Fast-track clearance, import price disclosures to help stabilize holiday grocery costs
The Korea Customs Service is deploying round-the-clock special clearance teams at customs offices nationwide for the Chuseok holiday season and will publish import prices for key agricultural, livestock and fishery products to help stabilize household grocery costs.
The agency announced Friday it will implement a package of special support measures to ensure a smooth domestic supply of seasonal goods, uninterrupted exports and reduced financial burdens on exporting companies ahead of Chuseok.
The measures center on five areas: fast-track clearance for Chuseok seasonal goods, emergency raw materials and overseas direct-purchase express shipments; intensive management of price-stabilization items; relief for corporate financial burdens; disclosure of import prices for seasonal goods; and a special crackdown on country-of-origin labeling violations.
▶ Special clearance support for import and export cargo (Sept. 7–27, three weeks)
All 34 customs offices nationwide will operate "24-hour special clearance support teams" from Sept. 7 through Sept. 27, including on public holidays and overnight, to ensure that holiday seasonal goods and urgently needed raw materials reach the domestic market without delay.
Inspections of imported food products will also be stepped up to thoroughly block the entry of illegal or hazardous food items and ensure safe food reaches consumers' tables.
In addition, special express-shipment clearance support teams will be deployed at customs offices in Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Gunsan, Yongdang and Gimpo Airport to handle the expected surge in overseas direct-purchase deliveries, including holiday gifts, and expedite their clearance.
▶ Intensive management of price-stabilization items
To prevent hoarding of goods subject to quota tariffs, surcharges will be imposed on delayed import declarations for price-stabilization items such as frozen pork and fruit. Bonded zone sites will also be subject to intensive inspections to ensure prompt release of goods.
▶ Relief for corporate financial burdens
A special tariff refund support program will run from Sept. 10 through Sept. 23 to ease the financial burden on exporting companies.
Same-day payment of refunds will be the standard for export companies filing refund claims. For applications submitted after the bank cut-off time of 4 p.m., extended working hours — from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. — will allow refunds to be processed by the following morning. Reviews of refund eligibility will be conducted after the holiday period ends, from Oct. 10 onward.
Meanwhile, small and medium-sized enterprises with good compliance records that face temporary cash-flow difficulties at the import clearance stage will be allowed to defer payment for up to one year without collateral, or to pay in up to six installments.
▶ Disclosure of import prices for Chuseok seasonal goods
Import prices for 89 items whose consumption rises during the Chuseok period — including beef galbi, sesame, perilla, doenjang, soy sauce, red pepper powder and octopus — will be published three times at weekly intervals to support household price stability.
The agency will also analyze whether import prices for existing disclosed items are rising sharply and share the findings with related ministries to support the government's price policy implementation.
▶ Special crackdown on country-of-origin labeling violations for imported agricultural and fishery products
Enforcement against country-of-origin labeling violations will be intensified to prevent imported goods — including ritual offering items and gift products — from being passed off as domestic produce.
A special crackdown will target the sale of imported ritual and gift items as high-priced domestic products during the Chuseok peak season, and joint enforcement operations with relevant agencies will be conducted for goods at high risk of origin-labeling violations.
Lee Jin-hee, director general of the customs clearance bureau at the Korea Customs Service, said the agency had prepared a range of support measures "so that the public can enjoy overseas direct purchases and import-export clearance without any inconvenience during Chuseok, our nation's traditional holiday," adding that he hoped "all citizens can spend a joyful holiday with their families."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
