Shanghai Customs District R.P. China has announced the enhancement of the surveillance procedure for the imported softlines products. According to the Order No 5 of October 2020, the Shanghai Customs carries out the safety risk assessment of imported clothing through the sample selection. If imported products have test reports, the importer can provide “Imported Clothing Compliance Declaration”, test reports, and the relevant accompanying documents to the Customs for assessment.

However, test reports should meet particular conditions to be accepted by the Customs:

• Reports must include test standards, testing methods, and specific result values. Moreover, the testing items must also include all applicable parameters under GB 18401 and GB 31701
• Test reports must contain information that allows the Customs to confirm that the test reports relate exactly to the actual imported goods

Additionally, if the vendor laboratory issues such test report, it should:

1. be accredited by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) and the China Metrology Accreditation (CMA)
2. contain the relevant standards and test methods in the scope of the accreditation
3. have qualified experts

In any case, the Shanghai Customs have the right to evaluate the Reports from overseas testing labs.

When the manufacturer issues the own test report, he should remember that it is necessary to:

1. prove that the laboratory is independent from the company and provides objective test results
2. provide documents to the Customs that prove the testing qualification of the lab, such as ILAC-MRA accreditation approval, etc.

Imported clothes that are not intended for China market but are imported for:

• personal use
• exhibition  
• research and development works
• competition activities, etc.

require submission of "Explanation on Special Conditions of Imported Clothing" and accompanying documents providing only.

The full text of the Order you can read here.

The information has been prepared by the GMA Consult Group team. GMA Consult Group provides a full cycle of international type approval and global market access services for IT, Telecom, and industrial electrical products in all countries throughout the world. With proven expertise in worldwide regulations, compliance, certification, and conformity assessment, GMA Consult Group can help your company speed up the access to any market with almost zero efforts from your side.

Need your own guide to the world of certification and approvals? Don't hesitate to contact us via info@gma.trade.