On 5 April 2008, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs issued a public notice [Public Notice (2008) No. 22] which announced the Catalogue of Prohibited Commodities for Processing Trade (2008) to be effective on the date of promulgation of the notice. 

According to the public notice, processing activities concerning newly-added commodities to the Catalogue approved by the relevant trade administration authority and registered with the Customs before 5 May 2008 will be allowed to complete the processing trade contracts within the time period specified in the contracts.  Enterprises subject to networked supervision by the Customs will be allowed to finish their processing trade contracts before 5 April 2009.  However, if such processing trade contracts cannot be finished within the specified time limit no extension will be granted.

The above-mentioned notice also applies to Customs-supervised zones such as export processing zones and bonded areas, with the exception of those enterprises that engaged in the processing trade of the prohibited commodities and were established before the promulgation of the notice.

Members please refer to the following website for details of the Public Notice (2008) No. 22:

http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/b/c/200804/20080405462357.html