According to the official announcement, on August 8, 2017, the Chinese Customs Department launched a campaign in 8 cities to seize the largest case of smuggled vape essential oils in the country.
Through preliminary verification, the smuggled shipment weighed about 600 tons, worth 45 million USD. Customs seized about 187 thousand bottles of essential oils at the scene. The case is still under investigation, it has been confirmed that 1 trading company in Xiamen City and 3 representative companies from Shenzhen City are involved in this case, their 4 business managers are currently under police surveillance.
80% of imported essential oils belong to these 4 companies.
China Customs started looking into this in May 2016, when a shipment of essential oils was found to be problematic in terms of price and actual weight. The customs department took action on August 8, 2017, to stop the import.
How did 4 companies participate in smuggling?
1 - Product value is reduced by 20 - 30% compared to invoice.
2 - Product value is converted directly from USD to HKD.
3 - Most products are low priced, only $1 - $2 a bottle.
4 - Falsifying the quantity of imported products on invoices.
China Customs found it strange that smuggling companies had to pay $7 to customers if they lost products. But the import invoice value was only $1-2 or less.
Items confiscated by China Customs
In short, China's management of the vape industry is still quite loose. In China, vapes are not drugs, medical products, medical equipment, nor are they included in the tobacco category, so most vape products are classified as non-products, without quality and safety control.
What will this mean for the Chinese vape market?
1 - China will set standards for the vape industry
2 - Imported vape essential oil prices will increase.
We will continue to monitor this case and keep you updated with any updates.
