Equipment Import Customs: Key Invoice Requirements

The real voucher chain for importing equipment for customs declaration

In a recent customs inspection case,a certain electromechanicalenterprise lackedMust indicate commercial samples with zero value,which led to a dispute over value determination,and ultimately a 30% tariff supplement was generated.This typical case reveals that the invoice management for equipment import is far more complex than what is superficially perceived.

Invoice requirements for the three core scenarios

According to the General Administration of Customs Announcement No.45 of 2025,the import of equipment requires distinguishing the nature of the trade to handle the invoices:

• Generaltradeimports
  • CommercialInvoicemustbeprovided
  • Forcasesinvolvingtechnologytransfer,asignedandsealedProformaInvoiceshallbeattached
• Equipment for temporary entry and exit
  • Originalinvoicecanbetemporarilyexempted
  • Bankguaranteeandequipmentlistneedtobesubmitted
• Transfer within special regulatory areas
  • Invoicescanbeexemptedfortransfersbetweenenterpriseswithinthearea
  • Transferordersfiledwiththecustomsneedtobeprovided

Alternative under the tax - free policy

In the new version of the "Encouraging Import Technology Catalogue" in 2025,eligible enterprises can use the following documents to replace invoices:

• Receiptforthefilingoftechnologyimportcontracts(issuedbythescienceandtechnologydepartment)
• Equipmentvalueappraisalreport(issuedbyathird-partyinstitution)
• Customspre-rulingdecision(apply60daysinadvance)

Four key points of risk prevention and control

A foreign-funded enterprise was identified as having engaged in smuggling activities in 2024 due to the lack of formal invoices.This case serves as a warning to us:

• PricedeclarationdifferencesAdifferenceexceeding10%willtriggeraninspection
• EquipmentFunctionaldescriptiondeviationsItmayaffecttheclassificationofHScodes
• Forusedequipment,itisnecessarytoprovideOriginalpurchasevouchers
• Forleasedequipment,itisnecessarytoattachRentpaymentvouchers

Core Value Proposition of Professional Brokers

High - qualityAgent services should include:

• MakingtradedocumentpackagesthatmeetAEOcertificationstandardsEquipmentfeaturedatabase
• EstablishEquipmentcharacteristicdatabasePreventclassificationrisks
• ProvideTariffoptimizationplan(suchasthesplitdeclarationstrategy)
• UpdateregularlyCustomspricereviewguidelines(covering32customsregions)