The Implementing Rules of the Regulations of the People’s Republic of china

/in /by

Order of the Ministry of Communication of the People”s Republic of china [2003] No.1 The Implementing Rules of the Regulations of the People”s Republic of china on International Maritime Transportation which were adopted at the 14th Ministerial Exe

Order of the Ministry of Communication of the People\’\’s Republic of china [2003] No.1 The Implementing Rules of the Regulations of the People\’\’s Republic of china on International Maritime Transportation which were adopted at the 14th Ministerial Executive Meeting of the Ministry of Communications on December 25, 2002 are promulgated hereby, and shall be effective as of March 1, 2003.

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Rules are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations of the People\’\’s Republic of China on International Maritime Transportation ( hereinafter referred to as the Maritime Transportation Regulations).

Article 2 The Ministry of Communications and the relevant competent communications department of the people\’\’s government in the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Maritime Transportation Regulations and these Rules administer the international maritime transportation business operations as well as the auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime transportation under the principles of fairness, high efficiency and facilitation with the purpose of encouraging fair competition and preventing illegitimate competition.

Article 3 For the purpose of the Maritime Transportation Regulations and these Rules, the definitions of the terms are as follows:

(1) “International shipping services” shall mean the services provided by the operators of international shipping services relating to international maritime cargo and/or passenger transportation, and/or the activities conducted relating to such operators\’\’ vessels, passengers or cargo for the purpose of completing such international maritime cargo and/or passenger transportation by using their owned or operated vessels or space on board the vessels. Such services shall include the signing of the relevant agreements, accepting of space-booking, discussing and collecting freights, issuing of bill of lading and other related transportation documents, arranging cargo-handling and the care of the cargo, taking delivery of cargo or delivering cargo, arranging the transshipment of cargo and the entry into and departure from ports by vessels etc.

(2) “Operators of international shipping services” shall include the Chinese enterprise legal persons who have acquired the Permits for Operation of International Shipping Services for operating the international shipping services according to the Maritime Transportation Regulations, or foreign enterprises established in accordance with foreign laws who operate the international shipping services to and from Chinese ports.

(3) “International liner services” shall mean the regular international maritime cargo/or passenger transportation services provided between the fixed ports by means of using the owned or operated vessels or by means of the cases specified in paragraph 3, Article 16 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.

(4) “Non-vessel-operating services” shall mean the services provided in paragraph 2, Article 7 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, including the following activities conducted relating to the cargo transported for the purpose of completing such services :

a. concluding international cargo transportation contracts with the shippers in the name of carriers;

b. taking delivery of cargo and delivering cargo in the name of carriers;

c. issuing bills of lading or other transportation documents;

d. collecting freight and other service charges;

e. booking space from operators of international shipping services or contracting with operators of other means of transportation for cargo transportation;

f. paying the freight of port to port transportation or other transportation charges;

g. unstuffing and/or cargo container consolidation;

h. other related activities.

(5) “A non-vessel-operating common carrier” shall include a Chinese enterprise legal person who has acquired the license for the non-vessel-operating services in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Regulations and these Rules, and a foreign enterprise established in accordance with foreign laws or regulations who has acquired the qualification in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Regulations and these Rules for non-vessel-operating services for cargo to and from Chinese ports.

(6) “An international shipping agent” shall mean a Chinese enterprise legal person established in accordance with Chinese laws who provides the services as specified in Article 29 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.

(7) “An international ship management operator” shall mean a Chinese enterprise legal person established in accordance with Chinese laws who provides the services as specified in Article 30 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.

(8) “An operator of the business relating to storage and warehousing of international shipments” shall mean a Chinese enterprise legal person established in accordance with Chinese laws who provides the services of cargo storage and custody in warehouses, cargo inventory management, as well as sorting and packing, repacking and distributing of cargo etc.

(9) “An operator of international maritime container freight station and container yard services” shall mean a Chinese enterprise legal person established in accordance with Chinese laws who provides the storage, custody, cleaning, repairing of containers as well as the storage, consolidation, distribution of container cargo.

(10) “A foreign-invested enterprise shall mean a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture, a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture or a wholly foreign capital enterprise established in accordance with Chinese laws.

(11) “A foreign-invested representative office” shall mean a non-commercial organization established according to laws within Chinese territory by a foreign enterprise or another economic organization which conducts introduction of business, sales promotion, business consultation and the liaison services for such a foreign enterprise or economic organization.

(12) “Business registration documents of an enterprise” shall mean the business license or the documents certifying the registration of an enterprise issued by the enterprises registration authority or the relevant authority of the country where the enterprise was registered. Where the photocopies of such business registration documents are submitted, a confirmation on such photo-copies about the truthfulness of such photocopies by the registration authority or notary documents certifying the identity between the photocopies and the originals shall be provided at the same time.

(13) “A special-purpose invoice” shall mean the bills approved and uniformly printed by the State Administration of Taxation. It is a receipt which certifies the payment of the freights or other related charges by the payer to the operator of international shipping services or its agents, or to the non-vessel-operating carrier or its agents. Such an invoice shall include the Special Invoice for International Shipping and the Special Invoice for International Shipping Agency.

(14) “An agreement of liner conference” shall mean the kind of agreement concluded between members of a liner conference or between liner conferences, which is defined in the UN Convention on A Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences, 1974.

(15) “An operational agreement” shall mean an agreement relating to the increase or decrease of shipping capacity in one or more shipping routes concluded between two or more than two international operators of international liner services for the purpose of stabilizing or controlling the freight rates, or other agreement coordination the joint efforts of operators of international liner ser-vices. Such an agreement includes the agreed minutes with the natures of the above-mentioned agreement. Such an agreement shall also mean the agreement relating to the joint operation of the vessels, joint usage of the port facilities and other cooperative operation agreement and various kinds of alliance or consortia agreements concluded between two or more than two operators of international liner services for the purpose of improving the operational efficiency.

(16) “A freight rate agreement” shall mean an agreement relating to the kinds of charges to be collected, the rates thereof, the freight rates or surcharges etc. which is concluded between two or more than two operators of international liner services. Such an agreement shall also include the agreed minutes with the natures of the above-mentioned agreement.

(17) “Tariff rates” refer to the freight rates provided in the tariff book of international liner services operators and non-vessel-operating common carriers. Such rates include the freight rates, the rules related to the freight rates and the rules which shall be complied with both by carriers and shippers.

(18) “Negotiated rates” refer to the freight rates agreed upon between international liner services operators and shippers or non-vessel-operating common carriers. Such rates shall include the freight rates and the related elements. Negotiated rates shall be concluded in the form of written contracts or agreements.

(19) “Documents certifying the business experience” refer to the curriculum vitae certifying that the person to be certified has more than three years\’\’ experience in the international shipping services and the auxiliary businesses thereof. The curriculum vitae shall be notarized by a notary office.

Chapter II Operators of International Shipping Services and Auxiliary Businesses thereof

Article 4 The criteria specified in Article 5 in the Maritime Transportation Regulations shall be satisfied and the policies of the State for the development of international shipping industry and the actual competition situations in international shipping market issued by the Ministry of Communications shall be considered before an enterprise can be set up within the Chinese territory to operate the international shipping services or before a Chinese enterprise legal person can apply to operate the international shipping services.

