Laws and Regulations

Chinese Law

Source: Ministry of Commerce Website, PRC

DETAILED RULES ON THE ADMINISTRATION AND PENALTIES OF THE CUSTOMS LAW OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Thursday, November 26, 1998 Posted: 16:41 BJT (0841 GMT)

(Valid From:1987.07.01)

(Approved by the State Council on June 30, 1987. Promulgated by General Administration of Customs on July 1, 1987)

CONTENTS

  • CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
  • CHAPTER II SMUGGLING AND PENALTIES
  • CHAPTER III ACTS IN VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS ON CUSTOMS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL AND THEIR PENALTIES
  • CHAPTER IV DISPOSITION CONCERNING SMUGGLING AND ACTIONS VIOLATING THE PROVISIONS ON CUSTOMS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL OF THE CUSTOMS LAW
  • CHAPTER V SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. The present rules are formulated on the basis of Article 60 of the Customs Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as Customs Law), to implement the provisions concerning the legal obligations as prescribed in the said law.

Article 2. The present rules shall be applicable to smuggling behavior which does not constitute a criminal offense as such, which constitutes a criminal offense but against which prosecution has been dropped or the penalty on which has been exempted according to provisions of the law, as well as to actions against any activity which has violated the authority and control of the Customs.

CHAPTER II SMUGGLING AND PENALTIES

Article 3. Any of the following activities constitutes an act of smuggling:

(1) Without prior State Council’s permission or permission from the authorities entrusted by the State Council, to transport, carry or send by mail articles at places where no Customs office has been set up that are prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the country, goods and articles that are restricted from entering or leaving the country and goods that are subject to paying Customs duties according to the law.

(2) Purposely trying to evade Customs supervision or control when transporting, carrying or sending by mail articles that are prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the country, goods and articles that are restricted from entering or leaving the country and goods that are subject to paying Customs duties according to the law by means of concealing, falsifying, deceiving, forging or other means at places where Customs offices have been set up.

(3) Without Customs permission and not having paid the Customs duties that should have been paid originally when engaging in unauthorized sales of bonded warehouse goods, goods that have been put under Customs supervision and means of transportation which have been driven, flown, or sailed into the country.

(4) Without customs permission and not having paid the Customs duties that should have been paid originally when engaging in unauthorized sales of duty-reduced or duty. exempted imported goods which are to be used by a particular enterprise for a particular purpose; or to transport without authorization such goods to be used by that particular enterprise in that particular area to other parts of the country.

Article 4. Any of the following activities also constitutes an act of smuggling:

(1) Illicit purchase of smuggled goods and articles directly from a smuggler.

(2) Transporting, buying or selling articles that are prohibited from entering or leaving the country on China’s inland sea or territorial waters; or transporting, buying or selling goods and articles that are restricted from entering or leaving the country without the required legal documents.

Article 5. Penalties shall be given according to the following provisions if any of the actions mentioned in Articles 3 and 4 is found to have been committed:

(1) Confiscate the prohibited imports or exports and the illegal gains as a result of such activities plus a fine of up to RMB50,000;

(2) For smuggling of goods and articles that are restricted by the State on entering or leaving the country or goods and articles that are subject to paying Customs duties according to the law the penalty shall be confiscation of the smuggled goods and articles and the illegal gains as a result of the smuggling plus a fine of not more than the equivalent value of the smuggled goods and articles or up to three times the Customs duties payable.

(3) Goods and articles that are specially used to conceal the smuggled goods and articles shall be confiscated and those specially designed instruments for concealing the smuggled goods and articles shall be ordered to be confiscated or destroyed.

In case the smuggled goods and articles are beyond the possibility of confiscation, a sum of money equal to the value of the smuggled goods and articles shall be charged.

Article 6. Smuggling involving two persons or more than two persons shall be subject to prosecution under which each person shall be treated individually according to the seriousness of each case and their involvement.

Persons who knew about the smuggling but did not report it to the authorities and facilitated the smugglers shall be punished by confiscating their illegal gains as a result of the smuggling plus a fine of not more than two times the amount of their illegal gains. In case no illegal gains is involved, a fine up to RMB5,000 shall be imposed.

Article 7. With reference to those penalties in Article 5 of the present rules, less severe terms shall be given to persons who prepared tools and created conditions for the smuggling.

