What standards are used to levy tariffs in South Korea?

South Korean tariffs are divided into two types: ad valorem tax and specific tax. However, in actual implementation, most tariffs are levied according to the ad valorem tax standard. South Korea's import tariff rates include: basic tariff rates, temporary tariff rates, flexible tariff rates and preferential rates agreed between the Korean government and other countries. The general order of application of these tariff rates is: (1) Temporary tariff measures; (2) Preferential rates under the Bangkok Agreement; (3) WTO preferential rates among developing countries; (4) Generalized System of Preferences rates; (5) Basic tariff rate. Simplified tax rates are applicable to imported items, mailed items, consigned items and other items carried by tourists and flight attendants of transportation vehicles traveling between domestic and foreign countries. The temporary tariff measures of South Korea Customs include anti-dumping duties, retaliatory tariffs, emergency tariffs, regulatory tariffs, countervailing tariffs, price balancing tariffs and quota tariffs, among which anti-dumping duties, regulatory tariffs and price balancing tariffs account for the largest proportions. In addition, since the anti-dumping system was implemented in 1987, South Korean Customs has levied or is currently levying anti-dumping duties on nearly 20 types of commodities from 12 countries and regions. The commodities involved include refined phosphoric acid, soda ash, chlorine and other products originating in China. Choline, electric shavers, disposable lighters, electric irons, silicon manganese, alkaline batteries, etc.

Import tax exemption

According to the relevant regulations of the Korean government, goods or items that fall under the following circumstances can apply for full or partial tariff reduction and exemption: spoiled or damaged before import; outbound processing and repair The non-value-added part of later re-imported goods; public items for diplomatic missions in South Korea, personal supplies for diplomats and their families; public items donated to the Korean government or local self-governing groups from abroad; items carried by tourists; advertising materials, samples, small items Low-value souvenirs or gifts; imported spare parts and raw materials needed to manufacture or repair aircraft; mechanical equipment and basic equipment needed to develop cutting-edge technology industries or defense industries; imported items needed to manufacture, process, repair or test defense products Spare parts, raw materials and key equipment; instruments and equipment used for scientific research, education, and experiments that cannot be provided by the country; specific items such as religious supplies, charity supplies, supplies for the disabled, and sports competition supplies; treatment, prevention, and elimination of environmental pollutants The machinery, appliances and equipment used; high-end instruments and equipment used in the development of electronic information technology; imported goods and articles that are re-exported as they are within the specified period.

Duty tax refund system

The tariff tax refund system refers to a system that provides full or partial tax refunds under specific conditions for items that have been subject to import duties. According to Korean customs regulations, there are three situations in which tax refunds can be obtained: the amount of duties paid in excess of the prescribed portion due to calculation errors; when the trade contract cannot be performed due to objective reasons, and the imported goods that have paid duties are returned out of the country as they are, subject to customs review , tax refunds can be applied for; for raw materials used to process and produce export products, after the finished products are exported, tax refunds can be applied for the portion of the import duties paid.

Bonded system

The bonded system refers to a system that allows installation, manufacturing, processing, construction, sales, display and other activities on foreign items without paying taxes. system. South Korea's bonded system is divided into bonded area system and bonded transportation system. Bonded areas are places that allow the storage, processing, construction, display or sale of bonded goods. They can be roughly divided into: designated bonded areas, which are equivalent to China's customs supervision areas and allow the lifting, loading and unloading, storage and customs inspection of imported goods. places; franchised bonded zones, including bonded warehouses, bonded factories, bonded construction sites (sites), bonded exhibition sites (sites) and bonded sales sites (sites); comprehensive bonded areas, which can engage in storage, manufacturing, processing, construction, exhibition, A bonded area for comprehensive activities such as sales. Bonded transportation means that goods imported from abroad have been transported within South Korea without completing customs clearance procedures. This system is similar to the bonded logistics system of China Customs.

Tax reduction and exemption

In order to attract foreign investment, the Korean government has formulated many preferential policies, including reduction and exemption of corporate tax, income tax, registration tax, property tax and comprehensive land tax. In terms of import tariffs, it also has many preferential treatment for foreign investment. As long as foreign-invested projects are included in the industries encouraged by the Korean government and export-oriented overseas investment, they can enjoy various tariff preferences.

Specific preferential categories include: machinery and equipment required for processing and manufacturing; bonded processing, which means the implementation of an import bonding and export verification system for imported raw materials and components for export purposes; export tax rebates, which means the use of imported raw materials and components When the finished products obtained from manufacturing and processing are re-exported, the duties and taxes paid at the time of import can be refunded; fast customs clearance services are provided for goods imported by foreign-invested enterprises, and for particularly urgent goods and items, the "customs clearance first, inspection later" policy is implemented measure.

Release first, pay taxes later

In order to achieve the dual goals of "convenience and efficiency" and "collection of all duties and taxes due", the Korean government imposes levies on imported goods carried by inbound passengers. The "release first, pay tax later" system is fully implemented for items subject to tax. Specific measures include: when passengers enter the country, the customs and the passenger will jointly determine the total taxable amount of taxable items, and then they can be released directly; passengers must pay taxes through banks within the prescribed time and in the prescribed method; after paying taxes Five days before the deadline, tax reminders will be sent to passengers via phone calls and text messages. This system provides practical convenience to passengers, and after the implementation of the system, the situation of tariff arrears is not as serious as imagined.

Electronic Customs

In order to effectively improve customs clearance efficiency and reduce customs clearance costs, while enhancing the international competitiveness of importers and exporters and reducing customs corruption, South Korea Customs began , has been vigorously promoting the construction of electronic customs (E-Customs). After more than 20 years of hard work, South Korea Customs has now built and used the world's leading integrated electronic customs system. The system covers all imported and exported goods and inbound and outbound passenger luggage items, and connects sea/air shipping, sea/airports, importers and exporters, customs declaration agents, bonded warehousing, bonded processing companies, banks and other companies that have contact with the customs. The entity has implemented comprehensive 24-hour paperless customs clearance operations and undertaken alternative work in various aspects such as corporate declaration, document review, tariff collection and management, customs statistics, and supervision of various bonded businesses. Among the Korean electronic customs systems, the most distinctive one is the customs risk electronic early warning system developed and implemented by the Korean Customs. The system was planned and designed by a team of experts convened by the Korean Customs Administration. The team members include experts in investigation, information analysis, foreign exchange/statistical analysis, computers, etc. within the customs system, as well as professors and scholars outside the customs system. The expert team collected information extensively and after in-depth analysis, determined different smuggling risk parameters based on different commodity types, business categories, trade methods, transportation methods, domestic and international price differences, exchange rates and other conditions, and set up highly targeted Logical judgment and identification model to determine the legality/smuggling possibility of imported goods. On this basis, the system can make five levels of judgments for each import and export cargo: "highly suspicious", "suspicious", "alert", "concern" and "normal", and implement corresponding monitoring based on the judgment results. measure. The system was launched in 1997 and put into actual operation in 2000. It has achieved remarkable results so far. The smuggling risks of various commodities have been reflected in the system in a timely and accurate manner, and the efficiency of customs smuggling inspections has been significantly improved.