Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Setting up shop in China


When I was reading the Wine in China: The Wild West of the Far East case I was thinking about the rules and regulations that are required to be in accordance with in order to legally set up an operation in the Chinese market. This was primarily a thought because a vitamins business that I worked with before school had to effectively exit the Chinese market because of new regulations that made it very challenging for foreign health food products to enter China. Also, having just finished reading Shoe Dog and learning about the about the difficulties that Phil Knight and Nike faced when setting up operations in China, it was particularly top of mind.

It didn’t take long to realize that creating a wine business in China is not an easy task either.

·       Taxes
o   VAT: 17%
o   Custom duty: 14%
o   Excise tax: 10%
·       Steps
o   Signing agreement with Chinese importer
o   Registering company with AQSIQ
o   Registering label
§  Labeling requirements
·       Name/brand of product
·       Ingredients list (Sweeteners, preservatives and added color – legal in the case of fortified wine only – must be declared) Exempt for products made of one ingredient.
·       Net volume (ml): This should be marked as ‘net content xxx Ml (ml)’ for bottle sizes under a liter, or ‘net content x Liters (l)’ for bottle sizes over a liter. For packages up to (and including 200ml) the minimum print height is 3mm.  From 200ml up to and including 1 liter, the minimum print height is 4mm.  For packages greater than 1 liter the minimum print height is 6mm.
·       Alcohol content (%): The alcohol statement should be in the ‘Alcoholic strength xx.x% vol’ format.
·       Production date (yy/mm/dd): The date of bottling is required on Chinese labels.
·       Producer/Distributor/Importer (Name and address): The name and address of the Chinese agent, importer or distributor must be shown on the label. The name and address of the producer is not mandatory, however if included does not need to be translated into Chinese characters
·       Country of origin: A country of origin statement is mandatory. Importers will usually request a Certificate of Origin to confirm this claim.
·       Minimum durability date: Wines with an alcohol content of 10% or less are required to include a minimum durability date.
·       Product Type: (i.e. Grape Wine, ‘red’, ‘white’, ‘sparkling’, ‘semi-sparkling, ‘fortified’, ‘sweetened fortified’, etc.)
·       Sugar content (g/L)
·       Mandatory Warning Statements:  The following and other warnings must be on the bottle in Chinese: "Excessive drinking is harmful to health" or "Pregnant women and children shall not drink".  For beer in glass bottles also add "Do not hit; it might cause explosion of the bottle".
·       Required documents
o   Commercial invoice
o   Customs Value Declaration
o   Freight Insurance/documents
o   Packing List
o   Insurance Certificate
o   Certificate of Origin (for distilled spirits and malt beverages only)
o   Certificate of Health/Sanitation (for distilled spirits and malt beverages only)
o   Certificate of Authenticity/Free Sale (for distilled spirits and malt beverages only)
o   Consolidated Wine Export Certificate (for wine only)
·       Licensing and registration
o   Must submit an application to the Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau

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