An official salutes during a press conference held by Shenyang customs on July 19. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Shenyang customs recently launched preferential policies on customs clearance and trade facilitation to support the development of Shenyang Free Trade Zone, Shenyang Daily reported.

The news was announced at the press conference held by Shenyang customs on July 19. Han Gang, deputy chief of Shenyang customs introduced the newly-launched policies covering five aspects and 20 categories.

The detailed measures, including an improved customs supervision mechanism, reform of bonded supervision, and support for the development of trade, all have the aim of promoting a fair and market-oriented business environment.

As of June 30, Shenyang customs has enacted 19 out of 45 innovation and reform measures, which have provided a significant boost to trade.

According to statistics from Shenyang customs, the paper-free customs clearance rate has hit 97.93 percent, and the number of categories businesses need to declare has been cut by 30.

In addition, it now only takes around two minutes to fill in a customs declaration in Shenyang, compared to 15 minutes previously. The average time for imported goods to clear customs has now been cut to around 14 hours, representing a decrease of 47.3 percent; and exported goods now clear customs in around 45 minutes –– a decrease of 50.3 percent.

Han Gang also revealed that Shenyang customs will enact at least 26 trade facilitation measures over three phases in the future, with the needs of businesses at the center of government reforms.