Article 8. Any of the following activities shall be given punishments that are less severe in terms or exemption:

(1) Minor smuggling;

(2) The party concerned has confessed on its own initiative and information so provided has led to cracking of the crime by the authorities, or

(3) Smuggling only discovered three years after it was committed.

The duration provided in Clause (3) of Article 8 shall be calculated as from the day the smuggling is committed. In case the smuggling is conducted continuously over a certain period of time, the duration shall be calculated as from the last day the smuggling is committed.

CHAPTER III ACTS IN VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS ON CUSTOMS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL AND THEIR PENALTIES

Article 9. Any acts in violation of the Customs Law but do not yet constitute a crime of smuggling are misconducts in breach of the provisions of the Customs Law regarding Customs supervision and control.

Article 10. Goods imported or exported without the required license or in violation of the rules in relation to the import and export administration shall be confiscated or ordered to be transported back or to refuse shipment. In the event the required license is only obtained after the shipments have arrived, a fine equal to the value of the shipments shall be imposed.

Article 11. In case of any of the following actions, a fine of not more than the equivalent value of the goods and articles concerned or up to two times the Customs duties payable shall be imposed:

(1) To evade Customs supervision and control and to transport, carry or send by mail goods and articles into or out of the country although such goods and articles do not belong to the kinds of goods that are prohibited or restricted from entering or leaving the country or are not subject to paying Customs duties according to the law.

(2) To open, pick up, deliver, forward, replace, re-assemble or transfer goods and articles that have been but under Customs supervision and control or goods and articles that have not been released by the Customs.

(3) Failure to provide the authentic records or appropriate reasons for the loss in quantity of the bonded warehouse goods when engaged in the business of handling the transport, storage, processing, assembling or sales-on-consignment of bonded warehouse goods.

(4) To use, without prior approval from Customs, the duty-reduced or duty-exempted imported goods and articles for purposes other than what was declared earlier.

(5) To purposely misdeclare the goods when entering or leaving the country.

(6) To keep goods inside the country that are allowed to be imported only on a temporary basis and that should be re-exported under the re-exportation requirement of provisions concerned, or to keep goods outside the country that are allowed to be exported only on a temporary basis and that should be re-imported into the country under the re-importation requirement of the provisions concerned.

(7) Failure to transport the transit goods, transhipment goods or through-shipment goods out of the country within the required time period but instead keeping such goods inside the country without authorization.

(8) Without Customs approval and not paying the Customs duties required, when engaged in unauthorized sales of materials and articles of means of transportation after entering or leaving the country.

Article 12. Any of the following actions shall be subject to a fine of up to RMB50,000:

(1) Without State Council’s approval or approval by authorities entrusted by the State Council, when means of transportation enter or leave the country at places where no Customs office has been set up.

(2) Inbound or outbound means of transportation leaving the Customs Surveillance Zone without prior Customs permission.

(3) Before completing Customs procedure or without Customs approval, inbound or outbound means of transportation when going from one Customs point to another Customs point change course without authorization for places out of the country or for places where no Customs office has been set up.

Article 13. Any of the following actions shall be subject to a fine up to RMB30,000:

(1) When inbound or outbound means of transportation enter or leave a place where a Customs office has been set up but fail to provide the relevant documents to the Customs for examination according to the provisions concerned or the documents provided are not authentic.

(2) Inbound or outbound means of transportation or goods and articles upon entering or leaving the country fail to submit to checking or inspection by the Customs according to the provisions concerned.

(3) Inbound or outbound means of transportation load or unload cargoes or passengers without Customs approval.

(4) Without Customs approval, inbound or outbound means of transportation that are to be used for the transportation of cargoes or passengers into or out of the country engage in unauthorized transportation business inside the country or are used for other unauthorized activities.

(5) Without going through the Customs procedures according to the provisions concerned, inbound or outbound means of transportation engage in unauthorized transportation business.

(6) When engaged in the storage, assembling, processing or sales-on-consignment of bonded warehouse goods, failure to go through the required procedures on receiving, delivering , bookkeeping and selling procedures according to the provisions concerned. Or failure to go through the required Customs procedures on termination, extension, or transfer of the relevant contracts according to the provisions concerned.

(7) Without Customs permission or refusing to accept Customs supervision or control to keep outside the Customs Surveillance Zone goods that have been put under Customs supervision or control.

