China Customs (GACC)
China Customs — the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) — is the national authority that supervises and controls all goods entering and leaving China, collects customs duties, import VAT and consumption tax, compiles trade statistics, and enforces trade, safety and IP controls at the border. Every shipment is cleared through a customs declaration (报关, bàoguān), usually filed by a licensed customs broker via the China International Trade Single Window.
In a major 2018 reform, the former inspection and quarantine (CIQ) function was merged into GACC, so Customs now also handles commodity inspection, and health and quarantine, at the border. Goods are classified under China's HS-based tariff schedule, and many products additionally require the CCC mark or other permits. Because China is the world's largest exporter and a vast import market, GACC clearance — its declarations, classifications, valuations and inspections — is central to any trade with China, and a core focus of customs-clearance and trade software.
Every shipment to or from the world's largest trading nation passes through GACC, so its declaration, classification, valuation and (since the 2018 CIQ merger) inspection processes shape the cost and speed of China trade. Understanding China Customs is fundamental to importing from or exporting to China, and central to clearance software.
What does GACC do?
Supervises all imports and exports, collects duties and import taxes, runs commodity inspection and quarantine, and compiles China's trade statistics.
What happened to CIQ?
The separate inspection and quarantine authority (CIQ) was merged into GACC in 2018, so Customs now handles border inspection and quarantine too.