‘3 to 14’ Korea Customs Service Expands Emergency Air Freight Tariff Exemption Scope

11 types of newly selected tariff preferential items by the Korea Customs Service. Provided by the Korea Customs Service.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Customs Service announced on the 30th that it will significantly expand the emergency air freight tariff exemption items from 3 to 11 to support the domestic manufacturing industry facing business difficulties due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Previously, since February 25, the Korea Customs Service applied tariff exemptions to three items necessary for automobile production processes: ▲ Wiring Harness (8544.30-0000) ▲ Other Plastic Insulated Wires (8544.42-2090) ▲ Direct Current Motor (8501.10-1000).

The additional exemption items were selected after reviewing the list of items submitted through the Customs Export-Import Enterprise Support Center and proposals received from the Korea Rubber Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, totaling 11 items.

The Korea Customs Service plans to ease the tariff burden on these items under the same conditions as the existing three items. The tariff relief is implemented by applying sea freight costs even if the goods are transported by air.

For example, tariffs are calculated by applying the tariff rate to the sum of the goods price, freight, and insurance. Typically, air freight costs are about 15 times higher than sea freight costs.

However, temporarily (until the infectious disease crisis alert is downgraded to ‘caution’ and implemented), companies will be able to apply sea freight costs, thereby reducing the tariff burden accordingly, according to the Korea Customs Service.

To this end, the Korea Customs Service will support the smooth application of tariff exemptions to a total of 14 items and will continue monitoring export-import logistics sites to minimize business difficulties caused by logistics disruptions within the ongoing infectious disease response system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.