Hi - The supplier of mine says he has china export license but that got expired an year ago and now he has applied for renewal. Question is: Is that supplier authorized to export goods to China while his license is under renewal process? He gave me a license number and scanned copy of the license so at least we know for sure that he is not lying that he had the license that got expired. But can he export goods to China while renewal process is still going on?


Please confirm.

No, the supplier cannot be export during the renewal term. Subject to the Measures for the Administration of License for the Export of Goods (2008) issued by the State Ministry of Finance, if an application for extension fails to be filed within the period of validity of an export license, the export license will be invalidated automatically after expiration. After expiry, the license holder has to re-apply rather than renew.

The length of time required for re-application depends on whether the exported goods are subject to export quota or not. If so, the supplier has to file an application to the State Ministry of Commerce and it will probably take some time for examination and approval (the specific period depends on the product and qualifications of the supplier). If the goods are not subject to export quota, the supplier should obtain the new export license within one week under normal circumstances, in which case the shipment can be made in May-June this year.

This may help a bit.http://www.hktdc.com/info/mi/bgcn/en/Guide-To-Doing-Business-In-China?DCSext.dept=2&WT.mc_id=1399047