With effect from yesterday, mainland visitors entering the mainland from Macau can carry with them duty-free articles worth up to 12,000 yuan (13,320 patacas) through all border checkpoints.
The Ministry of Finance announced in late June an increase in the duty-free allowance for luggage items carried by mainlanders aged at least 18 entering the mainland from Hong Kong or Macau from 5,000 yuan to 12,000 yuan with effect from July 1 when the measure was only implemented at four Hong Kong-mainland border checkpoints, namely Lo Wu, Futian, Shenzhen Bay and West Kowloon Terminus Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, as well as two Macau-mainland border checkpoints – Gongbei and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
The Notice on Increasing the Duty-free Allowance for Baggage Articles for Personal Consumption Carried by Resident Visitors Entering the Mainland from Hong Kong and Macau by the General Administration of Customs noted that the scope for the duty-free limit measure for mainlanders would be extended from the six border checkpoints to all border checkpoints from August 1 onwards, except the “first-tier” checkpoint of Hengqin.
Consequently, the new measure took effect yesterday.
Personal baggage items, according to the ministry, carried by travellers crossing the “first-tier” Hengqin checkpoint will be allowed to be carried free of duty within a “reasonable” quantity for personal use. There is no restriction on the duty-free quota of 12,000 yuan, which implies that, subject to fulfilment of the new measure’s conditions, duty-free goods exceeding 12,000 yuan can be carried into the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin via the checkpoint, the ministry’s notice points out.
The notice also noted that mainland visitors returning from Macau will not be taxed for purchases made at duty-free shops at border checkpoints, provided that the purchase amount – plus the total value of personal luggage acquired outside the mainland for “reasonable” personal use – does not exceed 15,000 yuan.
Duty-free refers to the act of being able to purchase an item in particular circumstances without paying import, sales, value-added, or other taxes.
Summing up the situation at the Barrier Gate checkpoint and the Macau side of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint last month, the Macau Customs Service (SA) said in a statement yesterday that in the month since the implementation of the measure, the number of mainland visitors entering and exiting Macau through the two checkpoints has increased “significantly”, but at the same time, Macau customs officers have discovered that there have been occasional cases of touting for help from border-crossers in smuggling goods to the mainland.
According to the statement, Macau’s customs officers have recently detected two smuggling-related cases at the Barrier Gate checkpoint, in which penalties have been imposed on the culprits in accordance with the law.
This file photo taken in July shows border-crossers entering the Barrier Gate checkpoint’s departure hall. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