　　The Ministry of Communications shall publish the policies of the State for the development of international shipping industry and the actual competition situations in international shipping market at its official website and the other appropriate media. Where the above-mentioned policies or situations fail to be published, they shall not be used as the reasons for the refusal of applications.

Article 5 The applicant shall make an application and submit the relevant documents to the Ministry of Communications for applying to set up an enterprise within the Chinese territory to operate international shipping services, or, for applying to operate international shipping services when such an applicant is a Chinese enterprise legal person. A duplicate of the same documents shall be sent to the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the enterprise is or is to be registered, as the case may be. The following application documents shall be included:

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the feasibility study report and the agreement of investment;

(3) the business registration document of the applicant (if applying to set up an enterprise, the main investor\’\’s business registration document or, as the case may be, the identity document) ;

(4) the duplicate or photocopy of the vessel\’\’s ownership document, nationality document or inspection document;

(5) the sample of bill of lading, passage ticket or multi-modal transport documents; and

(6) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior executives who satisfy the requirements of the Ministry of Communications.

　　The competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall give its comments thereon upon the acceptance of the documents and submit its comments to the Ministry of Communications within 10 working days from the date of acceptance of the application.

　　The Ministry of Communications shall, within 30 working days from the date when the application documents are complete and authentic, complete the examination and verification and make a decision of granting or not granting permission in accordance with Article 5 and 6 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations. If the permission is granted, a Permit for Operation of International Shipping Services shall be issued to the applicant, or, if no permission is granted, the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons therefor.

Article 6 If a Chinese operator of international shipping services applies to set up a branch within Chinese territory, the provisions relating to the procedures as specified in Article 5 of these Rules shall apply. The following application documents shall be included:

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the feasibility study report;

(3) the business registration document of the parent company;

(4) the photocopy of the Permit for Operation of International Shipping Services of the parent company;

(5) the letter of confirmation by the parent company of the business scope of the branch; and

(6) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior executives who satisfy the requirement of the Ministry of Communications.

　　The branches of the Chinese operators of international shipping services may provide the services to the vessels of the parent company with regard to port entry and departure, arranging for the port handling, accepting of space booking, issuing of bill of lading and collecting of freight etc.

Article 7 If applying to set up of an enterprise legal person within Chinese territory to operate international shipping agency services or to operate international shipping agency services, an application shall be submitted to the Ministry of Communications, and the relevant documents shall be attached thereto. The same documents shall be submitted to the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the enterprise is or is to be registered, as the case may be. The application documents shall include the following:

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the feasibility study report and the agreement of investment;

(3) the business registration document of the applicant (if applying to set up an enterprise, the main investor\’\’s business registration document or, as the case may be, the identity document) ;

(4) the document certifying that there is a fixed place of business;

(5) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior executives as specified in subparagraph 1 of Article 9 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations; and

(6) the agreement of having EDI with the ports and customs etc. If there is no such EDI arrangement, the certifying document issued by the relevant port or customs shall be provided.

　　The competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall give its comments thereon upon the acceptance of the documents and submit its comments to the Ministry of Communications within 7 working days from the date of acceptance of the application.

　　The Ministry of Communications shall, within 15 working days from the date when the application documents are complete and authentic, complete the examination and verification in accordance with Article 9 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations. If the application documents are examined and verified as qualified, the registration shall be granted and a Registration for Operation of International Shipping Agency Services shall be issued to the applicant. If the application documents are examined and verified as unqualified, the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons therefor. The applicant shall, go through the enterprise registration procedures at the enterprise registration authority by holding the Registration for Operation of International Shipping Agency Services issued by the Ministry of Communications and the relevant procedures at the customs, taxation and foreign exchange administration authorities.

Article 8 If a Chinese enterprise legal person applies to operate international ship management services or to set up an enterprise within Chinese territory to operate international ship management services, an application shall be submitted to the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. The following application documents shall be included:

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the feasibility study report and the agreement of investment;

(3) the business registration document of the applicant (in case of applying to set up an enterprise, the main investor\’\’s business registration document or, as the case may be, the identity document) ;

(4) the document certifying that there is a fixed place of business;

(5) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior executives as specified in subparagraph 1 of Article 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations; and

(6) the photocopies of the master, the chief engineer\’\’s documents of competence as specified in subparagraph 2 of Article 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.

　　The competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall, within 15 working days from the date when the application documents are complete and authentic, complete the examination and verification. If the application documents are examined as authentic and satisfy the provisions in Article 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, the registration shall be granted and a Registration for Operation of Auxiliary Businesses Relating to International Maritime Transportation shall be issued to the applicant. If the application documents are examined and verified as inauthentic or if the application fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Article 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, no registration shall be granted and the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons therefor. The applicant shall, go through the enterprise registration procedure at the enterprise registration authority, the relevant procedures at the taxation authority and the banks designated by the foreign exchange administration authority with the Registration for Operation of Auxiliary Businesses Relating to International Maritime Transportation.

Article 9 If the branches set up by the operators of international shipping agency services and international ship management services within Chinese territory to operate the relevant services, the criteria specified in Article 9 and 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations shall be satisfied and registration shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions in Article 10 and 12 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, Article 7 and 8 of these Rules. The following documents for registration shall be included :

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the feasibility study report;

(3) the business registration document of the parent company;

(4) the photocopies of Registration for Operation of International Shipping Agency Services or Registration for Operation of Auxiliary Businesses Relating to International Maritime Transportation of the parent company;

(5) the letter of confirmation by the parent company of the business scope of the branch;

(6) the document certifying that there is a fixed place of business;

(7) the documents certifying the business experience of staff as specified Article 9 and 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations; and

(8) the EDI agreement with the port and the customs authorities in case of setting up branches by an operator of international shipping agency services. If there is no EDI capability, the relevant certifying document issued by the port or the customs authority shall be submitted.

Article 10 An application and the documents specified in Article 17 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations shall be submitted to the Ministry of Communications when an operator of international shipping services applies to engage in the international liner services to and from Chinese ports. The Ministry of Communications shall carry out the examination and verification as specified in Article 17 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations. If a registration is granted, a Registration of International liner Services Qualification shall be issued. If no registration is granted when the application documents are inauthentic and incomplete, the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons therefor.

　　The Ministry of Communications will list the name of the operator of the international liner services and the bill of lading thereof at its official website after the operator of international shipping services has acquired the qualification for engagement of the international liner services to and from Chinese ports.

Article 11 An application and the relevant documents shall be submitted to the Ministry of Communications in case of applying for the registration of a non-vessel-operating common carrier\’\’s bill of lading. A duplicate of the above-mentioned documents shall be submitted at the same time to the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government where the non-vessel-operating common carrier is registered, or, in case of application for registration of a bill of lading by a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier, to the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the liaison office appointed by such non-vessel-operating common carrier is registered. The following application documents shall be included:

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the feasibility study report;

(3) the business registration document;

(4) the sample of bill of lading;

(5) the photocopy of the receipt certifying that the surety bond has been deposited at the bank.

