http://www.pwccustoms.com PwC Asia Pacific Customs and Trade News en-en 2004-2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers http://www.pwccustoms.com/webmedia/634342554775622417_pwc_logo.jpg http://www.pwccustoms.com http://pwc.to/wiylq9 The 2012/2013 Hong Kong Budget was presented to the Legislative Council by the Financial Secretary, Mr John Tsang, on 1 February 2012. Get our Budget commentary, highlights, tax facts and figures, and tax rates card as reference, available in both English and Traditional Chinese. http://pwc.to/wiylq9 Wed, 2 Feb 2012 1:45:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/w6s8Of At the end of 2011, the Supreme Court in Thailand ruled on the customs duty treatment of third party royalty payments. In this case the Supreme Court determined that the royalty that the importer in Thailand had to pay to its parent company in the US did not have to be added to the customs value of the imported goods which it purchased from an unrelated seller. This recent Supreme Court ruling could be a good reason for importers in Thailand to revisit their current royalty payments and see whether their royalties are no longer dutiable. http://bit.ly/w6s8Of Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:11:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/zTA8SM Get our feature story on a review of the key developments in the Asia Pacific customs and trade compliance in 2011 and an outlook for 2012; information on ASEAN developments; update on export controls and their impact on business; coverage on various free trade negotiations being conducted; and comprehensive country reports across the Asia Pacific region. http://bit.ly/zTA8SM Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:27:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/wP2UsL The series of reform policies released by the Chinese Government and the active implementation and enforcement by local authorities since 2008, and in particular, the gradual closing down of toll manufacturing and the offering of the distinctive "same location Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE) conversion" regime to import processing manufacturers, have all led to the slowing down of processing trade. Get the highlights of the new processing trade regime and the impacts to processing trade in the Pearl River Delta. http://bit.ly/wP2UsL Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:42:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/tUqHlc The long awaited Customs Advance Valuation Rules are due to be released by the end of Dec 2011 and will take effect on 1 Jan 2012. Given the limited coverage of the advance ruling regulation, most MNCs are likely to still need to adopt the "traditional" information price registration practice with Commodity Price Information Office. Companies are recommended to review and discuss their transfer pricing for cross-border transactions with Customs prior to any change of their business model or pricing methodology, to obtain consensus with Customs, establish good relationships, and streamline the import clearance. http://bit.ly/tUqHlc Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:07:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/w279P2 With effect from 1 Jan 2012, the applicable threshold for suspension of import VAT (known as "VAT on account") for companies that import raw materials which are subsequently exported, will be reduced to nil. http://bit.ly/w279P2 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:59:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/sDrSwq Effective 1 Dec 2011, the Government made several rationalisations to Regulations 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Strategic Trade Regulations 2011 (P.U. (A) 482/2010) that relate to export, transit, transshipment and special permits respectively. http://bit.ly/sDrSwq Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:18:00 +0800 http://pwc.to/slTV3K Hear from our partners via a webcast where we provided companies which have been affected directly and / or indirectly by the flood, some guidelines and key issues to ensure that they have considered all factors in their response and recovery phase. We also discussed and shared our experiences as well as some key issues learned from our communities, in particular, what are key accounting concerns from disruption; what are tax, legal and customs issues that you should be thinking about; and how can we all emerge stronger? http://pwc.to/slTV3K Mon, 5 Dec 2011 17:52:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/txFFGv The Hong Kong Import and Export (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, published 28 Oct 2011, has proposed adjustments to certain textile-related fees and charges and is expected to be implemented on 23 Dec 2011, subject to completion of the legislative process. The Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department will make a further announcement to confirm the implementation date of these revised fees later in the year and existing fees for all textiles-related services will apply until further notice. http://bit.ly/txFFGv Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:38:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/vEPQD6 Get our feature article on making your trade compliance programme work for you; information on ASEAN developments; update on export controls and their impact on business; coverage on various free trade negotiations being conducted; and comprehensive country reports across the Asia Pacific region. http://bit.ly/vEPQD6 Wed, 9 Nov 2011 17:20:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/v5sgEx The Air Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme for Specified Strategic Commodities ("the Scheme"), prescribed under the Hong Kong Air Transhipment (Facilitation) Ordinance, is now open for registration. Traders who wish to obtain exemptions from licensing requirements of air transhipment cargo of specified strategic commodities in 2012 are required to register under the Scheme by 11 Nov 2011. Successful registrants under the Scheme will be, subject to certain conditions, exempted from licensing requirements under relevant Hong Kong laws in respect of air transhipment cargo of specified strategic commodities. http://bit.ly/v5sgEx Tue, 1 Nov 2011 17:35:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/uykDKs The proposed amendments are not only to harmonise the differences between the transfer pricing rules under the Law for Coordination of International Tax Affairs and customs valuation rules under the Customs Law pose difficulties to taxpayers, but also to improve both systems as well as customs duty assessments in order to protect the rights and interests of taxpayers. http://bit.ly/uykDKs Tue, 1 Nov 2011 17:35:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/uKNucm Indonesia Customs recently issued Circular Letter No.12/BC/2011, dated 3 Oct 2011, confirming that third party invoicing under the ASEAN China Free Trade Agreement is now applicable. Many importers have been waiting for this confirmation since early 2011 and also questioning whether they could request for an import duty drawback for their import transactions prior to 3 Oct 2011. http://bit.ly/uKNucm Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:50:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/rryt6A Get the details of how this new regulation affects all importers, exporters, transporters and customs brokers, and what goods are exempted from an NIK registration, also take the necessary action to obtain the new NIK before 1 Jan 2012. http://bit.ly/rryt6A Wed, 12 Aug 2011 16:06:00 +0800 http://bit.ly/mQpo4X A useful reference tool to help you on managing taxes around the world. Copies of corporate taxes 2011/12 are available for purchase. http://bit.ly/mQpo4X Wed, 3 Aug 2011 12:20:00 +0800