Recently, a shipment of 2,500 tons of copper concentrate, loaded in 96 containers, arrived at the Yantai Port Container Terminal of Shandong Port. Following on-site inspection and environmental testing by Yantai Customs, under Qingdao Customs, the cargo was swiftly cleared and released, then transported to the company’s warehouse for industrial production.
To further improve the business environment at ports and safeguard the stability and security of supply chains for bulk resource-based commodities, Yantai Customs has been enhancing its service measures. Companies are being guided to fully utilize facilitation policies such as “Tax and Inspection Integration,” “Stepwise Testing,” and “Off-site Inspection,” which are designed to improve regulatory efficiency for copper concentrate imports and secure domestic demand for energy and resources.
The “Tax and Inspection Integration” model consolidates statutory testing and tax-related assay requirements into a single process—conducting one sampling and one test instead of two. Under the “Stepwise Testing” approach, companies are permitted to remove imported copper concentrate from supervision sites once environmental testing is cleared, while subsequent quality tests on copper, gold, silver, and moisture content can be conducted later.
This streamlined system reduces duplicate sampling, simplifies operational procedures, and significantly enhances port logistics efficiency, cutting copper concentrate dwell time at ports by two to five days.
Since last year, the General Administration of Customs has approved Yantai Customs to pilot “Off-site Inspection” for containerized copper concentrate imports. This new model combines “pre-screening + expedited port checks + post-arrival testing,” aligning customs procedures with enterprise production flows and enabling tighter regulation with faster clearance.
Under this model, customs authorities pre-verify overseas test reports on hazardous elements to mitigate environmental risks. After conducting on-site inspections for radioactivity, solid waste risks, and quarantine of foreign contaminants, the goods are transferred to designated enterprise facilities for sampling and testing. Supported by smart supervision systems, the process deploys electronic seals, automated locking/unlocking devices, and weighbridge monitoring to enable real-time tracking and intelligent weight verification during transit.
“This model reduces container handling, shifting, unpacking, and sampling operations, lowering costs by about 1,000 yuan per container,” said Wang Junyi, Trade Manager at Shandong Humon Smelting Co., Ltd. “It also prevents material loss during rehandling, while cutting clearance time from 10 days to just 2.”
“Measures such as ‘Tax and Inspection Integration,’ ‘Stepwise Testing,’ and ‘Off-site Inspection’ represent regulatory innovations by Customs. Through both online and offline policy briefings, Customs is maximizing the benefits of these initiatives to help enterprises reduce costs and boost efficiency,” said Zhang Chunbo, Chief of Inspection Section III at Yantai Customs’ Port Office.
In the first seven months of this year, Yantai Port handled 3,812 containers of copper concentrate imports, totaling 100,000 tons—up 53% and 59% year-on-year, respectively. Looking ahead, Yantai Customs will continue optimizing its regulatory framework for bulk resource imports, improving clearance efficiency, shortening processing times, and ensuring the stability of key national industrial and supply chains.
Source：China-Mcc.com