　　If the applicant is a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier, the relevant documents specified in Article 25 of these Rules which relate to its appointed liaison office shall be submitted as well.

　　The competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall complete the examination, verification and give its comments on the application documents after the acceptance of the above-mentioned duplicate. Such communications department shall report its comments to the Ministry of Communications within 7 working days after the acceptance of the application documents.

　　The Ministry of Communications shall complete the examination and verification specified in Article 7 and 8 in the Maritime Transportation Regulations within 15 working days after the acceptance of the complete application documents. If the application documents are authentic and complete, the registration of the bill of lading shall be granted and a Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating Services Qualification shall be issued. If the application documents are inauthentic and incomplete, the applicant shall be notified in writing that no registration is granted and the reasons therefor shall be given.

　　After acquiring a Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating Services Qualification, a Chinese applicant shall go through the registration procedure at the enterprise registration authority where it is registered before starting the non-vessel-operating services.

Article 12 If a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier has acquired the qualification for the non-vessel-operating services in accordance with foreign laws and has obtained a legal financial liability guaranty, it does not need to deposit the surety bond at the bank within Chinese territory when it applies to engage in the non-vessel-operating services to and from Chinese ports in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Regulations and these Rules. However, in order to ensure that the debt to be paid which is incurred from the foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier\’\’s non-performance or improper performance of the carrier\’\’s responsibility, or, in order to ensure that the fine to be paid which is incurred from such non-vessel-operating common carrier\’\’s non-performance or improper performance satisfy the provisions in paragraph 3 of Article 8 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, the competent authority of such a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier shall sign an agreement relating to the ways or means of realizing the financial liability guaranty with the Chinese governmental transport authority.

Article 13 When the cargo is solicited, the bill of lading or other transport document is issued, or the freight is collected within Chinese territory, although there is no direct international liner services to and from Chinese ports, the qualification of the non-vessel-operating services shall be obtained in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Rules if the international cargo transportation services to and from Chinese ports is provided by way of chartering space from vessels of operators of international liner services, or, if cargo is shipped at Chinese ports for transshipment at foreign ports by using the feeder service provided by operators of international liner services, with the exception of the cases specified in paragraph 3 of Article 16 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.

Article 14 If a Chinese non-vessel-operating common carrier applies to set up a branch within Chinese territory, the surety bond shall be deposited in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 8 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations and the registration shall be obtained in accordance with Article 11 of these Rules by acquiring the Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating Services Qualification. The following documents shall be submitted for applying for the registration:

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the business registration document of the parent company;

(3) the photocopy of the Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating Services Qualification of the parent company;

(4) the document confirming the business scope of the branch by the parent company;

(5) the photocopy of the receipt certifying that the surety bond has be deposited at the bank.

Article 15 When the non-vessel-operating common carrier applies for the registration of the bill of lading, the name listed at the title of the bill of lading shall be the same as that of the applicant.

　　If the name listed in the title of the bill of lading is different from that of the applicant, the applicant shall provide the documents certifying that such a bill of lading is printed and used by itself as well as a declaration in writing that it will bear the carrier\’\’s responsibility of issuing such a bill of lading.

Article 16 If a non-vessel-operating common carrier has two or more bills of lading, each of the bills of lading shall be registered.

　　If the bill of lading registered by an operator of international liner services or non-vessel-operating common carrier is changed, the sample of the new bill of lading shall be filed with the Ministry of Communications 15 days before the date of usage of such a new bill of lading.

Article 17 After the non-vessel-operating common carrier acquires according to law the qualification for the non-vessel-operating services by depositing the surety bond and registering the bill of lading, the Ministry of Communications shall list the name of the non-vessel-operating common carrier and the sample of its bill of lading at its official website.

Article 18 A non-vessel-operating common carrier shall deposit according to law the surety bond at the non-vessel-operating common carrier\’\’s bank account at the commercial bank designated by the Ministry of Communications. The interest of the surety bond shall be calculated on the basis of the interest rate of the current deposit published by the People\’\’s Bank of China.

Article 19 The surety bond deposited by the non-vessel-operating common carrier is protected by the State laws. The surety bond shall not be used unless for the following cases:

(1) bearing the liability for compensation due to the non-vessel-operating common carrier\’\’s non-performance or improper performance of carrier\’\’s responsibility according to a judgement in force by a judicial organ or an arbitration institution\’\’s arbitration award ruled by a judicial organ to be enforced;

(2) being fined by the communications authorities.

　　If the surety bond shall be transferred due to the cases referred to in subparagraph 1 and 2 of the previous paragraph, it shall be carried out according to laws.

　　If the amount of surety bond of the non-vessel-operating common carrier falls short of the amount specified in the Maritime Transportation Regulations, the Ministry of Communication shall inform the non-vessel-operating common carrier to make up the amount in short. If the non-vessel-operating common carrier fails to make up the amount in short within 30 days from the date of service of the notice in writing from the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Communication shall revoke its qualification of the non-vessel-operating services in accordance with Article 15 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.

Article 20 The non-vessel-operating common carrier may apply for the refund of the surety bond from the Ministry of Communications if its qualification for the non-vessel-operating services is revoked, applies for the termination of the services or terminates the services for other reasons. The Ministry of Communications shall publish such a matter of application in a notice at its official website for 30 days.

　　Within the notice period, if the interested party considers it as necessary to take a measure for legal custody of the surety bond under the circumstances specified in subparagraph 1 of Article 19 of these Rules which are related to the non-vessel-operating common carrier, the judgment of exercising the legal custody shall be obtained within the above-mentioned period. From the date of legal custody, the supervision over the account of surety bond of such a non-vessel-operating common carrier by the Ministry of Communications in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Regulations shall be terminated. The relevant dispute shall be settled by the interested parties through judiciary procedures.

　　If there are cases specified in the previous paragraph within the notice period, the Ministry of Communications shall inform the bank where the account of surety bond is opened to return the surety bond as well as the interest thereof of the non-vessel-operating common carrier and withdraw the Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating Services Qualification of such carrier.

Article 21 If the Chinese operators of international shipping services, the Chinese non-vessel-operating common carrier, the Chinese operators of international shipping agency services, the Chinese operators of international ship management services have the following case(s), they shall have them filed with the authority who issued the permission or registration:

(1) the change of the enterprise\’\’s name;

(2) the change of the place of registration;

(3) the change of the investors;

(4) the suspension or termination of operation.

　　If there is a change of the enterprise\’\’s name, a new permission or registration shall be issued by the authority who issued the permission or registration. If the operation is terminated, the relevant permission or registration shall be returned to the original authority for permission or registration.

Article 22 Except the foreign-invested enterprises specified in the Maritime Transportation Regulations and Chapter IV of these Rules, the operators of the business relating to storage and warehousing of international shipments international, the operators of international maritime container freight station and container yard services shall, within 30 days of from the time of starting the above-mentioned services file the case with the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the enterprises are registered.

