Under the pilot policy, export transshipments shipped abroad via Shanghai`s Yangshan Bonded Area can enjoy tax rebate once they have left their port of origin.
The new project is expected to speed up capital turnover for exporters in China. By shortening the time an exporter needs to receive a tax rebate, the measure will effectively reduce diversion of export transshipments to neighbouring ports in foreign countries like Korea`s Busan, where they used to get tax rebates faster.
Li Jieyun, vice director of taxation from Ministry of Finance, said that the new policy is innovative and sophisticated. In order to prevent tax rebate fraud, the relevant governmental departments have made preparation in data sharing.
The scheme will first started at eastern China`s seaport Qingdao and southern hinterland Yangtze River port of Wuhan.
Tao Baoxuan, general manager of Sinotrans Hubei branch, one of the designated carrier to undertake the shipping in this scheme, said 90 per cent of the export cargo from Wuhan and its neighbouring regions choose to transship via Shanghai. With the pilot policy, exporters in Wuhan now can get tax rebate in only a few days, a month sooner than before.
Huang Bin, deputy general manager of another designated carrier, Shanghai Puhai Shipping, said, before launch of the new project, 50 per cent of the exporters in Qingdao will choose to transship via Busan in order to get tax rebate faster.
Statistics show, threea million TEU chose to transship via Busan every year due to reasons of faster tax rebate. Now these shipments have become potential business opportunities for Shanghai.
Last year, 41 per cent of Shanghai`s container volume used river-sea intermodal service. This year, the new policy is expected to bring the percentage up to 43 per cent.