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Measures for customs clearance management of e-cigarette liquid
To prevent the act of evading taxes by falsely declaring synthetic nicotine as similar/non-nicotine, the Korea Customs Service has strengthened customs clearance management for e-cigarette liquids.
The Korea Customs Service announced on the 23rd that it has strengthened customs clearance management for e-cigarette liquids since last month to prevent e-cigarette importers from falsely declaring nicotine as similar/non-nicotine, which is tax-exempt, to bring in nicotine, as synthetic nicotine became subject to taxation from April.
The Central Customs Analysis Laboratory has detected a total of 35 cases, 67.58 liters (ℓ), of e-cigarette liquids imported and declared as non-nicotine from 2022 to September of this year.
Considering that most similar/non-nicotine products are imported and cleared through customs from China, the Korea Customs Service requires the submission of permits and supply chain-related documents covering all transaction stages within China during the import customs clearance process, and verifies the authenticity of these documents.
Previously, after customs clearance of declared import volumes, a portion was selected as a sample for component analysis, but now, the components of the entire volume are analyzed before customs clearance.
The Central Customs Analysis Laboratory, in consultation with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, developed an authorized analysis method for similar nicotine and applied a unified standard to all customs offices nationwide in July.
As a result, imports of non-nicotine liquid decreased in both number of cases and volume, from 513 cases and 153 tons in January-April this year to 430 cases and 149 tons in May-August.
Similarly, similar nicotine imports decreased from 6 cases and 12 tons in January-April to 5 cases and 2 tons in May-August.
The Korea Customs Service is also strengthening post-customs enforcement, such as selecting companies suspected of evading individual consumption tax by falsely declaring natural nicotine as similar/non-nicotine, and conducting customs investigations.
Lee Jin-hee, Director of the Customs Clearance Bureau at the Korea Customs Service, stated, "Illegal attempts to develop new substances or falsely declare ingredients to evade tobacco regulations are expected to continuously emerge." He added, "We will mobilize all available resources to strictly respond to illegal activities."
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