Issued by:   General Administration of Customs

Issue No.:   Order No. 280 of the General Administration of Customs

Issue Date:   October 14, 2025

Effective Date:   June 1, 2026

Links:   http://www.cacaqhd.cn/customs/302249/2480148/6775328/index.html

To strengthen the supervision of imported-food safety, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) has issued the latest “Provisions on the Administration of Registration of Overseas Manufactures of Imported Food” (GAC Order No. 280, “Order 280”). Effective from June 1, 2026, Order 280 will fully replace the current Order No. 248 (“Order 248”). The principal changes are summarized as below:
Optimized food categorization: While Order 248 simply divided food into 18 categories subject to official recommendation and others, Order 280 introduces a catalogue-based system, dynamically adjusting the Catalogue of Imported Food Requiring Official Recommendation for Registration (the “Catalogue”) according to risk levels.
Streamlined registration methods: 1) The two registration methods under Order 248 “recommendation by the competent authority” and “application by the enterprise”, are streamlined into a unified process where enterprises submit applications. However, for foods listed in the Catalogue, the enterprise must still submit the inspection report and the letter of recommendation issued by the competent authority. 2) The “list-based” registration approach is newly introduced: competent authorities of countries/regions that have signed import and export food safety cooperation agreement with China may submit enterprise lists, and the GAC will register and manage the listed enterprises in batches.
Clarification of circumstances for non-acceptance of registration: Where GAC has legally suspended import of food products from a specific country (region), registration applications from enterprises of that country related to such food products will not be accepted during the suspension period.
Optimized the registration management process: New provision of automatic renewal of enterprise registration has been added. For cases where automatic renewal does not apply, the application period for renewal has been extended from "3 to 6 months before the expiry date" to "3 to 12 months before the expiry date".
Clarification of handling for other entities: For overseas storage enterprises of imported food, overseas manufacturers of primary edible agricultural products, overseas manufacturers of food imported through cross-border e-commerce retail, GAC will publish provisions separately or handle them in accordance with relevant provisions.