Important Notice: Starting from the 1st of next month, there will be adjustments to the import and export tariffs for these instruments.

On December 15, the Tariff Commission of the State Council issued a notice regarding the 2022 tariff adjustment plan. In order to fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, support the construction of a new development pattern, and continue to promote high-quality development, adjustments will be made to the import and export tariffs of certain goods starting from January 1, 2022, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Import and Export Tariff Regulations of the People's Republic of China.
Also published were the '2022 Tariff Adjustment Plan', '2021-2022 Tariff Version Correspondence Table (Tariff Item Rate Conversion)', '2021-2022 Tariff Version Correspondence Table (Tariff Notes Revision)', 'Most-Favored-Nation Tariff Table for Certain Information Technology Products', 'Provisional Tariff Table for Imported Goods', 'Tariff Quota Product Item Rate Table', '2022 Free Trade Agreement and Preferential Trade Arrangement Implementation Tariff Table', '95%, 97% Item Product Preferential Tariff Table', 'Export Goods Tariff Table', 'Import and Export Tariff Item Adjustment Table', 'Import and Export Tariff Domestic Sub-item Notes Adjustment Table', and other attachments.
According to the notice, starting from January 1, 2022, China will implement provisional import tariffs lower than the most-favored-nation rate for 954 items; starting from January 1, 2022, based on changes in domestic industrial development and supply and demand conditions, import and export tariffs for certain goods will be increased within the scope of commitments made upon joining the World Trade Organization; starting from July 1, 2022, China will also implement the seventh step of tariff reduction for the most-favored-nation rate of 62 information technology products. After the adjustments, the overall tariff level in China will remain at 7.4%.
In addition, according to the revised 'Harmonized System of Commodity Description and Coding' by the World Customs Organization and relevant rules of the World Trade Organization, there will be a technical conversion of tariff item rates in 2022. At the same time, in order to adapt to industrial development and facilitate trade regulation, some tariff items will also be adjusted. After the adjustments, the total number of tariff items will be 8,930.
The '2021-2022 Tariff Version Correspondence Table (Tariff Item Rate Conversion)' mainly lists the comparison between the 2021 and 2022 tariffs, including tariff numbers, product names, most-favored-nation rates, and general rates. Some radiation application equipment has been classified in more detail compared to before, with new sub-items added, and the rates adjusted accordingly. The tariff numbers for mass spectrometers have changed.
The 'Most-Favored-Nation Tariff Table for Certain Information Technology Products' mainly lists tariff numbers, product names, and most-favored-nation rates, with rates listed separately for the first and second halves of 2022. This table includes the most-favored-nation rates for analytical instruments, testing and measuring instruments, and related parts and accessories; some instruments have a most-favored-nation rate of 0 in 2022, while some instruments have a 50% reduction in the most-favored-nation rate in the second half of 2022 compared to the first half.
The 'Provisional Tariff Table for Imported Goods' lists tariff numbers, product names, the most-favored-nation rates for 2022, and the provisional rates for 2022, covering instruments and equipment for measuring ocean, hydrological, meteorological, or geophysical parameters, instruments for measuring and testing liquid flow or levels, instruments and devices for measuring and testing pressure, other unlisted liquid or gas measuring instruments and devices, gas or smoke analyzers, chromatographs and electrophoresis instruments, spectrometers, spectrophotometers, and other physical and chemical analysis instruments and devices used for measuring, recording, analyzing, and assessing environmental samples or impacts on the environment, microtomes, profile projectors, grating measuring devices, other optical measuring or testing instruments and tools, vibration meters, hand-held vibration meters, automatic voltage and current regulators with renewable energy and smart grid applications, and instruments for automatically controlling flow, liquid levels, and humidity, among others.
The 'Adjustment Table for Domestic Sub-item Notes of Import and Export Tariffs' modified the notes for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging systems, X-ray non-destructive testing instruments, and γ-ray non-destructive testing instruments, and deleted notes regarding instruments and devices for measuring instantaneous and cumulative flow of gases in pipelines and mass spectrometry instruments in some sub-items.
On the same day, the Tariff Commission of the State Council also issued the 'Announcement of the Tariff Commission of the State Council on Granting Zero Tariff Treatment to 98% of Tax Items from Least Developed Countries', which applies a zero preferential tariff rate to 98% of tax items originating from least developed countries. The applicable countries and implementation time will be announced separately by the Tariff Commission of the State Council. The '98% Tax Item Preferential Tariff Table' includes a large number of analytical instruments, testing and measuring instruments, optical instruments, life science instruments, and parts.