Interpretation: Announcement No. 27 of the General Administration of Customs of 2026 on the Implementation Rules for the Registration and Management of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food

General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 27 of 2026 (Announcement on Matters Related to the Implementation of the 'Regulations on the Registration and Management of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Foods by the Customs of the People's Republic of China')

The 'Regulation and Management Regulations of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on the Registration and Management of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food' (General Administration of Customs Order No. 280, hereinafter referred to as the 'Registration Regulations') was announced on October 14, 2025, and will come into effect on June 1, 2026. The relevant implementation matters are now announced as follows:

1. List of supporting catalogs for the 'Registration Regulations'

Based on the analysis of food raw material sources, production and processing technology, historical food safety data, consumer groups, consumption methods and other factors, and in combination with international practices, the General Administration of Customs determines the catalog of imported foods that require official recommendation for registration, the list of foods that will not be automatically renewed, and the scope of overseas storage enterprises of imported foods that need to be registered and managed in accordance with the 'Registration Regulations'. Relevant directories, lists, and scopes are dynamically managed.

(1) Catalog of imported foods that require official recommendation and registration.

According to Article 6 of the 'Registration Regulations', the catalog of imported foods that require official recommendation for registration includes: meat and meat products, casings, bird's nests and bird's nest products, bee products, eggs and egg products, edible oils and fats, stuffed pasta, edible grains, grain flour and malt, dehydrated vegetables, seasoning powders, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, special dietary foods, health foods, dairy products, and aquatic products.

(2) The registered food list will not be automatically renewed.

According to Article 21 of the 'Registration Regulations', the list of foods that are not subject to automatic renewal of registration includes: meat and meat products, bird's nests and bird's nest products.

(3) The scope of imported food overseas storage enterprises that need to be registered and managed in accordance with the Registration Regulations.

According to Article 30, Paragraph 1 of the 'Registration Regulations', the scope of imported food overseas storage enterprises that need to be registered and managed in accordance with the 'Registration Regulations' includes: cold storage used to store terrestrial animal-derived foods and aquatic products.

2. Imported food declaration requirements related to registration

(1) Information filling requirements.

Imported food that is imported as goods and enters the domestic market in China for human consumption or as raw materials for food processing should be included in the 'Registration of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food' certificate column (license) in the customs declaration form under 'Product Qualifications' Category code '519') Standardly fill in the registration number of the overseas production enterprise in China corresponding to the 'country (region) of origin' of the imported food; fill in 'edible' in the 'Purpose' column under the 'Commodity declaration' item of the customs declaration form.

If the declaration is not completed in accordance with the required specifications, the customs will not accept the declaration. Anyone who falsely reports information and defrauds customs documents will be investigated and punished by the customs in accordance with the law.

(2) Imported food declaration requirements.

For overseas food production enterprises that require official recommendation for registration, products produced within the registration validity period can be declared for import (including food produced within the registration validity period and within the shelf life by enterprises that have not been extended after the registration validity period expires); for overseas food production enterprises that apply for registration on their own, the company registration should be within the validity period when making import declarations; for overseas food production enterprises that have been suspended, canceled, or revoked, the import declaration of food shipped before the date of suspension, cancellation, or cancellation will not be affected.

If the General Administration of Customs has special requirements, they shall be implemented in accordance with the requirements.

3. Registration and information inquiry channels

(1) Registration management system for overseas production enterprises of imported food.

In order to cooperate with the implementation of the 'Registration Regulations', facilitate enterprise registration applications, and improve work efficiency, imported food overseas production enterprises can inquire and handle applications, changes, extensions, suspensions, resumptions and other services through the General Administration of Customs Overseas Imported Food Production Enterprise Registration Management System (hereinafter referred to as the registration system). The access address of the registration system is: https://cifer.singlewindow.cn. The General Administration of Customs reminds relevant enterprises to pay attention to identification and avoid losses caused by logging into false websites.

(2) Information inquiry channels.

During the registration application process for overseas production enterprises of imported food, you can check the registration application progress of the enterprise, as well as the review opinions and feedback information of the General Administration of Customs in the registration system.

Registration numbers, validity periods and other information of registered overseas manufacturers of imported food in China can be queried through the official website of the General Administration of Customs or the 'Registration List of Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food' function in the registration system.

Materials such as registration service guide for overseas manufacturers of imported food, registration system instruction manual, registration problem consultation hotline and other materials can be queried through the 'Service Guide' function of the registration system, or refer to the service guide published on the website of the General Administration of Customs.

The product categories and corresponding customs commodity numbers and regulatory identification codes involved in the registration of imported food overseas production enterprises can be queried through the 'Product Category Query' function of the registration system.

4. Other instructions

(1) The catalog of imported primary edible agricultural products that require registration of overseas enterprises, import declaration requirements and inquiry methods shall be implemented in accordance with Announcement No. 219 of 2025 of the General Administration of Customs.

(2) The General Administration of Customs does not charge any fees for the registration of overseas enterprises of imported food and primary edible agricultural products.

Hereby announce.

General Administration of Customs

March 18, 2026