Norway amends the Regulations for the Import and Export of Goods

　　Recently, the Norwegian Law Gazette published Bulletin No. 2024-0497, Norway amended the Implementation Rules of the Import and Export of Goods Regulations, effective June 1, 2024。The main revisions are as follows:

　　(1) To amend the "Regulations on Import and Export of Commodities No. 1901 of October 27, 2022" for the transitional simplification of free handling of passengers。

　　(2) Any person arriving in the Customs area from abroad may declare the following goods orally or by means of a customs application, etc. :

　　a. Tobacco products, e-liquids and other nicotine products that may be taxed under Article 3-1-2, paragraphs 6 and 7, of the Special Tax Regulation and Article 5-1-1, paragraph 1, of the VAT Regulation。The condition for declaring tobacco products, e-liquids and other nicotine products is that the traveler is 18 years of age or older。

　　b. Alcoholic beverages taxable under Article 3-2-2, paragraphs 4 and 5, of the Excise Tax Regulation and Article 5-1-1, paragraph 1, of the VAT Regulation。The condition for declaring alcoholic beverages is that the passenger is at least 18 years old。For items with an alcohol concentration of more than 22%, travelers must be at least 20 years old。

　　c. Goods that are taxable in accordance with the provisions of Article 5-1-1 (2) of the VAT Regulations, except for goods with a total value of less than NOK 20,000。This does not apply to food, goods subject to excise duty, goods requiring authorisation from other departments and agricultural products。Food means any food or drink and any other commodity intended for human consumption。Agricultural products means Chapters 1 to 24 and 35 of the Customs Tariff.01、35.02、35.05和38.23 Goods within the scope of duty。

　　(3) The first paragraph applies to personal use items imported by passengers in excess of the duty-free quota。The first paragraph does not apply to goods imported for resale or other commercial purposes, nor to goods purchased in duty-free shops after arrival at the airport。

　　(Source: Xiamen Technical Trade Measures Information Network)

　　Indonesia has removed import license (PI) requirements for cosmetics

　　Recently, under the direction of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the Trade Minister's Order No. 8 2024 (Permendag 8/2024) is urgently issued and takes immediate effect。The emergency issuance of Trade Minister's Order No. 8 of 2024 is seen as a remedy for the large number of containers held up in Indonesian ports as a result of the issuance of Trade Minister's Order No. 36 of 2023 (Permendag 36/2023)。

　　First, the background of Indonesia's new regulations

　　On March 10, 2024, the Trade Minister's Order No. 36 2023 came into effect, imposing Import License (PI) and import quota requirements on various types of goods entering Indonesia, including electronics, cosmetics, and clothing。The new regulatory requirements have greatly increased the customs clearance time, directly resulting in tens of thousands of containers backlog in major ports in Indonesia, seriously affecting normal port trade。

　　Therefore, in order to alleviate the backlog of goods at the port, the Indonesian government decided to lower the threshold for import licenses, and the revised Permendag 36/2023 Permendag 8/2024 was introduced, which re-relaxed the import restrictions on some types of products, including cosmetics。

　　Second, Indonesia's new regulatory requirements

　　The following are the customs clearance requirements for imported cosmetic products after the implementation of the New Deal:

　　1. By March 10, 2024

　　On the basis of: Import policies and regulations in Trade Minister's Order No. 20 of 2021 and Trade Minister's Order No. 25 of 2022

　　Customs clearance document requirements: Import inspection report (LS), import declaration form (SKI)

　　2. 10 March - 17 May 2024 (Stranded cargo)

　　Based on: Permendag 8/2024, Appendix I and Appendix II for the types of goods listed (including cosmetics, 136 HS electronics, traditional medicines, 37 HS footwear, etc.), only import inspection report (LS) is required for customs clearance

　　Customs clearance document requirements: Import License (PI) (not required), import inspection report (LS), import declaration form (SKI)

　　3. After May 17, 2024

　　Subject to: Import Policy and Regulations of Permendag 8/2024

　　Customs clearance document requirements: Import inspection report (LS), import declaration form (SKI)

　　After the introduction of Permendag 8/2024, cosmetics arriving at Indonesian ports after March 10, 2024, can be exempted from submitting an import license (PI), and only need to submit an import supervision report (LS) and import declaration form (SKI) to complete customs clearance procedures。

　　Note: Both documents need to be completed before the goods arrive at the Indonesian port。

　　(Credit: Ruiou Technology)

　　Iran's parliament has approved a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia

　　Iran's parliament has officially approved the country's Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Indonesia.。

　　The agreement, signed in May 2023, is the first PTA signed between Iran and a country in the Asia-Pacific region。

　　Under the agreement, Iran will reduce tariffs on Indonesian processed food, pharmaceuticals, textiles, palm oil and tea, while Indonesia will reduce tariffs on Iranian petrochemicals, minerals and other goods。In the past three years, the bilateral trade volume between Iran and Indonesia has been about 1 billion dollars。

　　(Source: Economic and Commercial Section, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran)

　　Iran customs announces import duties on new energy vehicles

　　According to the Mehr news agency, Iran Customs recently announced the import duties of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles。

　　According to the Iranian Customs Bulletin, the import duty on electric vehicles used to replace existing fuel taxis is 0.Electric vehicles for other purposes are 4%, and petrol-electric hybrids are 15%。

　　(Source: Economic and Commercial Section, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran)

　　The European Union has announced the creation of an Artificial Intelligence office

　　The European Union has announced the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Office to regulate artificial intelligence, consisting of 140 members including technologists, lawyers and economists。The EU said the establishment of the office will play a key role in the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Act。

　　The European Commission proposed the Artificial Intelligence Act in 2021 with the aim of protecting citizens from the dangers of this emerging technology。After many rounds of negotiations and consultations, on May 21, the Council of the European Union formally approved the Artificial Intelligence Act, which is the world's first comprehensive regulation of artificial intelligence bill。

　　(Source: CCTV News)

　　Thai FDA issues Medical device Quality system regulations

　　The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the Ministry of Public Health's Circular B on Good Manufacturing Practices.E. 2566 (GMP Notification) and Ministry of Public Health Notification on Good import and marketing practices B.E. 2566 (GISP Notification), which aims to regulate the quality system of medical device manufacturing facilities and importers and sellers of medical devices。

　　From July 2024, new manufacturers of medium to high risk medical devices will have to meet the standards set out in the GMP notification (which includes the obligation to obtain a GMP certificate, Thai Standard for Conformity Assessment TCAS 13485 certificate or ISO 13485 certificate).。Manufacturers of low-risk medical devices and animal medical devices will also be required to improve their production facilities to comply with the quality system required for GMP notification (although they will not be required to obtain a GMP certificate, TCAS 13485 certificate or ISO 13485 certificate).。

　　According to the GMP Notification, manufacturers of medium to high risk medical devices that received a previous standard GMP certificate before July 2024 can continue to operate without obtaining a new certificate, but they will still need to comply with the new standards set out in the GMP notification。However, a new required certificate must be obtained within the given grace period。

　　According to the GISP circular, importers and sellers of medical devices must begin preparing their quality systems for importing and selling medical devices。By January 2029, all importers and sellers of medical devices must comply fully with the GISP notification。

　　(Source: International Standards and Chengdu Technical Trade Measures)