed, officers made early preparations, set plans and gave quick check to allow the tissue to go through customs faster. Now the whole process from Australia to MicroPort's warehouse takes less than 60 hours.

Wang Yaomin with the company, said the improved service for MicroPort reduced losses during customs clearance. The quality of their products has risen while costs have fallen. "We used to spend three to four days on customs declarations," Wang said.

MicroPort's cardiac valves are now in the clinical stage and may be available to patients next year.

Zhangjiang Cross-border Science Innovation Supervision Service Center has a direct path for cargo arriving by air. Air cargo can be taken directly to Zhangjiang for one-stop clearance. The special materials for lab use often require quick processing and no longer need wait at the airport for checks.

Yu Xiang, a customs officer at the center, said the process can be very fast when the quarantine risk is controllable. He and his colleagues also provide consulting services for Zhangjiang companies.

Another measure is classified supervision in one place. Previously, "bonded" and "non-bonded" goods were stored in separate warehouses, which raised storage costs. Now, companies' bonded and non-bonded goods can be stored in one warehouse in the free trade zone.

Yuan Jieying, an executive with Shanghai Origin Supply Chain Management Company, said management efficiency has risen by more than 30 percent with a single storage system, management system and a warehouse, greatly increasing the company’s market competitiveness. Costs were cut by 10 percent.

Origin now handles customers like Australia's Metcash, Germany's Oldenburger and JD.com. Many foreign enterprises have also chosen Origin’s warehouse in the Yangshan Deep-Water Port bonded zone as their Asia-Pacific distribution center.