Chapter III Business Operations of International Maritime Transportation and Auxiliary Business Thereof

Article 23 If operators of international liner services start new liner services, suspend liner services, change the carrying vessels or schedule for international liner services, such issues shall be made known to public at the mess media designated by the Ministry of Communications in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations and such issues shall be filed as provided.

Article 24 If a Chinese international shipping service operator increases shipping capacity including increasing shipping capacity through bare boat chartering, such issue shall be filed with the Ministry of Communications 15 days prior to the operation of such vessel(s) and the document certifying the filing shall be acquired. The filing documents shall include the name of the company, the place of registration, the name(s) of the vessel(s), the nationality(ies) of the vessel(s), type(s) of vessel(s), vessel(s)\’\’s tonnage and the shipping route(s) planned.

　　The Ministry of Communications shall, within 3 working days after acceptance of the filing documents, issue the document certifying the filing.

Article 25 A foreign international shipping service operator who operates international liner services to and from Chinese ports and a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier who provides international cargo transportation services to and from Chinese ports by entrusting their agents to provide the services on behalf of them in China shall appoint their points of contact within Chinese territory. Such points of contact are responsible for the contact between such foreign enterprises and the relevant competent authorities of the Chinese government on administration and legal issues as specified in the Maritime Transportation Regulations and these Rules. The points of contact can be the foreign-invested enterprises or the foreign-invested representative offices set up within Chinese territory as well as other Chinese enterprise legal persons or other economic organizations who have fixed places of business. The appointment of the points of contact shall be filed with the Ministry of Communications and the following documents shall be submitted for filing:

(1) the introduction of such points of contact with the information of the names, the places of business, the means of contact and the persons of contact of such points of contact;

(2) the duplicate or photocopy of the letter of entrustment;

(3) the duplicate of the agreements concluded between the entrusting parties and the points of contact;

(4) the photocopies of the business registration documents of the points of contact.

　　If the points of contact are foreign-invested enterprises or foreign-invested representative offices of within Chinese territory, the documents referred to in subparagraph 2 and 3 can be exempted.

　　If the points of contact or the information listed in the introduction of the points of contact, such changes shall be filed with the Ministry of Communications within 15 days from the date of such changes.

Article 26 No enterprise or individual may, without authorisation, uses the bill of lading which has been registered by an operator of international liner services or a non-vessel-operating common carrier.

Article 27 If a non-vessel-operating common carrier needs to entrust an agent with issuance of the bill of lading or the related document on its behalf, it shall entrust a qualified operator of international shipping services, a qualified non-vessel-operating common carrier or a qualified operator of auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime transportation to provide the above-mentioned services on its behalf.

　　The qualified operator referred to in the previous paragraph shall not accept the entrustment to issue the bill of lading of a non-vessel-operating common carrier who fails to register its bill (s) of lading and deposit the surety bond.

Article 28 If an operator of international liner services has an agreement of negotiated rates with a shipper or a non-vessel-operating common carrier, such an agreement shall be in writing. The series number of such an agreement shall be listed in the bill of lading or the related document.

Article 29 An operator of international shipping services shall not accept cargo or containers from a non-vessel-operating common carrier who fails to register its bill(s) of lading and deposit the surety bond.

Article 30 If an operator of international liner services entrusts an agent with the businesses including accepting space-booking, issuing bill of lading and collecting freight on its behalf, the agent entrusted shall be an qualified operator of international shipping agency services.

Article 31 The operators of international liner services and the non-vessel-operating common carriers shall publish the information relating to their shipping agencies, agents for issuing bill of lading on their behalf within Chinese territory at the mass media designated by the Ministry of Communications. The information to be published includes the name, the place of registration, the place of business and the means of contact of such agents. If there is a change of agents, the new information shall be published 7 days prior to the coming into effect of the agency agreement.

　　The operator of international liner services and the non-vessel-operating common carriers shall file timely the name lists of the media where they publish the information relating to their agents with the Ministry of Communications.

Article 32 The liner conference agreements, service operation agreements and freight rate agreements which involve the services to and from Chinese ports and are concluded between operators of international shipping services shall be filed with the Ministry of Communications within 15 days after the date of concluding the agreements in accordance with the following provisions :

(1) the liner conference agreements shall be filed by the liner conference representing all its members who operate the maritime transportation to and from Chinese ports. When the liner conference files the agreement, the name list of the members of the conference shall be attached thereto.

(2) the service operation agreements and freight rate agreements shall be filed by the operators of international shipping services who are contracting parties to such agreements.

Article 33 If there is a merger or acquisition among Chinese operators of international shipping services, or a merger or acquisition between Chinese operators of international shipping services and foreign operators of international shipping services, such agreements shall be submitted by the merging or acquiring party in accordance with the provisions in Article 24 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations to the Ministry of Communications for examination and approval.

Article 34 The following operators shall issue special-purpose invoices to the payers when they collect freight and other related charges for themselves or on behalf of others:

(1) the Chinese operators of international shipping services and their branches;

(2) the Chinese non-vessel-operating common carriers;

(3) the operators of international shipping agency and their branches;

(4) the enterprises specified in Article 33 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.

　　After the operators referred to in the preceding paragraph obtain the document certifying the usage of special-purpose invoices which are issued from the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the people\’\’s government of the province, the autonomous region and the municipality directly under the Central Government, they shall apply for the special-purpose invoices from the taxation authority where the company are registered, unless it is provided by the State Administration of Taxation otherwise.

Article 35 The operators of international ship management services shall fulfill the obligations of safety of vessels and anti-pollution in accordance with the provisions of the contracts and the relevant provisions of the State.

Article 36 The international liner services operators who operate the international liner services to and from Chinese ports shall fill out the Form on International Maritime Transportation Information of the People\’\’s Republic of China ( Basic Information of Shipping Companies), the Form on International Maritime Transportation Information of the People\’\’s Republic of China (Export Full-loaded Container Volume of Shipping Companies), the Form on International Maritime Transportation Information of the People\’\’s Republic of China (Import Full-loaded Container Volume of Shipping Companies) and send the forms to the Ministry of Communications before March 31 every year.

　　Foreign operators of international shipping services shall have the above-mentioned forms sent by their entrusted liaison office.

Article 37 Chinese operators of international shipping services, Chinese operators of international shipping agency service and operators of international container ports shall fill out respectively the Form on International Maritime Transportation Information of the People\’\’s Republic of China ( Basic Information of Shipping Companies), the Form on International Maritime Transportation of the People\’\’s Republic of China (International Shipping Agencies), the Form on International Maritime Transportation of the People\’\’s Republic of China (Container Throughput of Ports) before March 15 every year to the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the companies are registered.

　　The relevant competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, the autonomous region and the municipality directly under the Central Government shall file the above-mentioned forms and the summary of the forms before March 31 every year with the Ministry of Communications.

