Kai Fu Han

Chapter 463 Bonded Zone

"My subordinate has a small request, I don't know whether to honor it or not."

When the two returned to the port, Tao Lu asked cautiously.

"But it doesn't matter."

Punishing people for words only shows the narrow-mindedness of those in power.

"According to the regulations of the Ministry of Taxation, if a ship docks at Jeju Island, it will be considered as entering the jurisdiction of the Xinghan League and must pay customs duties on the goods." Tao Lu said.

"Yes, I know this rule." Liu Xinqi nodded.

Logically speaking, it would be more reasonable to charge tariffs when the goods have landed or entered a more obvious state of customs entry.But in this day and age, it is too difficult to detect the whereabouts of a ship owner’s cargo.

The coastline cannot be effectively detected, the flow of goods cannot be effectively detected, etc. It is too difficult to monitor smuggling.

Therefore, Liu Xinqi formulated the strictest customs declaration regulations. As long as the ship docks, the goods on the ship must have paid customs duties. With the tax payment certificate, the ship can go to the destination smoothly and will not be taxed multiple times.

This prevents some ship owners from docking for supplies midway and secretly disembarking at a private port when they arrive at their destination to evade taxes.

"Jeju Island is located at the center of Zhao, Goryeo, Japan, Jin and our Xinghan Alliance. Most of the cargo ships from the five countries will pass through here." Tao Lu continued: "Because of this strict tariff policy, some people do not want to go there. The Han League was established, but the cargo ships and passenger ships passing by Jeju Island did not dare to stop at Jeju Island.”

"You have to pay taxes when you dock. For example, if a cargo ship from Zhao State pulls goods from Japan to Zhao State and passes through Jeju Island, if it docks at Jeju Island for supplies, it must pay a customs duty to the Xinghan Alliance. The cost of such a stop is too high."

"Indeed." Liu Xinqi nodded.

When Tao Lu saw Liu Xinqi recognizing his words, his expression became much higher.

"Originally, there were many passing cargo ships docking on Jeju Island, and some people on the island made a living by providing services to these ships. Now that this policy has come out, except for the cargo ships destined for the Xinghan League, other ships have stopped coming, resulting in This part of the revenue has been greatly reduced. And these ships that originally docked at Jeju Island for supplies are now diverted to other surrounding ports such as Goryeo and Zhao State south of the Yellow River. This is also a loss for us."

"What do you mean?" Liu Xinqi asked.

"In terms of customs and tax payment, can Jeju Island be treated specially? Except for goods sold to the people of Jeju Island, other passing cargo ships do not have to pay customs duties. In this case, Jeju Island can provide supply, maintenance, repair and other services to passing ships. , create jobs and generate benefits, and the taxes generated by these industries will also increase the government's fiscal revenue." Tao Lu stated his request.

"It can also be said that it collects part of the tariffs on cargo ships heading to other countries in disguise." Liu Xinqi said.

"Yes, yes!" Tao Lu was very excited when he saw that Liu Xinqi understood what he meant.

"You are very good!" Liu Xinqi praised Tao Lu.

"The leader is so complimentary." Tao Lu bowed his hands and thanked Liu Xinqi for his praise.

In fact, the model Tao Lu mentioned has very successful examples in later generations.The most famous is Singapore. Due to its superior geographical location, it provides various services for sea-going ships passing through the Strait of Malacca, making its economy very strong and relying on its small land to rank among developed countries.

Later generations had a unified name for this model called "bonded area", also known as bonded warehouse area.

Goods transported into the bonded area can be stored, modified, sorted, mixed, exhibited, and processed, but must be within the scope of customs supervision.

Foreign goods stored in the bonded area do not have to pay import duties and can still enter and exit freely. They only need to pay storage fees and a small amount of fees. However, if they want to enter the customs territory, they need to pay duties.

Bonded zones in later countries have different time regulations. If overdue goods have not gone through relevant procedures, the customs has the right to auction them. After the auction, after deducting relevant fees, the remaining balance will be returned to the owner of the goods.

"Your idea is very good, and it can even be bolder." Liu Xinqi introduced the experience of later generations to Tao Lu: "Not only is there no tax, but you can also set up an area where merchants can unload and load goods, and they can directly go to the area Trade with each other within the country and engage in entrepot trade. For ships, we can not only provide repairs and supplies, but also provide sailors, medical and other services that can be provided, and even provide route protection, replacement of old ships, etc."

The purpose of replacing old ships with new ones is for ship owners whose ships have been severely damaged by storms and require a long time to repair, but their goods cannot wait. We can directly replace them with a new ship so that the ship owners can continue to complete their trade as scheduled.

The same is true for providing crew members. Seafarers will inevitably be killed, injured or seriously ill. If the crew can be replenished in Jeju Island, subsequent trade will not be affected at all, and injuries and illnesses can be properly treated in Jeju Island.

"This..., if this is really the case, I believe no one can refuse to transit and rest in Jeju Island." Tao Lu was shocked: "If re-export trade is allowed within this limited area, will it affect the development of our Xinghan Alliance? Tariff benefits?”

"No, anyway, as long as the goods enter the territory of Xinghan League for sale, they must pay customs duties. For us, Xinghan League, we don't care who pays, as long as we make sure it is paid or not." Liu Xinqi said.

The same goes for exports. The bonded area is supervised by tax department officials. As long as the goods produced by Xinghan League are exported, they will be supervised to pay taxes. After all, the goods produced by Xinghan League can be tracked and will not disappear without reason.

"In this case, Jeju Island's talents and manpower will definitely not be able to complete the construction and maintenance of this area." Tao Lu sighed.

"Don't worry, your idea is very good, and the alliance will definitely support it. I will write back and ask the alliance to send people to support you, and immigrate more Han people to increase the proportion of Han people in Jeju Island. I think you should be able to I'm sure it's done." Liu Xinqi encouraged.

"With such strong support from the alliance leader, I promise to complete the construction and maintenance of this area." Tao Lu said.

"Let's call it a 'bonded zone'."

"Okay, bonded area, very intuitive."

In fact, the bonded zone will not reduce tariff revenue. On the contrary, due to various benefits, it will attract a large number of merchants to enter, which will ultimately greatly increase tariff revenue.

Only by making the plate bigger can you eat more. There are many people who understand this principle, but few can actually practice it.

On the same day, Liu Xinqi wrote a letter of nearly [-] words, explaining in detail his vision for the establishment of the bonded zone. He asked the Government Affairs Council and the Ministry of Taxation to make some improvements and modifications based on actual conditions, and send people to Dengzhou to support Tao Lu and establish the bonded zone as soon as possible. Get up and attract shipping merchants to transit and rest.

In the letter, Liu Xinqi solemnly recommended Tao Lu to Luo Cheng, saying that this person was very business-savvy, far-sighted, and courageous. He asked Luo Cheng to conduct an investigation and make Tao Lu a candidate for the person in charge when the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was later established. one.

(End of this chapter)