New rules for overseas food facility registration: GACC Decree No. 280 in force

Key provisions

• Scope: overseas production, processing and storage facilities exporting food to China. For now, only cold stores used for terrestrial animal-origin foods and aquatic products are in scope among storage facilities.
• Foods requiring a competent-authority recommendation (2026/27): meat and meat products, casings, edible bird's nests, bee products, eggs, edible oils and fats, stuffed pastry products, edible grains, milled grain products and malt, dehydrated vegetables, seasoning powders, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, foods for special dietary uses, health foods, dairy products, aquatic products.
• For listed foods, the application includes the competent authority's audit report and recommendation letter; otherwise the facility applies itself or through an agent. Documents are in Chinese or English.
• Registration is valid for 5 years and renews automatically for another 5 years. Exceptions: the no-automatic-renewal list (meat products, edible bird's nests; apply 3–12 months before expiry), facilities under rectification and countries under import suspension.
• Packaging shows the China registration number or the number approved by your home competent authority. The importer must enter the facility's China registration number (licence code 519) in the declaration; otherwise it is not accepted.
• Relocation, a change of legal representative or a change of the home-country registration number may require a new registration.
• GACC charges no registration fee and warns against fake websites.

Impact for exporters

Türkiye's main export foods (dried fruit, nuts, honey, edible oils, grains, seasoning powders) are on the recommendation list, so registration runs through the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Automatic renewal largely removes the renewal burden for existing registrations.

Recommended actions

1. Check your product's category by HS code with the product-category query in the registration system.
2. For listed foods, plan the application through the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
3. Confirm that your registration number is used correctly on packaging and in your importer's declaration.
4. If you plan to relocate or rename your facility, check the effect on your registration first.

Official sources

• Official announcement (Chinese) — 海关总署令第280号
• Official announcement (Chinese) — 海关总署令第280号