Harbin customs has significantly improved its customs clearance efficiency in the first three quarters of 2018, offering greater convenience to businesses doing foreign trade.

Statistics from Harbin customs department reveal that the average time for imported goods to clear customs has now been cut to around 4.93 hours, 2.95 hours faster than the nationwide target time, improving on the time in 2017 by 80.23 percent. Exported goods now clear customs in around 0.23 hours, 0.52 hours faster than the nationwide target, and 90.13 percent faster than in 2017.

Compared with the same period last year, the customs clearance time has been cut by one third in general due to Harbin’s policies to facilitate trade.

The Harbin customs department released guidelines on shortening customs clearance times, with 21 new measures included. The detailed measures include an improved customs supervision mechanism, simplification of customs clearance procedures and processes, as well as reform of the customs clearance model, resulting in faster customs clearance times and lower import costs.