The State Council, in a circular issued on May 12, approved a three-year pilot program in Central China’s Henan province for the cross-border e-commerce retail import of drugs.

Implementation of the program should be carried out within existing laws, the circular said.

The program covers 13 over-the-counter drugs already licensed for sale in China, and in principle, no drugs will be added during the pilot period to the catalog, which was jointly issued by authorities including the General Administration of Customs (GAC), State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

Drugs included in the catalog should be imported according to the customs clearance management requirements set in GAC regulations on importing and exporting retail goods via cross-border e-commerce.

With the customs clearance form exempted from inspection, the drug imports should comply with related policies regarding tax and trading limits, the circular said, tentatively setting the tariff rate at zero percent, and value-added tax and consumption tax for the import stage at 70 percent of the statutory tax payable, for transactions within the limit.

In implementing the program, the provincial government of Henan should enhance oversight to ensure the quality of imported drugs, and together with SAMR and NMPA, report major problems during the pilot process to the State Council in a timely manner.

State Council departments should strengthen information and data sharing to facilitate procedures, including customs clearance and quality supervision, the circular added.