Promulgation Authorities:  General Administration of Customs

Promulgation Date:  2018.05.29

Effective Date:  2018.07.01

Validity Status:  valid

Administrative Measures for the Health Quarantine of Entry/Exit Corpses and Skeletal Remains (Revised in May 2018)

Administrative Measures for the Health Quarantine of Entry/Exit Corpses and Skeletal Remains (Revised in May 2018)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1    These Measures are enacted in accordance with the Frontier Health Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China and its implementing rules, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and its implementing regulations, and other laws and regulations for the purpose of regulating the health quarantine of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains at frontier ports and preventing the spread of infectious diseases.

Article 2    The General Administration of Customs uniformly administers the health quarantine of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains.

The competent customs shall be in charge of the health quarantine of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains within its jurisdiction.

Article 3    For the purposes of these Measures, "entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains" include:

(I) corpses and skeletal remains to be imported or exported for funeral and interment; and

(II) corpses and skeletal remains of persons who died on the way of entry, exit or transit.

Corpses and skeletal remains imported from overseas or exported from the country for medical research purposes shall be administered as special entry/exit articles.

Except for the aforementioned circumstances, no corpses and skeletal remains shall be exported out of the country or imported from overseas.

Article 4    The customs shall conduct health quarantine of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains, including: material verification, on-site inspection, quarantine disposal, issuance of health quarantine certificates, etc. If the requirements of health quarantine are met, the entry/exit can be granted.

Chapter II Declaration

Article 5    Prior to entry of corpses and skeletal remains into the territory, the consignor or the agent thereof shall declare to the customs at the port of entry and provide the following materials as required:

(I) health quarantine declaration for entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains;

(II) identity document of the deceased (such as passport, seaman's card, travel pass, identity card or certificate issued by embassies or consulates and other relevant authorities);

(III) official death certificate issued by the departing country or region or death diagnosis certificate issued by the medical and health department;

(IV) en-coffining certification;

(V) antisepsis certification; and

(VI) identity document of the consignor or the agent thereof (such as passport, travel pass or identity card, etc.).

Article 6    To transport corpses and skeletal remains out of the country, the consignor or the agent thereof shall obtain the en-coffining certification of entry/exit corpse and antisepsis certification of entry/exit body and the declaration form of health supervision and administration for entry/exit of corpses and skeletal remains issued by the service entities engaged in international transportation of corpses and skeletal remains recognized by the competent funeral and interment department of the State Council.

Article 7    To transport corpses and skeletal remains out of the country, such corpses and skeletal remains shall, in principle, be shipped out of the country through the port where the place of burial of the deceased is located. Before the corpses and skeletal remains leave the country, the consignor or the agent thereof shall declare to the customs at the port of exit and provide the following materials as required:

(I) health quarantine declaration for entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains;

(II) valid identity document of the deceased;

(III) death certificate issued by the medical institution at or above the county level, or death appraisal letter issued by the public security or judicial department or other corresponding notarization materials;

(IV) certifying documents listed in Article 6 of these Measures; and

(V) identity certificate of the consignor or the agent thereof.

Article 8    To transport corpses and skeletal remains out of the territory from a port in a different place, the consignor or its agent shall apply to the customs at the place of burial for quarantine inspection. If the quarantine inspection is passed, the customs shall issue a Health quarantine Certificate for Entry/Exit of Corpses/Coffins with Corpses/Skeletal Remains.

When transporting the corpses and skeletal remains out of the territory, the consignor or the agent thereof shall make declaration to the customs at the exit port by presenting the following materials:

(I) valid identity certificate of the deceased; and

(II) identity certificate of the consignor or the agent thereof.

Article 9    Where any person dies during the entry and exit or transit through the territory and it is necessary to transport the corpse into the territory, the consignor or the agent thereof shall make declaration to the customs and submit the following materials:

(I) health quarantine declaration for entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains;

(II) valid identity certificate of the deceased; and

(III) a valid death certificate or a death assessment report issued by a public security organ.

Article 10    An entity engaged in the transportation of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains shall obtain a certifying document permitting the international transportation of corpses by the competent department of funeral and interment under the State Council.

Any consignor or agent engaged in transportation of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains shall entrust an entity that meets the requirements as provided in the first paragraph of this Article for the transportation of corpses and skeletal remains.

For the entry/exit of corpses and skeletal remains, the relevant documents shall be submitted such as the legal person certificate of the entity engaged in transportation of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains and the certifying document permitting the international transportation of corpse as issued by the competent department of funeral and interment under the State Council.

Chapter III On-site Inspection

Article 11    The customs at the port of entry shall conduct material verification and on-site inspection of corpses and skeletal remains upon entry, while the customs at the place of burial shall conduct material verification and on-site inspection of corpses and skeletal remains upon exit. The customs at the port of exit shall be responsible for on-site verification to see whether the information conforms to the declared contents, and whether the external packing is intact, damaged or leaking.

Article 12    Corpses and skeletal remains of persons who are suspected of or who died from infectious diseases subject to quarantine, anthrax, diseases declared by the State as infectious diseases under the management of Class A, or other newly emerging infectious diseases specified by the State Council shall be prohibited from entry or exit.

