GACC publishes Regulation No. 280 – New food registration procedure applies from June 2026

13. November 2025

On October 14, 2025, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) officially published Regulation No. 280 “Administrative Regulations for the Registration of Foreign Manufacturers of Imported Foodstuffs”. This new regulation will completely replace the current Ordinance No. 248 and will come into force on June 1, 2026. Many food products require GACC registration in order to be approved for import and sale in China.

According to the China CEEC, over 93,000 food manufacturers from 178 countries and regions have already been successfully registered since Regulation No. 248 came into force in 2021. Due to the rapid increase in the number of applications, the GACC has streamlined the registration procedures to simplify the process and better meet the needs of the market.

In future, the two previous registration channels, the “recommendation by the competent authority” and the “company self-registration”, will be completely replaced by an independent application procedure for companies. The previously defined list of the 18 high-risk product categories that required an official recommendation will be kept as a dynamic register in the future.

In the already published draft directory, for example, food supplements, spices, edible oils as well as unroasted coffee beans and cocoa beans are no longer listed as recommendable. If this change is confirmed in the first official version of the dynamic inventory, the registration process and the approval period for these products to enter the market in China would be significantly shortened.

In addition, Regulation No. 280 also contains new requirements for the marking of the GACC registration number. The previous obligation to display this GACC no. will be replaced by the more flexible rule that either the Chinese registration number or the registration number approved by the competent authority of the country of origin must be indicated on the packaging.

The official dynamic product directory has not yet been published. Please continue to follow the updates on our website – MPR will update you on the latest developments and guidelines of the GACC in a timely manner.

For more information on how GACC food registration, CCC certification, the CCC Self-Declaration and voluntary CCAP or CQC certification may affect your company, or for more information about CCC certification in general, please visit our News Section where you will find current updates twice a week.

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