The special zone for maritime express consignments established June 30 by the Ministry of Finance's (MOF) Customs Administration (CA) will greatly benefit economic development, Premier Jiang Yi-huah stated at today's Cabinet meeting.
The MOF has promoted various customs clearance and services measures in recent years in line with the demands of the overall economic environment, the premier remarked following an MOF briefing on its progress with establishing the zone, which will be located at the Port of Taipei.
Jiang further pointed out that the special zone will provide highly convenient, low-cost and safer customs clearance for cross-strait commodities, thus achieving the objectives of facilitating free flow of goods, higher employment and promotion of economic development. He enjoined the MOF to continue promoting and implementing the measure.
The MOF stated that the establishment of a maritime express consignment zone will provide 24-hour customs clearance and implement other measures such as simplified forms of customs declaration to reduce the time and cost for cross-strait goods to pass through customs.
Meanwhile, it will also generate opportunities for Taiwan to swiftly move products into the mainland market and to attract mainland China's seaborne and airborne cargo to Taiwan for transshipment by air to Europe and the Americas. Such operations are expected to help develop Taiwan's marine and air transportation businesses as well as convenience customs clearance for target industries of the free economic pilot zones, such as smart logistics and value-added agriculture.
In response to increasing demand for transshipment of cross-strait cargo and in order to help operators grasp hold of business opportunities, the CA has set up a cross-customs-area task force to plan and formulate measures, the MOF pointed out. Among measures that had been completed by the end of June included revising laws and regulations related to maritime express businesses, establishing computer systems and reallocating manpower.
In addition, the MOF has assisted operators to apply to set up the necessary system for the zone in line with regulations. Presently, businesses operating in the Port of Taipei that intend to set up the system include Taiwan International Ports Corp. Ltd., Tonglit Logistics Co. Ltd., and Taipei Port Container Terminal Corp. These businesses estimate their systems will go into operation between February and June 2015.