(8) To destroy or damage Customs seals on means of transportation, warehouse or goods.

Article 14. Any of the following actions shall be subject to a fine up to RMB 20,000:

(1) Inbound means of transportation that enter the country but have not completed their Customs procedures fail to go along the route designated by the competent transportation organ or the customs, or outbound means of transportation that have completed their Customs procedures but have not left the country fail to go along the routes designated by the competent transportation organ or the Customs.

(2) Ships or vehicles carrying goods into or out of the country which have been put under the supervision or control of the Customs fail to go along the routes designated by the Customs.

(3) Failure to report to the nearest Customs with a valid reason when ships or aircraft are found to have stopped, landed or unloaded goods and articles due to force majeure at places where no customs office has been set up.

Article 15. Payment of over-due Customs duties, return of the articles concerned and a fine not exceeding the value of the articles concerned shall be imposed simultaneously for any of the following actions:

(1) In a small quantity and for personal use, carried by persons or sent by mail into or out of the country articles the amount of which has exceeded the amount allowed by the Customs without declaring to the Customs.

(2) False declaration of or refusal to accept Customs inspection on articles carried by persons or sent by mail into or out of the country.

(3) When, in contravention of the relevant provisions, articles that originally have been allowed to leave/enter after they have been registered with the Customs and granted temporary exemption on their Customs duties are taken into or out of the country again without authorization.

(4) Transit passengers leave their belongings inside the country without Customs permission.

Article 16. Any of the following actions shall be subject to a fine of up to RMB1,000:

(1) Without a special reason, failure to notify Customs in advance the time and place of arrival, or the new time and place after the original ones have been changed, of ships, trains or aircraft that are entering or leaving the country.

(2) Destruction of or damage to without authorization Customs seals made on articles.

(3) Violations of Customs provisions which prevent or disrupt Customs supervision or control over incoming or outgoing means of transportation, goods and articles.

Article 17. Confiscation, order to return or withholding of shipments and/or fine depending on the seriousness of the case may be imposed on the party concerned who reports to the customs before Customs inspection about the carrying or mailing of articles into or out of the country that are prohibited by the State.

Article 18. Minor penalties or exemption may be accorded in case of slight breaches of the Customs provisions or on those who volunteer to confess.

Activities in breach of Customs provisions but were only discovered three years after the activities were committed shall be exempted from prosecution.

CHAPTER IV DISPOSITION CONCERNING SMUGGLING AND ACTIONS VIOLATING THE PROVISIONS ON CUSTOMS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL OF THE CUSTOMS LAW

Article 19. Actions that constitute an act of smuggling or actions that are in violation of the provisions on Customs supervision and control of the Customs Law shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant decisions made be the Customs director.

Article 20. When detaining goods, articles or means of transportation Customs shall issue the necessary documentation to that effect to the parties concerned.

Such documentation forms shall be prepared by the General Administration of Customs in a unified way.

Article 21. Customs may charge the party concerned an amount of money which is the equivalent value of the goods, articles or means of transportation that shall be detained in the form of deposit or pledge in kind if such goods, articles or means of transportation cannot be detained or are unsuitable to detain.

Article 22. Goods, articles or means of transportation under Customs detention according to the law cannot be disposed of before a court order is issued or before the Customs decision goes into effect. But for those fresh, live or perishable goods or articles, or goods or articles that easily lose their stated effectiveness Customs may sell them, safe keep the proceeds therefrom and notify the owner/owners accordingly.

Article 23. Customs may notify the banks or post offices in writing to temporarily suspend withdrawal or payment on deposits or remittance if the money has been proved to have derived from smuggling activities. Customs shall simultaneously notify the person/ persons in title of the deposits or remittance of the suspension. A suspension cannot be longer than three months. After a court order is made, Customs shall have the authority to dispose of the money which they have suspended withdrawal or payment according to the provisions of the Customs Law and the present rules.

Article 24. In case of violation of the Customs Law by enterprises, institutions government departments or public organizations, Customs may impose a fine up to RMB1,000 on the person/persons in charge of the said units in addition to penalties to be imposed on the said units.

Article 25. In case of violation of the Customs Law by enterprises, institutions, government departments or public organizations, Customs may in the light of the seriousness of the case suspend the preferential treatment on Customs duties that the said units are enjoying, declare null and void their eligibility on customs clearance or revoke the Customs clearance certificate held by the person(s) in charge of the said units.

