A customs checkpoint in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone (PCPZ) received acceptance from the country’s quality supervision authorities on May 16, Pingtan Times reported.

Li Zhihui, captain of the inspection team from the General Administration of Customs, hands over a certification of qualification for a customs checkpoint in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone to Li Dejin, director of PCPZ's admininstrative committee, May 16. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

The inspection team, consisting of representatives from the General Administration of Customs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and Fujian government, agreed that the checkpoint, an island-wide electronic monitoring system and an information management system are qualified for operations.

The acceptance means Pingtan will become the country’s largest area under customs supervision with the most favorable policies.

The State Council issued a development plan for PCPZ in November 2011, ordering a more relaxed procedure in customs operations by setting up two customs checkpoints, one at the port and the other near Haixia Bridge, which is the only overland entrance and exit to Pingtan.

The central government also urged Pingtan to make innovations in customs clearance methods and accelerate the construction of related facilities.

Setting up two customs checkpoints is a breakthrough in customs supervision and management mode. It will contribute to implementing more preferential policies in Pingtan and boost the construction of a cross-Straits zone, said an official from Fuzhou Customs.

Now the central government has rolled out 28 special policies in seven major aspects for Pingtan. It approved an industrial guidance catalogue, customs quarantine and inspection rules and the opening of Pingtan as a first-class port, which all contribute to one of the largest “new special zone” in the country. After the Pingtan Closure, which refers to the construction of an integrated customs supervision system, Pingtan will enjoy more incentives in taxes and the import/export of certain products, a PCPZ official said.

Another major move from the central government is the passage of a sensational policy that gives an 85 percent income tax cut to qualified enterprises.

The policy was officially announced by the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation on March 27, allowing 127 industries and businesses in five main categories to be levied at a reduced income tax rate of 15 percent.

Currently Pingtan’s development focus has shifted from infrastructure construction to investment attraction and cultivation of a real economy. The Pingtan Closure will help to land more industries and speed up construction of new industrial districts, high-end service zones as well as a livable environment.

As the country’s only pilot zone open to Taiwan, Pingtan will also make more efforts in cross-Straits communication, including opening a tax-exempt market for Taiwan residents, allowing Taiwan-registered vehicles to hit the road on its turf as well as facilitating cross-border RMB settlement in e-commerce. Industries from across the Straits will be more integrated in the future.

Pingtan will continue to improve the software and hardware facilities concerning customs operation at the request of central inspectors and will draw experiences from Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong in creating a new customs supervision mode to build the most efficient, convenient customs clearance environment in China, said Li Dejin, director of PCPZ’s administrative committee.