When a foreign contractor is contracted to do construction work in China and needs to have his equipment temporarily imported just for the purpose of doing the work, does he have to obtain an import license for such equipment? The equipment will be brought out of China after the completion of the work.
It depends. In accordance with China's Regulations on the Administration of the Import and Export of Goods and China's Regulations on the taxation of the Import and Export of Goods, as well as other related laws and regulations, a foreign contractor who is contracted to do construction work in China does not need to obtain an import license or pay customs if he is approved by China's Customs to import the equipment temporarily for the purpose of doing the work and agrees to take it out of China within six (6) months. What he must do is pay a security deposit equal to the amount of the customs that he would have to pay if permanently importing the equipment. If the contractor expects to keep the equipment in China for more than six (6) months, he does need to obtain an import license.
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