Article 38 The operators of international shipping agency services, operators of international ship management services, operators of the business relating to storage and warehousing of international shipments and operators of international maritime container freight station and container yard services shall not have following acts:

(1) providing services at an abnormal and unreasonable charge level, thereby prejudicing fair competition;

(2) offering secret rebates to customers, not being reflected in the account books, for the purpose of soliciting cargoes;

(3) arbitrarily taking advantage of its dominant position to restrict the other transacting party to choose freely operators of auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime transportation, or to attract the other transaction party by using the monopoly position in the industry for the purpose of repelling other competitors in the same industry;

(4) other unfair competition acts.

Article 39 The representative offices of foreign operators of international shipping services and foreign operators of auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime transportation shall not engage in commercial operations, including but not limited to the following:

(1) accepting space-booking on behalf of their parent companies overseas, issuing bills of lading or the related documents of the parent companies;

(2) settling the payment, collecting freight and other related charges for their parent companies;

(3) issuing bills of their parent companies overseas or the enterprises set up by their parent companies within Chinese territory as specified in Article 33 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations ;

(4) shipping cargoes to international liner services operators in the name of shippers; or

(5) concluding service contracts with customers in the name of foreign-invested representative offices.

Chapter IV Investment in and Operation of International Maritime Transportation and Auxiliary Businesses Relating Thereto by foreign Investors

Article 40 To set up a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture or a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture to engage in international shipping services, an application shall be submitted to the Ministry of Communications via the competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the enterprise is registered, and the following documents shall be attaches thereto:

(1) the letter of application;

(2) the feasibility study report;

(3) the agreement of setting up a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture or a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture;

(4) the business registration documents of the investors, in case of investment by natural persons, the identity documents; and

(5) documents certifying the business experience of senior executives which satisfy the requirements of the Ministry of Communications.

　　The competent communications department of the people\’\’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall, within 10 working days after its acceptance of the complete application documents, submit the documents to the Ministry of Communications together with its comments.

　　The Ministry of Communications shall complete the examination, verification on the above-mentioned documents and comments and give a decision of granting an approval or not granting an approval within 30 working days after the acceptance of the documents and comments in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2, 3 and 4 of Article 32 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations and the actual competition situations in international shipping market and the policies of the State ……

CUSTOMS LAW OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

/in /by

[Article 1] This Law has been formulated with a view of safeguarding national sovereignty and interests, strengthening Customs control, promoting exchanges in the areas of economy, trade, science, technology and culture with foreign countries and protecting the construction of socialist modernization.

[Article 2] The Customs of the People’s Republic of China is a state organ responsible for the control over inbound and outbound activities through the Customs territory.

　　The Customs shall, in accordance with this Law and other related laws and regulations, exercise control over the inbound and outbound means of transport, goods, traveller’s luggage, and postal items and other articles (hereinafter referred to as inbound and outbound means of transport, goods and articles); collect Customs duties and other taxes and fees; prevent smuggling; compile Customs statistics and deal with other Customs affairs.

　　[Article 3] The State Council establishes the Customs General Administration to govern uniformly all Customs in the country.

　　The State establishes the customs at the ports open to foreign countries and other localities where Customs affairs are concentrated. Administratively Customs offices are not subordinate to the government administration of various levels.

　　The local Customs shall perform its functions and exercise its powers independently and be accountable only to the Customs General Administration.

　　[Article 4] The Customs is invested with the following powers:

　

　　(1) To check the inbound and outbound means of transport, examine inbound and outbound goods and articles; to detain those in violation of this Law or other related laws and regulations;

　　(2) To verify the papers and identifications of inbound and outbound personnel; to interrogate those suspected of violating this Law or other related laws and regulations, and to investigate their illegal activities;

　　(3) To examine or make copy of contracts, invoices, accounts, bills, records, documents, business letters, tape recordings, video recordings and other data which are related to the inbound and outbound means of transport, goods and articles; to detain those connected with the means of transport, goods and articles which are involved in violations of this Law or other laws and regulations;

　　(4) To search the means of transport suspected of smuggling and storage places suspected of concealment of smuggled goods and to search those persons suspected of smuggling within the Customs surveillance zone and specified border and coastal areas near a Customs office. Upon the approval of the director of the Customs house, to detain the suspected smuggler and hand him over to the judicial organ. The duration of detention shall not exceed 24 hours under normal circumstances, but it may be extended to 48 hours in special cases.

　　The range of the specified border and coastal areas shall be defined by the Customs General Administration in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security and provincial governments concerned.

　　(5) To pursue and seize those inbound and outbound means of transport, or persons defying and escaping from Customs control, the pursuit of which may be continued beyond the Customs surveillance zone or the specified nearby border and coastal areas so that the transport means or persons in question may be booked and dealt with according to the proper procedures.

　　(6) The Customs may be provided with fire arms for performing its duty. The rules governing the bearing and using of fire arms by the Customs officer shall be drawn up by the Customs General Administration in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security and approved by the State Council.

　　[Article 5] All inbound and outbound means of transport, goods, articles shall enter or leave the country at places (points) where a Customs office is located. Where temporary inbound or outbound passage at a place without a Customs office is requested in a special case, permission shall have to be obtained from the State Council or a department empowered by the State Council and the Customs formalities shall be followed in accordance with relevent provisions of this Law.

　　[Article 6] Unless otherwise provided for, all import and export goods shall be declared and their duties paid by declaration units which have been registered with the Customs or by enterprises authorized to engage in import or export business. The declarants of the above-mentioned units and enterprises shall be tested and approved by the Customs.

　　The Customs formalities concerning declaration and duty payment of inbound and outbound articles may be fulfilled by the owner or other person entrusted by the owner as his agent.

　　The agent entrusted for Customs declaration purposes shall abide by all provisions of this Law applicable to the owner.

　　[Article 7] All Customs officers shall abide by the laws and regulations, enforce the law justly, be loyal to their duties and perform them in a manner as befits a public service.

　　No units or individuals shall obstruct the Customs in performing its duties.

　　Where such obstruction occurs while the Customs officer performs his duty, the public security organs and the troop of the People’s Armed Police responsible for such matters shall provide assistance.

　　CHAPTER II INBOUND AND OUTBOUND MEANS OF TRANSPORT

　　[Article 8] When inbound and outbound means of transport call at or intend to leave a place where a Customs office is located, the carrier shall make an accurate declaration, lodge or present papers and documents to the Customs and be subject to Customs control.

　　All inbound and outbound means of transport that stop or berth at a place where a Customs office is located shall not depart without prior approval by the Customs.

　　Before any inbound or outbound means of transport intends to move from one Customs point to another, requirements for Customs control shall be met, Customs formalities shall be followed and any deviation to foreign territory before it is cleared by the Customs is prohibited.

　　[Article 9] Inbound means of transport pending declaration to the Customs after entering the territory and outbound means of transport pending to leave the territory after being cleared by the Customs shall both move along the route specified by the competent communications organs or the Customs in case the communications organs have no such specification.

　　[Article 10] The time of arrival or departure, the place of stay, any moving during their stay and the time for loading or discharging the cargoes or articles of all inbound and outbound vessels, trains and aircraft shall be notified in advance to the Customs by the carrier or related communications and transport units.

