May 14, 2018 - The General Administration of Customs China (GACC) has released the announcement No.56 [2017] to advise changes in its manifest rules on imports and exports, effective from June 1 2018.

The key adjustments are as follows:
 - Enforce advanced submission of manifest 24 hours prior to loading. Complete and accurate cargo information as carried in the manifest must be submitted to China Customs electronically 24 hours prior to loading onto vessels that sail to/via/out of Chinese mainland ports. 
 - Standardize the communication code between customs in loading port and destination Code Abbreviation + Enterprise code such as:  
Unified Social Credit identifier: USCI + Enterprise code
Temporary without Unified Social Credit identifier (Temporary): OC + Enterprise code
No Unified Social Credit identifier: 9999 + Enterprise code
Natural person with ID number: ID + ID number
Natural person with Passport: Passport + Passport number
Natural person without ID or Passport: 8888 + Valid Identity
 
 - Mandatory data on manifest includes loading and unloading place code / consignor code / consignee name / country code / consignor contact number.
 
The regulation is applicable to all import, export and transshipment cargo via all China mainland ports. The manifest must reflect both accurately and completely - all goods under bills of lading.