China Rolls out the Nationwide Application of GTIN for CBEC Imports Declaration

To facilitate the healthy development of retail trade through cross-border e-commerce (CBEC), General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) adopted Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) nationwide in the customs declaration of CBEC imports on February 10, 2023.¹

Introduction of GTIN

Developed by GS1, GTIN is a type of barcode used to uniquely identify trade items. Its all four structures, GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13 and GTIN-14, are for global use. At present, GTIN is widely applied in 115 countries and regions worldwide, laying a solid foundation for the management of retail products, including food, beverage, digital appliances, books, cosmetics, etc. According to statistics, about 90% of CBEC imports have GTINs¹. 

GTIN-13

As a digit identifier, the allocated GTIN itself has no significance. However, it can be used to store and share product information, which can be further divided into four types:

GS1 China, founded in 1988 as an affiliate of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), is currently in charge of organizing, coordinating and administrating the commodity barcodes throughout China. Since 2021, GS1 has been working closely with GACC to establish the commodity barcode database for CBEC imports, and successively implemented pilot programs for barcode declaration in Chongqing, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Guangzhou. Based on the results of pilot programs, GACC decided to adopt GTIN nationwide for customs declaration. 

Requirements for Customs Declaration with GTINs

On September 4, 2018, GACC issued Announcement No. 113 [2018], stipulating the standards for enterprises to transmit declaration information to the unified information system of CBEC. The annex to this announcement laid down the specification of barcodes as follows, which should be paid attention to when filling the information. 

According to the message specification, enterprises should accurately fill in the barcode information for products with GTINs, and fill in "Nil" for those without GTINs. To help enterprises to declare in conformity with the specification, a verification step is newly set up in the declaration system, which provides real-time verification of whether the barcode information in the declaration list complies with GTIN rules. If the verification fails, a reminder will be given to enterprises in the receipt, but it will not affect follow-up business.

Benefits of Customs Declaration with GTINs

GTIN can be applied in all processes involved in the supply chain, such as product release, warehouse management, logistics transportation and after-sales service. With these features, GTIN's application in CBEC imports declaration is beneficial for both the Customs and CBEC enterprises.

1) For the Customs:

Applying GTIN enables the Customs to implement differentiated classification management over CBEC imports, and improve the efficiency of clearance examination. In addition, the introduction of GTIN can increase the accuracy and consistency of data used in the clearance process. This helps reduce counterfeiting issues further down the supply chain, and provide a strong foundation for the overall supervision for CBEC imports.

2) For CBEC enterprises:

The adoption of GTIN can speed up the customs declaration process for enterprises, since the declaration system can automatically obtain product information through GTINs. Besides, GTIN improves the transparency at any point in the supply chain and enhances product traceability. This enables enterprises to increase commodity’s identification accuracy and classification efficiency, and thus reduce the overall management costs. Most importantly, the adoption of GTIN can help consumers approach reliable and verifiable information, and strengthen their trust in imported products.