　　[Article 11] The loading and discharging of inbound and outbound cargoes and articles, the embarking and disembarking of inbound and outbound passengers from or to the means of transport shall be carried out under Customs control.

　　Upon the completion of loading or discharging of such goods and articles, the carrier shall submit to the Customs the delivery receipt and records containing the actual situation.

　　Articles carried by the person embarking or disembarking the inbound and outbound means of transport shall be declared to the Customs accurately and subject to Customs examination.

　　[Article 12] While the inbound or outbound means of transport is being searched by the Customs, the officer in charge of the carrier shall be present and the hatches of holds and the doors of cabins, rooms and vehicles shall remain open as required by the Customs. In case that smuggling is suspected, the compartment where smuggled goods may be stored shall be dismantled and the goods or materials shall be removed.

　　Where deemed necessary, the Customs may dispatch officers to perform duties on board the means of transport and the officer in charge of the carrier shall render the necessary assistance or facilities.

　　[Article 13] Inbound means of transport of foreign registry and outbound means of transport of domestic registry shall not have their ownership transferred or used for other purposes before having gone through the Customs formalities and their Customs duties paid.

　　[Article 14] Where inbound and outbound vessels and aircraft are also engaged in transport of goods or passengers within the territory of China, Customs approval shall be obtained and requirements for Customs control shall be satisfied.

　　Inbound or outbound means of transport that change over to transport inside the territory of China shall go through the Customs formalities before hand as required.

　　[Article 15] Coastal vessels, fishing boats and special ships engaged in operation on sea shall not carry, exchange, purchase, or transfer the ownership of inbound or outbound goods and articles without prior Customs approval.

　　[Article 16] Where an inbound or outbound vessel or aircraft is forced to call or land at places without a Customs office, or jettison or discharge goods at such places owing to force majeure, the officer of the carrier in charge shall report the matter to the nearby Customs without delay.

　　CHAPTER III INBOUND AND OUTBOUND GOODS

　　[Article 17] All the following goods shall be subject to Customs control: import goods from the time of entering the territory of China till the completion of the Customs formalities, export goods from the time the Customs declaration is made right up to the time of leaving the territory, and goods in transit, transshipment and through shipment from the time they enter the territory up to the time they leave the territory.

　　[Article 18] The consignee for import goods and consignor for export goods shall make an accurate declaration, submit the import or export license and the relevant papers and documents to the Customs. Without an import or an export license, goods subject to import or export control by the State shall not be released. Details shall be specified by the State Council.

　　Declaration with the Customs shall be made by the consignee for import goods within 14 days after the inbound means of transport declares its arrival and, unless specially approved by the Customs, 24 hours before loading for export goods by the consignor.

　　Where the consignee of import goods fails to declare with the Customs within the time limit mentioned above, a fee for delayed declaration shall be charged by the Customs.

　　

　　[Article 19] All import and export goods shall be subject to Customs examination. While goods are being examined by the Customs, the consignee for import goods or consignor for export goods shall be present and responsible for moving the goods, opening and restoring the package. Where deemed necessary, the Customs may examine, re-examine the goods or take samples in the absence of the consignee or consignor.

　　Upon the application of the consignee or consignor and being approved by the Customs General Administration, import or export goods may be exempted from examination.

　　[Article 20] Unless specially approved by the Customs, import and export goods shall be released only upon endorsement by the Customs after duties have been paid or a proper guarantee has been submitted.

　　[Article 21] Where the consignee fails to declare with the Customs within 3 months from the date of declaration of the means of transport concerned, the goods shall be taken over and sold off by the Customs. The balance of the proceeds of the sale after deduction of expenses for transport, loading and discharging, storage, duties and taxes, may be returned to the consignee within one year upon application. If a claim is not made within the time limit, the money shall be turned over to the State Treasury.

　　For inbound goods, which are proven to have been misdischarged or over-discharged, after being verified by the Customs, the necessary procedures for their reshipment back to the original destination or for their import shall be undertaken by the officer of the carrier in charge of the means of transport which carried them or the consignee or the consignor of the goods within 3 months from the date of discharging from the means of transport.

　　The duration, when necessary, may be extended another 3 months upon Customs approval. If the formalities are not accomplished with the time limit, the goods shall be disposed of by the Customs in accordance with the preceding provision.

　　In case that the above-mentioned goods are not suitable for storage over a long period of time, they shall be disposed of before the time limit by the Customs according to the actual situation.

　　Import goods abandoned by the consignee or the owner with a statement to that effect shall be taken over and sold off by the Customs, and the proceeds of such sale, after deducting the expense for transport, discharge, and storage, shall be turned over to the State Treasury.

　　[Article 22] Goods that are imported or exported on a temporary basis and approved by the Customs shall be taken out of or into the territory within 6 months. In special cases, this time limit may be extended upon Customs approval.

　　[Article 23] The operation of the storage, processing, assembling and consignment sales of the bonded goods shall be approved by the registered with the Customs.

　　[Article 24] Customs formalities for import goods shall be completed by the consignee at the place where the goods entering the territory and for export goods, by the consignor, at the place where the goods leave the territory.

　　Upon the application of consignee or consignor, and being approved by the Customs, formalities for import goods may be completed at the place of destination, and for export goods, at the place of departure, provided that these places have a Customs office. The transport of such goods from one Customs to another shall comply with the Customs control requirements. When deemed necessary, such conveyance shall be done under the escort of a Customs officer.

　　Where goods entering or leaving the territory by electric cable, pipeline or other specific modes of transport, the business units concerned shall make the declaration with the designated Customs and complete the Customs formalities at regular intervals.

　　[Article 25] All transit, transshipment and through-shipment goods shall be declared with the Customs at the place where they enter the territory or are shipped out of the territory within the specified time limit.

　　Where deemed necessary, the Customs may examine such goods.

　　[Article 26] Without Customs approval, goods under Customs control shall not be opened, picked up, delivered, conveyed, replaced, repacked, mortgaged or transferred, and their identifications or marks shall not be changed by any unit or person.

　　Seals affixed by the Customs shall not be opened or broken by any person without Customs authorization.

　　The manager of warehouses and places which store the goods under Customs control shall fulfill the formalities of keeping an account for the receipt and delivery in accordance with the Customs provisions.

　　The storage of goods under Customs control at a place outside the Customs surveillance zone shall be approved by the Customs and subject to Customs control.

　　[Article 27] Rules governing the inbound and outbound containers, rules governing the salvage of inbound and outbound goods and sunken ships, rules governing import and export goods under small-scale border trade and rules governing other inbound and outbound goods not specified in this Law shall be drawn up by the customs General Administration independently or in conjunction with the relevant department under the State Council.

　　CHAPTER IV INBOUND AND OUTBOUND ARTICLES

　　[Article 28] Inbound and outbound luggage carried by individuals and inbound and outbound articles sent by post shall be for personal use, in reasonable quantities and subject to Customs control.

　　[Article 29] All inbound and outbound articles shall be accurately declared with the Customs by the owner, and be subject to Customs examination.

