Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection (2019 Revision)

Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection (2019 Revision) Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection (Promulgated by Order No. 447 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on August 31, 2005; revised for the first time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Abolishing and Amending Some Administrative Regulations on July 8, 2013; revised for the second time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending Some Administrative Regulations on February 6, 2016; revised for the third time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council to Amend and Repeal Certain Administrative Regulations on March 1, 2017; and revised for the fourth time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council to Amend Certain Administrative Regulations on March 2, 2019) Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 The present Regulations are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection (hereinafter referred to as the Commodity Inspection Law). Article 2 The General Administration of Customs shall take charge of the work for import and export commodity inspection countrywide. The entry-exit inspection and quarantine institutions and their branches established by the General Administration of Customs at the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as at the ports, and the distribution centers of import and export commodities (hereinafter referred to as the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs) shall administer the work for import and export commodity inspection at the place under their jurisdictions. Article 3 The General Administration of Customs shall, according to the provisions of Article 4 of the Commodity Inspection Law, formulate and adjust the Catalog of Import and Export Commodities Subject to Compulsory Inspection (hereinafter referred to as the Catalog), and promulgate it for implementation. The Catalog shall be promulgated at least 30 days before its implementation; under emergency circumstances, it shall be promulgated no later than the date of its implementation. The General Administration of Customs shall, when developing and adjusting the Catalogue, solicit opinions from the foreign trade administrative department of the State Council and other relevant sides. Article 4 The entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs shall conduct inspection (hereinafter called as the statutory inspection) on the import and export commodities listed in the Catalog and other import and export commodities that shall be subject to the inspection of the entry-exit inspection organs as prescribed by laws and administrative regulations. The entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs shall make random inspection on the import and export commodities that are not subject to statutory inspection in accordance with the state provisions. Article 5 Quality inspection on import and export medicines, calibration of instruments of measurement, supervision and inspection on the safety of boilers and pressure vessels, inspection on the specifications of ships (including offshore platforms, main equipment and materials for the ships) and containers, inspection on airworthiness of aeroplanes (including the plane's engine and equipment) and safety inspection on nuclear pressure-bearing equipment are to be undertaken by the inspection organs as prescribed by the relevant laws and administrative regulations. Article 6 Samples and gifts that enter and exit the territory, goods temporarily entering and exiting the territory and other non-trade articles may be exempted from inspection, unless otherwise specified by any law or administrative regulation. The import and export commodities listed in the Catalog that comply with the conditions for exemption of inspection as prescribed by the state shall be exempted from inspection by the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs upon the application of the consignees and consigners or the production enterprises and the examination and approval of the General Administration of Customs. The concrete measures for the exemption of inspection shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs through negotiating with the relevant departments. Article 7 The import and export commodities subject to statutory inspection shall be inspected by the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the Commodity Inspection Law. The General Administration of Customs may, according to the actual need of and the international standard for the inspection of imported and exported commodities, develop the technical specifications and industry standards for the inspection methods for imported and exported commodities. The technical specifications and standards relied on or referred to in the import and export commodity inspection and the technical specifications and standards of the inspection method shall be promulgated at least six months before the day of their implementation; under emergency circumstances, they shall be promulgated no later than the day of their implementation. Article 8 The entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs shall, upon the need of convenience for foreign trade, make classified management on import and export enterprises, and conduct inspection on import and export commodities in light of the ways of inspection and supervision as determined according to the prevailing international conformity assessment procedures. Article 9 The contents of inspection on import and export commodities conducted by the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs shall include: whether the commodities comply with such requirements as safety, sanitation, health, environmental protection, prevention of fraud, and etc., and the relevant quality, quantity and weight, and other items. Article 10 The entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs shall, according to the provisions of the Commodity Inspection Law, carry out verification administration on the import and export commodities subject to the license system and the compulsory certification as prescribed by the state, check the documentations and verify whether the documentations and the commodities are consistent with each other. The catalog of import and export commodities subject to verification administration shall be formulated, adjusted and promulgated by the General Administration of Customs after negotiating with the relevant departments. Article 11 The consignees or consigners of the import and export commodities may go through formalities of application for inspection by themselves, or may entrust an agency inspection application enterprise to go through formalities of application for inspections; where commodities are imported and exported by way of express mails, the consignees or consigners shall entrust the entry-exit express mails operation enterprises to handle the formalities of application for inspection. Article 12 The consignees or consigners of import and export commodities shall, when going through formalities of application for inspection, put this on archives at the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs according to law. Article 13 In case any agency inspection application enterprise accepts the entrustment of any consignee or consigner of import and export commodities and handles formalities of application for inspection in the name of the client, it shall submit the power of attorney to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organ, and shall abide by the various provisions of the present Regulation on the client; if it handles formalities of application for inspection in its own name, it shall undertake the same legal liabilities as those of the consignee or the consigner. An entry-exit express mails operation enterprise that accepts the entrustment of a consignee or consigner of the import and export commodities shall go through the formalities of application for inspection in its own name, and undertake the same legal liabilities as those of the consignee or the consigner. In case a client entrusts any agency inspection application enterprise or any entry-exit express mails operation enterprise to handle the formalities of application for inspection, it shall provide the true information on the entrusted matters of application for inspection to the agency inspection application enterprise or the entry-exit express mails operation enterprise; if any agency inspection application enterprise or the entry-exit express mails operation enterprise accepts the entrustment of a client to handle the formalities of application for inspection, it shall make reasonable examination on the truthfulness of the information provided by the client. Article 14 The General Administration of Customs shall establish early warning mechanism on the risk of import and export commodities, and make risk assessment through collecting the information on the import and export commodity inspection, determine the type of risk, and take corresponding early warning measures against the risk and rapid response measures. The General Administration of Customs and the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs shall provide the information on the import and export commodity inspection to the relevant parties concerned in a timely manner. Article 15 When the staff members in the entry-exit inspection and quarantine organs perform duties, the relevant entities and individuals shall give cooperation, no entity or individual shall illegally interfere or obstruct. Chapter II Inspection on Import Commodities Article 16 The consignees of the imported commodities subject to statutory inspection shall apply for inspection to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine institutions at the places of customs declaration based on contracts, invoices, packing lists, bills of lading and other necessary certificates and relevant approval documents; and within 20 days after the commodities undergo the customs clearance formalities and be released, the consignees shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of this Regulation, apply for inspection to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine institutions. No imported commodity subject to statutory inspection that has not been inspected may be sold or used. With regard to the imported commodities subject to verification administration, the consignees shall apply for verification to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine institutions at the place of customs declaration. The entry-exit inspection and quarantine institutions shall conduct verification in accordance with the provisions issued by the General Administration of Customs. Article 17 With regard to the imported commodities subject to statutory inspection and the imported commodities subject to verification administration, the Customs shall handle customs clearance formalities as required. Article 18 The import commodities subject to statutory inspection shall be inspected at the place of destination where the consignees apply for inspection. The inspection on large commodities in bulk, perishable commodities and solid wastes that may be used as materials, as well as the commodities that are damaged or short shall be conducted at the port of discharge. For the import commodities as prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs, the General Administration of Customs may, upon the need of convenience for foreign trade and import and export commodity inspection, designate that inspection be made on them at other places. Article 19 Unless otherwise specified by any law or administrative regulation, if any import commodity subject to statutory inspection is not up to the standard after inspection in such items i......