IT-Silkroad

[Clearance of Customs Confirmation Targets]

■ Clearance of Goods to be confirmed by Customs

Customs confirmation system in Korea is a checking procedure by the head of a customhouse at the time of customs clearance concerning whether requirements of import and export, prescribed in 40 Acts including the Food Sanitary Law, are carried out completely mostly with respect to items closely relating to public health and safety, and national security.

Customs confirmation means that the head of a customhouse confirms whether declared import and export data are perfectly compliant with requirements of import/export.

Extra cautions are required for traders because the failure to meet relevant requirements means the impossibility of customs clearance if they are dealing with goods requiring customs confirmation.

■ Legal Base, etc.

To check with applicable goods to customs confirmation, traders may refer to the Public Notice of Korea Customs Service based on the Customs Act and the Enforcement Decree of the Customs Act.

It's fixed by each HS code whether each items are applicable to customs confirmation, and applicable goods to such category cover up to 6,000 items for import, up to 1,100 items for export. Most of items are redundant with items of consolidated public notice.

■ Meaning in Trade with Korea

In Korea, customs, at the point of clearance, is only checking up with customs confirmation requirements by relevant item, not with import/export requirements under consolidated public notice, etc.

For legitimate trade with Korea, counterpart traders are expected to abide by the requirements of export and import notice and consolidated public notice, but they aren't directly related with the possibility of customs clearance. On the contrary, with respect to applicable goods to customs confirmation, a competent head of a customhouse is determining the possibility of clearance personally by checking the compliance of requirements, which elaborates significance of the compliance of requirements.

■ Confirmation Procedures

ㅇ Traders dealing with items requiring customs confirmation are expected to apply for approval and permission to a competent head of confirmation agency by being equipped with required documentations in accordance with relevant Acts.

ㅇ Both on-line and off-line applications are all possible.

ㅇ The competent head of confirmation agency notifies the checking result to the clearance system of Korea Customs Service in electronic documents.

ㅇ The head of customs determines the result of customs clearance, checking whether requirements of import and export(permission, approval, etc.) are carried out in accordance with relevant Acts.

■ Exempted Goods from Customs Confirmation

Customs may exempt goods falling under the following categories from customs confirmation, even though they belong to applicable goods to customs confirmation.

☉ Exempted Goods from Import and Export Permission by the Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Trade Act

ㅇ Such items include transit goods, transit trade goods, samples, advertising articles, diplomatic items, and other items that are not suitable for normal import and export procedures.

ㅇ Goods imported without foreign exchange transaction (Items recognized by the customs officer with taxable price of less than 5 million won)

ㅇ Raw materials, equipment and equipments to be exported for the purpose of overseas migration recognized by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade or the head of the agency appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade

☉ Exempted Goods from Requirements Confirmation under Consolidated Public Notice

It covers imported materials for the obtaining of foreign currency, transit trade goods, imported goods from foreign countries, exported goods to foreign countries, articles for ship, and other goods additionally prescribed in relevant Acts as the grounds of exemption from requirements confirmation, etc.

☉ Unapproved Goods for Exemption from customs confirmation

Even if the goods are omitted, the exemption of the requirement is not allowed if the goods are subject to the laws and regulations closely related to the safety and health of the people as follows.

ㅇ Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs

ㅇ Plant protect Act

ㅇ Act on Wildlife Protection and Management

ㅇ Act on safety management of guns, swords, explosives, etc.

ㅇ Aquatic Disease Control Act

ㅇ Prevention of livestock epidemic

ㅇ Act on the transfer of waste and its treatment

ㅇ Pharmaceutical Law(Only for misuse / abuse medicines designated by the Food and Drug Administration Director. (However, this is not the case when a prescription is submitted to the customs manager for self-treatment purposes.)

ㅇ Act on the Regulation, etc. of Manufacture of Specified Substances for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

ㅇ Special Act on Imported Food Safety Management

ㅇ Communication Confidentiality Protection Act

ㅇ Chemicals Management Act

■ The Structure of Regulations on Import and Export in Korea

The regulations on requirements of import and export consist of 1) the system of import/export public notice, 2) the system of consolidated public notice, 3) the system of customs requirements confirmation, 4) control of strategic items, etc.

Almost all requirements on import and export can be confirmed and executed in range of above four systems, and effective confirmation of requirements is also possible because all systems are related with HS code.

■ The Interrelation between Systems

In trade transaction with Korea, in the case where relevant items are subject to above-mentioned four systems, or more than two requirements in the same system, traders have to satisfy all requirements of systems at the same time.

In other words, the permission on any requirement of a system doesn't mean permission on any other requirements of other systems.

■ The Coverage of TCS Program

Under TCS program, once users select items and transaction country, they can automatically check all requirements of every system, and detailed explanations relating to the information which users have entered.

Accordingly, if the result of simulation shows specific requirements concerning entered information, users have to pay attention to the compliance of requirements.

Please refer to the relevant sections and detailed view for details.