The corpse of anyone who died from an infectious disease subject to quarantine must be cremated at a nearby place.

Article 13    The customs at the port shall conduct on-site inspection of the entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains and fill in the on-site inspection records of entry/exit corpses and skeletal remains.

Article 14    The customs shall conduct an on-site inspection of the corpse not interred in the coffin in the following aspects:

(I) The customs shall examine the degree of decomposition of the corpse, whether all the passageways and holes have been blocked by cotton balls soaked with disinfectant or antiseptic agent, and whether body fluid has flowed out;

(II) For corpses which died from unknown cause, special attention shall be paid to examine whether there are any rashes (macules, papules, herpes, pustules), epidermal exfoliation, ulcers, exudate, hemorrhagic spots, pigmentation, abnormal excretions, secretions, cavity and tract hemorrhages and other phenomena; and

(III) The customs at the port shall conduct quarantine of the corpse of anyone who dies during the entry or exit or transit through the territory, and take corresponding treatment and sanitary control measures according to the quarantine results and the requirements of the declarer; the corpse shall not be removed without approval of the customs.

Article 15    The customs shall conduct an on-site inspection of an interred corpse in the following aspects:

(I) The customs shall inspect whether the packing of the coffin for exit/entry is air-tight or not, or whether there is damage, leakage or peculiar smell. If the coffin has no special reasons such as exudate or gas leakage, or is of no epidemiological significance, the coffin may not be opened for quarantine inspection in principle; and

(II) On-site inspection of the coffin for exit shall be conducted at the same time when the corpse is interred into the coffin. The corpse shall be required to be antisepticized and sealed, and shall be free from damage, leakage or peculiar smell.

Article 16    The customs shall conduct an on-site inspection of the human remains in the following aspects:

(I) The customs shall inspect whether the packing container of the human remains is air-tight or not, and whether there is any leakage; and

(II) If the packing container of the skeleton is air-tight, the customs shall inspect whether the human remains are dry and clean, whether there is any tendon, whether there is any peculiar smell or insect vectors.

Article 17    According to the examination of the declaration materials, epidemiological investigation and on-site inspection, if there is a need for further investigation into the cause of death, the customs may collect specimens and send them to a qualified laboratory for inspection.

Chapter IV Quarantine Disposals

Article 18    In case of finding any of the following circumstances, the customs may determine as failure to pass health quarantine inspection:

(I) The external packing is not air-tight or damaged, and there is leakage, peculiar smell or insect vectors;

(II) The entry/exit corpse is encoffined without being antisepticized or packed; or

(III) The deceased died on the way into the country and the cause of death is unknown.

Article 19    Where corpses and skeletal remains fail to pass the health quarantine inspection, the customs shall carry out quarantine disposal in accordance with the following provisions:

(I) Where corpses and skeletal remains are prohibited entry/exit, it must be cremated on the spot before entering or leaving the country in the form of ashes;

(II) Coffins with exudate or gas leakage must undergo sanitary treatment, and the consignor or the agent thereof shall take measures such as changing packing, re-antiseptic treatment or freezing transportation;

(III) If the packing container of the human remains is not air-tight, and there is any peculiar smell or leakage or insect vectors, it must undergo sanitary treatment and have the packing changed;

(IV) Where a person died of an unknown cause on the way into or out of the country, an identification on the cause of death shall be made. Where no identification on the cause of death can be made, the corpse and coffin shall be cremated together, before entering or leaving the country in the form of ashes;

(V) Where there is no death certificate or medical diagnosis for the death of the corpse, and the consignor or the agent thereof fails to submit the aforesaid certificate within the prescribed time limit, the deceased shall be deemed as an unclear cause of death before entering or leaving the country in the form of ashes; and

(VI) In case of failure to meet the requirements of health quarantine after sanitary treatment, the remains shall be cremated at the nearby place before entering or leaving the country in the form of ashes.

In the event of any of the aforesaid circumstances, the remains shall be cremated. However, if the consignor or the agent thereof disagrees on the cremation, the remains shall be prohibited from entering or leaving the country.

Article 20    Where corpses and skeletal remains meet the requirements of health quarantine for entry/exit, the customs shall issue a Health quarantine Certificate for Entry/exit of Corpses/Coffin with Corpses/Skeletal Remains and approve the entry/exit thereof.

Article 21    For imported corpses and skeletal remains to be exported to another country, the customs at the port of exit shall examine the Health quarantine Certificate for Entry/Exit of Corpses/Coffins with Corpses/Skeletal Remains issued by the customs at the port of entry as well as relevant materials.

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Article 22    For the purpose of these Measures, the following terms are defined as follows:

Corpses refers to the remains of the deceased and the human organs and tissues for the purpose of funeral and interment.

Coffins refers to fixed, airtight containers for containing corpse.

Skeletal remains refer to the human skeletal remains for the purpose of funeral and interment.

Article 23    The General Administration of Customs shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Measures.

Article 24    These Measures shall be implemented with effect from May 1, 2017.