Article 26. A disposition notice shall be sent by the Customs to the party concerned in respect of the penalties imposed for violations of Customs supervision and control or smuggling activities.

If the party concerned objects to the Customs decisions, the said party may apply for reconsideration in writing within 30 days after receipt of the disposition notice to the Customs making the decision or to one at a higher level. The Customs which receives the reconsideration application shall make a decision within 90 days after receipt of the application, notify the party concerned to that effect, and to whom the reconsideration decision in writing should be sent.

If the party concerned objects to the reconsideration decision, the said party may taking the case to the People’s Court within 30 days after receipt of the reconsideration decision in writing.

Instead of applying to the Customs for reconsideration, the party concerned may consider taking the case directly to the People’s court for a decision within 30 days after receipt of the disposition notice. Under such circumstances, the party concerned cannot apply to Customs for reconsideration.

Both the disposition notice and reconsideration decision in writing shall be prepared by the General Administration of Customs in a unified way.

Article 27. Customs may choose to Send the disposition notice and reconsideration decision in writing by special delivery or by mail. Signature of the party concerned shall be required if the delivery is made by person. If the delivery is made through the mail, the date of receipt of the registered mail shall be the date of delivery. In case of unsuccessful delivery Customs may make a public announcement to that effect, in which case the public announcement shall be accepted as proof of delivery.

Article 28. If the party concerned fails to apply for reconsideration or take the case before the People’s Court before the said time limit, the disposition shall be enforced accordingly.

Fine, illegal gains and sums of money equivalent to the value of the smuggled goods, articles or means of transportation that should have been paid according to law shall be paid or handed over within the time limit stipulated by Customs.

Article 29. If the party concerned who is found guilty according to the Customs’ ruling does not have permanent residency in the country, the said party shall pay or hand over the fine, illegal gains and the sums of money equivalent to the value of the smuggled goods, articles or means of transportation before leaving the country. If the party concerned is going to leave the country but objects to the Customs decision or the same party is going to leave the country but fails to pay the required fine, the said party may make deposits or pledge in kind which is the equivalent value of the required fine or any other forms of guarantees that are acceptable to the Customs.

Customs shall return the deposits or pledge in kind of the party concerned and the guarantee so made shall become null and void after the party concerned has performed the obligations of the disposition decision of the Customs within the required time limit.

Article 30. In case of non-performance of Customs decision on the disposition or in the absence of a reconsideration application or lawsuit, the Customs which made the disposition decision may confiscate the deposits or the pledge in kind and sell those goods, articles or means of transportation that have been put under detention. The Customs may also apply to the People’s Court for an injunction to enforce the execution of the disposition.

Article 31. The party concerned shall not be exempted from paying the Customs duties and completing the Customs procedures on goods, articles or means of transportation that have not been confiscated even though the said party has paid the fine(s) imposed according to the present rules.

CHAPTER V SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 32. Disciplinary actions shall be taken against those Customs personnel who abuse their power and intentionally create difficulties or procrastinate while on Customs control and examination duties. The State Council’s provisions on the reward and penalties on government personnel shall be the term of reference for such disciplinary action. The State Council’s provision on the reward and penalties on government personnel shall, according to the seriousness of the case, be referred to in disciplinary or legal actions against those who practise graft, neglect their duties or indulge in smuggling.

Article 33. Terms used in this present rules are defined as follows:

The term “articles” includes money, gold and silver and negotiable securities.

The term “the equivalent value of” means the prevailing market price in the local State-run markets; Customs shall have the authority to determine the price of the commodity if the market price cannot be determined.

The term “up to” or “not more than” are inclusive of the amount they designated.

Article 34. A list of goods that are restricted by the State from entering or leaving the country shall be announced by the departments in charge under the State Council.

A list of those articles that are prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the country shall be prepared by the General Administration of Customs together with other departments in charge under the State Council by referring to the Customs Law and any other relevant laws and regulations and shall be announced by the General Administration of Customs.

A list of articles that are restricted by the State from entering or leaving the country shall be announced by the General Administration of Customs.

Article 35. The General Administration of Customs shall be responsible for the interpretation of the present rules.

Article 36. The present rules shall enter into force on July 1, 1987.