Indonesia introduced guidance for its tax and customs relief measures during the COVID-19 pandemic response, KPMG said in an April 15 post. The guidance clarified that overseas sellers and e-commerce operators must appoint an Indonesia-based representative who is responsible for paying and reporting taxes related to those transactions, KPMG said. In addition, value-added taxes on imports of “intangible goods and taxable services” must be collected by “foreign sellers, foreign service providers, and/or foreign or local e-commerce platforms.”

Singapore Customs’ TradeNet will undergo system maintenance from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time on May 3, and 4 a.m. to noon on May 17 and May 31, Singapore said in an April 17 notice. The agency is advising users to avoid submitting applications during this time. This is in addition to usual maintenance on Sundays from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.

South Korea obtained a “special license” from the U.S. to export humanitarian goods to Iran, according to an April 17 report from the Korea Herald. The license allows South Korean companies to export to Iran under “enhanced due diligence” requirements that include a “much longer and more complicated process,” the report said. The South Korean government hopes the license will allow it to soon establish a humanitarian channel to trade with Iran, similar to the U.S.-Swiss joint mechanism announced earlier this year (see 2002270017), the report said. The Treasury Department did not comment.

The U.S. has asked China to amend its increased export control inspections that are causing delays of medical supply shipments (see 2004160035, 2004150034 and 2004130014), according to a State Department spokesperson. “We appreciate the efforts to ensure quality control. But we do not want this to serve as an obstacle for the timely export of important supplies,” the spokesperson said in an April 17 statement. The spokesperson added that the U.S. has “raised these concerns” with China and requested that it “revise its new requirements to allow the expeditious export of vital [personal protective equipment] to the United States.” The U.S. is working “closely” with U.S. companies exporting medical supplies from China to help them “understand the new regulations and raise concerns about held-up shipments,” the spokesperson said. The request was first reported by Reuters.

The Council on Foreign Relations said that U.S., European and Japanese pushback over Made in China 2025, at least the part on high performance medical devices, may ebb after the coronavirus pandemic has passed -- because other countries will want to implement their own versions. “If any country knows a little bit about reducing industrial dependence on the rest of the world through conscious industrial choices, that would be China,” said Brad Stetser, a CFR senior fellow for international economics, during a webinar April 16. He said China is displacing imported semiconductors, but has been less successful in displacing imported aircraft.

China has received “positive” feedback after increasing inspections of certain medical exports, a Commerce Ministry official said, despite reports of lengthy customs delays due to the measures. The measures, announced earlier this month, increased inspections of 11 medical goods after China received international criticism about the quality of the goods. “Since the implementation of the relevant measures, the effect has been obvious and the international community has made positive comments,” a ministry official said during an April 16 press conference, according to an unofficial translation of a transcript. “I would like to emphasize again that China does not and will not restrict the export of anti-epidemic materials.”

Singapore Customs reduced customs duties for four items to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 15 notice. The changes apply to certain “medicated samsu” and “other samsu,” Singapore said. The changes will eliminate customs duties for those items.

India amended the conditions for imports of refined palm oil, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in an April 13 notice. Import licenses will be valid for six months instead of the “usual” 18 months, India said, and its customs authority will “diligently enforce” Rules of Origin criteria for imports of the oil originating from Nepal and Bangladesh. The imports must also be accompanied by the “pre-purchase agreement.”

Vietnam will resume exporting rice less than a month after announcing a temporary ban on the shipments (see 2003270010), according to an April 14 report from CustomsNews, the mouthpiece for Vietnam Customs. The country will establish an export quota of 400,000 tons of rice for April, the report said. Once the quota is reached, the country’s customs authority will “automatically stop receiving registration of customs declarations” for rice exports. The announcement came as the country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade considered proposing strict limits on monthly rice exports during the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2004020015).

China’s Commerce Ministry and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China signed a “memorandum of cooperation” in an effort to stabilize foreign trade and investment, the Commerce Ministry said April 13, according to an unofficial translation of a news release. The ministry said it will share more information about “foreign-invested” and “foreign funded enterprises” with the bank, which will allow the bank to increase “credit support” and offer more services to foreign companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, China said. These services include “cross-border supply chain finance, improved “service quality” and starting “green channels.”