Korea Certified Customs Attorney SJ

  There is a crucial rule in tax administration that applies consistently, known as the actual taxation rule. From the perspective of customs duties, this means that the person who actually owns the imported goods at the time of filing their import declaration shall be the person liable to pay customs duties and be so declared. This rule is stipulated in Article 14 of the FRAMEWORK ACT ON NATIONAL TAXES ( 국세기본법 ), a statute prescribing fundamental and common matters concerning national taxes. FRAMEWORK ACT ON NATIONAL TAXES   Article 14 (Actual Taxation) (1)      If any ownership of an income, profit, property, act or transaction which is subject to taxation, is just nominal, and there is other person to whom such income, etc., belongs, the other person shall be liable to pay taxes and tax-related statutes shall apply, accordingly. (2)      The provisions pertaining to the computation of tax base in t...

Usually, the tariff rate applicable to a HS Code doesn’t change throughout a year. However, when it comes to agricultural products, depending on when they are imported, the applicable tariff rate can be different drastically. For example, fresh or chilled potatoes that are not for seed are classified in 0701.90-0000 in Korea. For 0701.90-0000, the applicable tariff rates in 2023 are as follows: Tariff Rate Code Tariff Rate Description Tariff Rate (%) W1 WTO tariff rate for the goods recommended by Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (Recommendable total weight: 18,810 tons) 30% W2 WTO tariff rate for the goods not recommended by Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation 304% P1 Quota tariff rate applicable for May 1, 2023 to November 30, 2023 only to the goods for making potato chips recommended by Korea Food Industry Association (Recommend...

Customs officers tend to interpret regulations conservatively. Can we change their point of view?   It is possible that provisions of regulations are not specific enough to give only one answer to an issue. In such a situation, Customs officers tend to interpret regulations conservatively, imposing fines, collecting duties, denying preferential treatments, etc.   If you think their point of view is not reasonable, what can you do?   The first thing to consider is asking the authority that implements the relevant Class Ⅱ law how to interpret the provision in question and apply it to a real case.  Usually, the authority is at the ministerial level of the Korean government organization. It is easy to find the relevant authority. Because the information about who is in charge and the contact number is indicated under the law name when you find it on the Korean Law Information Center website (https://www.law.go.kr/).   The authority tends to be more obj...

Importers who have filed the Detailed Statement of Verification of Chemicals, if you don’t know what it is, please visit my post at https://koreacertifiedcustomsattorneysj.blogspot.com/2022/04/detailed-statement-of-verification-on.html , receive a notice from a regional environmental office with jurisdiction over the place of business every two years regarding the statistical surveys on chemical substances, which is required under Article 10 of the CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT ( 화학물질관리법 ). CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT Article 10 (Statistical Surveys on chemical substances and Establishment and Operation of Information System) (1) The Minister of Environment shall conduct statistical surveys on the current status of handling related to the handling of chemical substances, handling facilities, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "statistical surveys on chemical substances") every two years. In such cases, the relevant provisions of Statistics ...