　　Seals affixed by the Customs shall not be opened or broken by any person without authorization.

　　[Article 30] The loading, unloading, conveyance and transit of inbound and outbound mail bags shall be subject to Customs control, and a covering way bill shall be lodged with the Customs by the units engaged in postal service.

　　The units engaged in postal service shall inform the Customs in advance of the time for the opening and sealing of international mail bags; the Customs shall dispatch officers to the spot to exercise control over the bags in time.

　　[Article 31] Inbound and outbound articles sent by post shall be delivered or handed over only after they have been examined and released by the Customs.

　　[Article 32] Inbound or outbound articles registered with the Customs and temporarily exempted from Customs duty upon approval shall be brought out or into the territory again by the person on his own.

　　Persons passing through the territory shall not leave behind the articles they carry in the territory without Customs approval.

　　[Article 33] Inbound and outbound articles that are abandoned by the owner with a statement, unclaimed for which Customs formalities are not completed within the specified time limit, or postal articles which can neither be delivered nor sent back, shall be disposed of by the Customs in accordance with Article 21 of this Law.

　　[Article 34] Inbound and outbound articles intended for official or personal use by foreign missions or personnel enjoying diplomatic privileges and immunity shall be dealt with in accordance with the Regulations on Diplomatic Privileges and Immunity of the People’s Republic of China.

　　CHAPTER V CUSTOMS DUTIES

　　[Article 35] Unless otherwise provided for in this Law, Customs duties shall be collected in accordance with the Import and Export Tariff (schedules) on goods permitted to be imported or exported and articles permitted to enter or leave the territory. The Tariff shall be made public.

　　[Article 36] The consignee of import goods, the consignor of export goods and the owner of inbound and outbound articles are obligatory Customs duty payer.

　　[Article 37] The obligatory duty payer of import or export goods shall pay the amount levied within 7 days following the date of issuance of the duty memorandum. At the expiration of this time-limit, a fee for delayed payment shall be collected by the Customs.

　　Where the delay exceeds 3 months, the Customs may either instruct the guarantor to pay the duty or sell off the goods for compensation. When deemed necessary, the Customs may request the bank to deduct the amount of duties from the deposits of the guarantor or the obligatory duty payer.

　　The payment of duty on inbound or outbound articles shall be made by the obligatory duty payer prior to their release.

　　[Article 38] The price for duty assessment of import goods shall be the normal CIF price, which shall be recognized by the Customs; the price for duty assessment of export goods shall be the FOB price, which shall be recognized by the Customs, minus the export duty.

　　Where the CIF or FOB price can not be ascertained, the price for duty assessment shall be estimated and fixed by the Customs.

　　The duty-paying value of an inward or outward article shall be fixed by the Customs

　　[Article 39] Duty reduction or exemption shall be granted for the import and export goods and inbound and outbound articles listed below:

　　(1) Advertising matters and trade samples of no commercial value;

　　(2) Materials by foreign governments or international organizations;

　　(3) Goods suffering damage or loss prior to Customs release;

　　(4) Articles of a quantity or value below the fixed limit;

　　(5) Other goods and articles enjoying duty reduction or exemption in accordance with the laws and regulations;

　　(6) Goods and articles enjoying duty reduction or exemption in accordance with the international treaties to which the People’s Republic of China is either a contracting or an acceding party.

　　[Article 40] Duty reduction or exemption shall be granted to goods imported or exported by the Special Economic Zones and other specified areas, and by Sino-foreign joint ventures, contractual joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises, and to goods imported or exported for specific purposes, and to materials donated for public welfare. The State Council will specify the exact items and enact rules on such reduction and exemption.

　　The State Council or the department empowered by the State Council shall also specify the duty reduction or exemption items of small-scale border trade and draw up detailed rules on such reduction or exemption.

　　[Article 41] All import goods and articles to which duty reduction or exemption is granted in accordance with the preceding article shall be used only in specified areas and enterprises and for specific purposes. They shall not be utilized otherwise unless Customs approval is obtained and duties duly paid.

　　Article 42. Temporary duty reduction or exemption not specified in Article 39 and 40 of this law shall be examined and approved by the General Customs Administration independently or jointly with the financial department under the State Council in accordance with the regulations of the State Council.

　　Article 43. Temporary duty exemption shall be granted for goods approved by the Customs as temporarily imported or exported items and for bonded goods imported by special permission after the consignee or the consignor of the goods submits to the Customs a guarantee or a deposit of an amount equal to the duties.

　　[Article 44] Upon discovery of a short-or non-payment of Customs duty on import or export goods, or inbound or outbound articles after their release, the Customs shall collect the money payable from the obligatory duty payer within 1 year of the previous duty payment or the release of the goods or the articles. If the short-or non-payment of the duty is due to a breach of the Customs regulations by the obligatory duty payer, the Customs is entitled to recover the unpaid duty within 3 years.

　　[Article 45] Where an over-levy of duty is discovered, the Customs, shall refund the money without delay; the duty payer is entitled to ask the Customs for the refunding within 1 year of the date of duty payment.

　　[Article 46] Where the obligatory duty payer is involved in a dispute over duty payment with the Customs, he shall first make the payment of the duty and then apply to the Customs in writing for a reconsideration of the case within 30 days of the issuance of the duty memorandum. The Customs shall reach a decision within 15 days after receipt of the application. In case the obligatory duty payer still has objection against the decision, he is entitled to apply to the Customs General Administration for a reconsideration of the case within 15 days after receipt of the decision. If the decision of the Customs General Administration is still considered unacceptable, the obligatory duty payer may take legal action at the People’s Court within 15 days after receipt of the decision.

　　CHAPTER VI LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES

　　[Article 47] Any one of the following acts to evade Customs control constitutes a crime of smuggling:

　　(1) To transport, carry or send by post into or out of the territory drugs, weapons and counterfeit currencies which are prohibited by the State from importation or exportation; to transport, carry or send by post obscene objects into or out of the territory aiming at commercial gain or dissemination, or to transport, carry or send by post out of the territory precious cultural relics which are prohibited by the State from exportation;

　　

　　(2) For the purpose of commercial gain, to transport, carry or send by post into or out of the territory the goods or articles which are not listed above but also prohibited by the State from importation or exportation, and goods and articles in relatively large quantities or of relatively high value which are restricted by the State from importation or exportation or subject to Customs duties in accordance with laws and regulations;

　　(3) To sell without Customs approval and payment of duties, the bonded goods imported upon special permission or goods enjoying specified duty reduction or exemption in relatively large quantities or of relatively high value.

　　Any armed smuggling of goods and articles or resistence by violence to Customs examination over smuggled goods and articles constitutes a crime of smuggling, regardless of the quantity or value of the goods and articles involved.

　　Criminal sanctions imposed by the People’s Court on persons guilty of smuggling shall include a fine and confiscation of the smuggled goods and articles, the means of transport carrying them and illegal incomes obtained therefrom.

