CHINA. The Hainan authorities yesterday stepped up their efforts to crack down on smuggling of duty free goods by ‘purchasing agents’ (taogou and daigou traders) following a seminal conference on 6 May.
On 15 May, the Hainan government held a special meeting to study ways to improve the province’s ability to combat such activities. Liu Xiaoming, the Acting Governor, presided over the meeting.
Provincial leaders Shen Danyang, Chen Huaiyu, and Gu Gang, and Secretary-General of the Provincial Government Fu Xuanchao also attended.
Earlier, in a far-reaching development for the Hainan offshore duty free sector, authorities announced a crackdown on ‘smuggling’ by purchasing agents during the Hainan Provincial Anti-Smuggling Work Conference held in Haikou on 6 May. Several retail staff in Hainan were arrested recently to underline the seriousness of the initiative.
The event revealed key anti-smuggling measures to be adopted across the province.
The conference heard that China’s Party Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping attach great importance to Hainan’s anti-smuggling and Free Trade Port risk prevention and control work.
The high-level meeting, relayed by video to relevant cities and countries, was attended by Feng Fei, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, who delivered a speech, and Acting Governor Liu Xiaoming.
Hainan must fully understand the importance and urgency of strictly preventing smuggling risks and be prepared for a long-term battle, the conference was told. Prevention of those risks is the primary responsibility Hainan must shoulder, and a political responsibility that all cities, counties, departments and units must jointly implement.
“Only by preventing and controlling risks can we maintain the ‘Golden brand’ of offshore duty free,” the conference heard. Strict rules underpinned by a sound system to wage the battle must be deployed, the authorities said.
The meeting said the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have devised a three-year programme to deal with the issues of smuggling by taogou [using other people’s identity information and allowances to purchase duty free goods and resell them for profits] and daigou [using one’s own allowance to purchase duty free goods for others and receiving commission].
The first year will focus on “curing the symptoms”, the second year will strive to “cure the root cause”, and the third year will build resistance to risks.
Special operations, early detection, quick crackdowns, and severe punishment will all form part of the combined attack on the problem, the conference concluded. ✈
Note: We will bring you more detailed analysis of the latest developments in Hainan and related changes to the daigou trading business in South Korea in a special report coming soon.
