On November 16, 2020, China notified the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Registration and Administration of Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food (Draft for Comments) to the WTO TBT Committee as G/TBT/N/CHN/1522. The Draft Regulations require registration of overseas manufacturers, processors, and storage facilities that export foods to China. A previous draft of the regulations was released for domestic comments on November 26, 2019. Once finalized, these regulations will replace Decree 145, which was issued by the General Administration of Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in 2012. The comment deadline is January 15, 2021.

The Draft clarifies these Regulations apply to the registration, supervision, and management of overseas manufacturers, processors, and storage facilities that export foods to China, excluding production, processing, and storage of food additives and food-related products.

Several key food categories were added to the Draft. For overseas producers of the following products: meat and meat products (including sausage casings), aquatic products, dairy products, bird nests and bird nest products, bee products, eggs and egg products, edible oils and fats, oilseeds, stuffed wheaten products, edible grains (rice and coarse grains), milled grain products and malt, fresh and dehydrated vegetables and dried beans, seasonings, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, unroasted coffee beans and cocoa beans, special dietary food and health foods, the competent authority of the country/region, after examination/inspection and confirming that the facilities conform with the registration requirements, recommends the producers to GACC along with the following application materials:

1. Letter of recommendation by the competent authority of the country/region;

2. List of (recommended) facilities and the application for facility registration;

3. Documents certifying the legal qualifications of the facilities, such as the business license issued by the competent authority of the country/region;

4. Statement by the competent authority of the country/region promising that the recommended facilities conform with requirements of these Regulations;

5. Reports of examinations/inspections/review conducted by the competent authority of the country/region to relevant producers.

In terms of time, the registration for overseas producers of imported foods will be increased from 4 years to 5 years. If an overseas producer of imported foods intends to renew its registration, it shall, within three to six months before the registration expires, apply to GACC for renewal of registration in the same way it applied for registration the first time. GACC shall renew the registration of producers that conform with the registration requirements, and the valid period of registration shall be extended for five years.

More details about the Draft, please click：http://tbtims.wto.org/en/RegularNotifications/View/168859?FromAllNotifications=True