　　Where an enterprise, an undertaking, a government department or a social organization commits a crime of smuggling, criminal sanctions shall be imposed on the person in charge and the person directly responsible for the offence by the judicial organ, a fine and confiscation of the smuggled goods and articles, the means of transport carrying them and the illegal incomes obtained therefrom may also be imposed on such unit.

　　

　　[Article 48] If the smuggled goods and articles involved in one of the acts listed under 2 and 3 of Article 47 of this Law are not large in quantity, nor high in value or where the carrying or sending by post of obscene objects into or out of the territory does not yet constitute a crime of smuggling, the Customs, while confiscating the goods, articles or illegal incomes obtained therefrom, may at the same time impose a fine on the person concerned.

　　

　　[Article 49] Any of the following acts shall be dealt with as a crime of smuggling and punishable in accordance with the provisions of Article 47 of this Law:

　　

　　(1) To purchase directly and illegally from the smuggler articles which are prohibited by the State from importation, or to purchase directly and illegally from the smuggler other smuggled goods and articles in relatively large quantities or of relative high value.

　　

　　(2) To transport, purchase or sell on coastal or territorial waters articles which are prohibited by the State from importation and exportation, or transport, purchase or sell without legal certification goods and articles which are restricted by the State from importation or exportation in relatively large quantities or of relatively high value.

　　Where an act listed above does not yet constitute a crime of smuggling, the provisions concerning punishments under Article 48 shall be applied.

　　[Article 50] Any individual who carries or sends by post articles for personal use into or out of the territory in a quantity exceeding the reasonable limit and fails to declare them to the Customs shall be made to pay the duties and a fine.

　　[Article 51] A penalty may be imposed for any of the following acts which violate the regulations on Customs control:

　　

　　(1) For a means of transport, to enter or leave the territory at a place without Customs office;

　　(2) Failure to inform the Customs of the arrival and the departure time of the means of transport and the place of its intended stay or any change of the place during its stay;

　　

　　(3) Failure to declare to the Customs accurately the import and export goods and the transit, transshipment and through goods;

　　

　　(4) Failure to submit to the checking and examination by the Customs of the means of transport, goods and articles in accordance with relevant regulations;

　　(5) For an inbound or outbound means of transport, to load or unload inbound or outbound goods and articles, or to embark and disembark passengers without Customs approval;

　　

　　(6) For an inbound or outbound means of transport staying at a place where a Customs office is located, to leave without Customs approval;

　　

　　(7) For inbound or outbound means of transport intended from one place having a Customs office to another place having a Customs office, to move out of the territory or to a point in the territory where there is no Customs office before completing the clearance formalities and obtaining the Customs approval.

　　(8) For an inbound and outbound means of transport, to engage concurrently in, or change to, water transport within the territory without Customs approval;

　　

　　(9) For an inbound or outbound vessel or aircraft which by force majeure stops or lands at a place without a Customs office, or jettisons or discharges the cargo in the territory, to fail to report to the Customs nearby without a valid reason;

　　(10) To open, pick up, deliver, forward, replace, repack, mortgage or transfer goods that are under Customs control without Customs approval;

　

　　(11) To open or damage sales affixed by the Customs;

　　(12) Violations of other Customs control regulations contained in this Law that result in failure or suspension of Customs control over inbound and outbound means of transport, goods and articles.

　　[Article 52] All smuggled goods and articles, the smuggling means of transport employed in the smuggling and the illegal incomes therefrom which are confiscated by the order of the People’s Court or by the decision of the Customs together with the fines paid shall be turned over to the State Treasury.

　　It shall be the Customs to deal with and turn over to the State Treasury in accordance with the regulations of the State Council, all smuggled goods and articles and the means of transport confiscated by the order of the People’s Court and the decision of the Customs.

　　[Article 53] Where the person concerned objects to the Customs decision of punishment, he may apply for reconsideration of the case either to the Customs making the decision or to one at a higher level, within 30 days after receipt of the notification of punishment or 30 days after the punishment is made public in case it is impossible to send such notification. If the person concerned finds the decision reached after the reconsideration still unacceptable, he may take his case to the People’s Court within 30 days after receipt of the decision.

　　The person concerned may also take his case directly to the People’s Court within 30 days after receipt of the notification of punishment or 30 days after the punishment is made public.

　

　　If the person concerned refuses to carry out the Customs decision and fails to apply for a reconsideration of the case to the People’s Court within the time-limit, the Customs making the decision may confiscate the deposit of the person concerned, sell off his goods, articles and means of transport detained, or apply to the People’s Court for an injunction to enforce the execution of the decision.

　　

　　[Article 54] Any damage to any inbound and outbound goods or articles caused by Customs examination, the actual loss shall made up by the Customs.

　　[Article 55] Any criminal responsibility shall be prosecuted in accordance with Article 155 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China in case the Customs personnel divide up the confiscated smuggled goods and articles among themselves.

　

　　No Customs personnel shall purchase confiscated smuggled goods and articles. Those who have done so shall be made to return the goods and articles, and may be subject to disciplinary actions.

　　

　　[Article 56] Disciplinary actions shall be imposed on those Customs personnel who abuse their power and intentionally create difficulties or procrastinate the control and examination; disciplinary or legal actions shall be taken on those who practice graft, neglect their duties or indulge in smuggling, depending on the seriousness of the case.

　　CHAPTER VII SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

　　[Article 57] Terms used in this Law are defined as follows:

　　

　　The term “inbound and outbound means of transport” means various vessels, vehicles, aircraft and animals which enter or leave the territory for carrying passengers, goods and articles.

　　The term “transit, transshipment and through goods” means goods which come from a place outside the territory and pass through the territory en route to a place outside the territory. Among them, “transit goods” are those passing through the territory by land, transshipment goods” are those only changing the means of transport at a place having a Customs office and without passing through the territory by land, and “through goods” are those carried into and out of the territory by the same vessel or aircraft.

　　The term “goods under Customs control” means import and export goods enumerated in Article 17 of this Law, transit goods, transshipment goods, through goods, temporary import and export goods, bonded goods and other inbound and outbound goods for which Customs formalities have not been completed.

　　The term “bonded goods” means goods which have entered the territory with formalities of duty payment being exempted upon Customs approval and will be reshipped out of the territory after being stored, processed or assembled in the territory.

　　The term “Customs surveillance zone” means exports, railway and highway station, airports, border passes and international postal matter exchanges for which a Customs office is provided, other places where Customs control is conducted and places without a Customs office but have been approved by the State Council as a point of entry or exit.

　　

　　[Article 58] The customs shall reward individuals or units providing information or assistance which is helpful for the exposing of offences against this Law; the identities of such individuals or units shall be kept strictly confidential by the Customs.

　　

　　[Article 59] Rules governing the control over the means of transport, goods and articles of other parts of the territory entering or leaving the Special Economic Zones and other specially designated areas shall be enacted by the State Council.

　　[Article 60] Detailed rules and regulations for the implementation of this Law shall be drawn up by the Customs General Administration and be put into force after being approved by the State Council.

　　[Article 61] This Law shall enter into force on July 1, 1987, on which date the Provisional Customs Law of the People’s Republic of China promulgated on April 18, 1951 shall be abrogated.