On February 8, 2024, the Executive Committee of the Hengqin - Macao Deep Cooperation Zone and the Office of the Peoples Government of Guangdong Province for the Hengqin - Macao Deep Cooperation Zone jointly issued the Announcement on the Closure and Operation of the Hengqin - Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, marking that from March 1, 2024, the Hengqin - Macao Deep Cooperation Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Cooperation Zone) will officially close and operate. This move aims to further deepen the cooperation between Guangdong and Macao and promote the integrated development of the regional economy. This article aims to analyze the regulations and rules of the closure and operation of the Cooperation Zone and its impacts on relevant stakeholders.

Scope of the Cooperation Zone and Zoning Management
The implementation scope of the Cooperation Zone is approximately 106 square kilometers, divided into the first line between Hengqin Island and the Macao Special Administrative Region and the second line between Hengqin and the Chinese mainland. Some areas, such as the Hengqin Campus of the University of Macau, are managed by the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and other areas are supervised by an electronic perimeter network.

Objects of Customs Supervision
In accordance with the Measures of the Customs of the Peoples Republic of China for the Supervision of the Hengqin - Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, the General Administration of Customs mainly supervises the means of transport, personnel, goods, etc. between the Cooperation Zone and Macao, and the Chinese mainland.

The specific objects of supervision include:
(1) Goods entering and leaving between the Cooperation Zone and Macao:These goods mainly involve trade with Macao, including goods in transit through the Cooperation Zone.
(2) Duty - free and bonded goods entering and leaving between the Cooperation Zone and the Chinese mainland:Refers to those goods that enjoy duty - free or bonded treatment according to specific policies.
(3) Goods declared for export from the Chinese mainland to the Cooperation Zone:Goods regarded as exports, enjoying correspondingExport Drawbackpolicies, etc.
(4) Articles released duty - free into the Zone through the open ports of the Cooperation Zone and then entering the Chinese mainland:The supervision of such articles when they enter the Chinese mainland again after entering the Cooperation Zone.
(5) Goods in the Cooperation Zone with incomplete customs formalities:Including goods that are transferred within the Cooperation Zone but have not completed the final customs declaration procedures.

Supervision Principles of the First Line and the Second Line,
? For goods entering the Cooperation Zone through the first line, except for the circumstances clearly stipulated by laws and regulations, most of them are exempt from import duties, value - added tax and consumption tax.
? For duty - free or bonded goods entering the Chinese mainland through the second line, customs formalities shall be handled in accordance with the relevant regulations for imported goods, and goods for domestic sales shall be taxed according to the actual inspection and declaration status.

Cargo Transfer within the Cooperation Zone and Preferential Taxation for Domestic Sales of Processed and Value - Added Goods
? For goods produced by enterprises within the Cooperation Zone containing imported materials, if the processed value - added reaches or exceeds 30%, when the goods enter the Chinese mainland from the Cooperation Zone, import duties are exempted.
? The specific definition and scope of application of the processed value - added reaching or exceeding 30% are clearly stipulated, and in specific cases, the exemption from import duties is not enjoyed.

Management and Tax Rebate of Goods Exported from the Chinese Mainland to the Cooperation Zone
? Goods entering the Cooperation Zone from the Chinese mainland through the second line are regarded as exports and are applicable to the value - added tax and consumption tax rebate policies.
? Under special circumstances, some goods are not applicable to the export tax rebate policy. For example: export goods for which the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration stipulate that the value - added tax refund (exemption) and duty - free policies are not applicable. Other goods sold from the Chinese mainland to the Cooperation Zone that are not eligible for tax rebate. Goods purchased by enterprises whose tax rebate or duty - free qualifications have been cancelled.

Simplification of Customs Declaration Procedures
Simplified declarations are implemented for some duty - free and bonded goods entering and leaving the first line of the Cooperation Zone, including the minimalist and sub - minimalist filing management methods.

The minimalist filing management is applicable to duty - free and bonded goods that are not subject to regulatory document management and do not require inspection and quarantine according to law. The minimalist filing management allows the consignor/consignee or their agent to implement simplified declarations by filling out the Filing List, reducing the number of filling items and improving the declaration efficiency.

The sub - minimalist filing management is applicable to duty - free and bonded goods that are subject to regulatory document management or require inspection and quarantine according to law. Compared with the minimalist method, when filling out the Filing List in the sub - minimalist method, additional information such as the license number and the port of departure needs to be filled in to ensure the compliant entry and exit of goods.

Situations not applicable to simplified declarations
(1) The customs of the place of declaration is not Hengqin Customs
(2) The mode of transportation is not road transportation
(3) Goods that require inspection and quarantine certificates
(4) Bonded goods declared by the centralized declaration method
(5) Agricultural products subject to special safeguard measures applying for the application of preferential duty rates when leaving the Zone

Impact on Enterprises
The closure and operation of the Cooperation Zone provides enterprises with new trade facilitation measures. In particular, the duty - free or bonded policies will greatly reduce the operating costs of enterprises and improve trade efficiency. At the same time, the preferential taxation policy for domestic sales of processed and value - added goods will encourage enterprises to carry out the processing and manufacturing of high - value - added products in the Cooperation Zone.

Impact on Trade
The simplified customs declaration procedures and clear supervision principles will accelerate the transfer speed of goods, promote the trade development between Guangdong and Macao, and deepen the regional economic integration.

3、Impact on Regional Economy
The closure and operation of the cooperation zone helps to form a new open - economy system at a higher level, attract foreign investment, and promote economic growth in Hengqin New Area and even the economic belt on the west bank of the Pearl River.