Promulgation Authorities:  General Administration of Customs

Promulgation Date:  2018.05.29

Effective Date:  2018.07.01

Validity Status:  valid

Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Manifests of Inbound and Outbound Transportation Vehicles

Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Manifests of Inbound and Outbound Transportation Vehicles

Chapter 1 General Principles

Article 1   These Measures are formulated pursuant to the provisions of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Customs Law") and relevant laws and administrative regulations for the purposes of standardising Customs administration of manifests of inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, promoting facilitation of international trade, and safeguarding international trade security.

Article 2   Manifests of inbound and outbound transportation vehicles (hereinafter referred to as the "manifests") to which these Measures refer shall mean media which state the information of goods, articles and passengers carried by inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, including original manifests, advance manifests and packing (passenger) manifests.

Where an inbound and outbound transportation vehicle carries goods and articles, the contents of the manifest shall include information of the master bill of lading and sub-bill of lading thereto.

Article 3   These Measures shall apply to Customs administration of manifests of inbound and outbound vessels, aircrafts, railway carriages and highway vehicles.

Article 4    Obligors of transmission of electronic data on manifests such as persons-in-charge of inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, operators of non-vessel operating common carriers, freight agency enterprises, vessel agency enterprises, postal enterprises and express courier operators etc (hereinafter referred to collectively as the "manifest senders") shall transmit electronic data on manifests to the Customs within the stipulated time frame according to the scope of Customs filing.

Obligors of transmission of the relevant electronic data on manifests such as operators of Customs-supervised work premises, tally departments, consignors of exported goods etc shall transmit the relevant electronic data on manifests to the Customs within the stipulated time frame.

Where an obligor fails to transmit the manifest and the relevant electronic data pursuant to the provisions of these Measures, the Customs may temporarily put the processing of inbound or outbound declaration formalities for the transportation vehicle on hold.

Where it is unable to transmit the manifest and the relevant electronic data to the Customs under special circumstances such as computer breakdown etc, the obligor may, upon consent by the Customs, submit the relevant documents in hard copy to the Customs within the stipulated time frame.

Article 5   The time of acceptance of transmitted key data on original manifests by the Customs shall be the time of transmission of electronic data on manifests for imports; the time of acceptance of transmitted key data on advance manifests by the Customs shall be the time of transmission of electronic data on manifests for exports.

Article 6    The manifest sender, operator of control premises, and tally department or consignor of exported goods shall file record with the direct-reporting Customs at the locality of its business operation or the authorised subordinate Customs, and submit a "Filing Registration Form".

Where there is any change in the relevant contents filed with the Customs, the manifest sender, operator of control premises, and tally department or consignor of exported goods shall complete filing change formalities with the Customs based on the written application and the relevant documents.

Article 7    A manifest sender may make a written request to the Customs for keeping confidentiality of its commercial secrets, and list the specific contents needed to be kept confidential.

The Customs shall bear confidentiality obligations pursuant to the relevant provisions of the State, and ensure proper custody of information which involves commercial secrets provided by manifest senders and the relevant obligors.

Chapter 2 Administration of Inbound Manifests

Article 8   Prior to the transmission of electronic data on the original manifest, the person-in-charge of a transportation vehicle shall notify the Customs of the estimated arrival time of the transportation vehicle at the port of destination within the territory of China.

Prior to the arrival of a transportation vehicle at the port, the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle shall notify the Customs of the exact arrival time of the transportation vehicle at the port.

When a transportation vehicle arrives at a place where the Customs is located, the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle shall declare the arrival of the transportation vehicle to the Customs.

Article 9    For an inbound transportation vehicle carrying goods and articles, the manifest sender shall transmit the key data on original manifests to the Customs within the following time limits:

(1) 24 hours before loading of a container vessel; 24 hours before arrival of a non-container vessel at the first port of destination within the territory of China;

(2) prior to take-off of an aircraft if the voyage is less than four hours; four hours before arrival of an aircraft at the first port of destination within the territory of China if the voyage exceeds four hours;

(3) two hours before arrival of a railway carriage at the first destination station within the territory of China; and

(4) one hour before arrival of a highway vehicle at the first destination station within the territory of China.

The manifest sender shall transmit other data on the original manifest to the Customs prior to the arrival of inbound goods and articles at the port of destination.

Upon receipt by the Customs of transmitted key data on the original manifest, the consignee and the entrusted Customs declaration enterprise may process declaration formalities with the Customs for the goods and articles.

Article 10   The Customs may, upon discovery of goods and articles stated on the original manifest which are prohibited from being brought into China, notify the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle that such goods and articles are not to be brought into China.

Article 11    Where an inbound transportation vehicle carries passengers, the manifest sender shall transmit the electronic data on the original manifest to the Customs within the following time limits:

(1) two hours before arrival of a vessel at the first port of destination within the territory of China;

(2) 30 minutes before arrival of an aircraft at the first port of destination within the territory of China if the voyage is less than one hour; one hour before arrival of an aircraft at the first port of destination within the territory of China if the voyage is between one hour to two hours; two hours before arrival of an aircraft at the first port of destination within the territory of China if the voyage exceeds two hours;

(3) two hours before arrival of a railway carriage at the first destination station within the territory of China; and

(4) one hour before arrival of a highway vehicle at the first destination station within the territory of China.

Article 12   Upon receipt by the Customs of transmitted key data on the original manifest, the Customs shall notify the manifest sender via electronic data method of its decision on non-approval of unloading of goods and articles or alighting of passengers, and state the reason for non-approval of unloading of goods and articles or alighting of passengers.

Where the Customs is unable to notify via electronic data method due to certain reasons, it shall dispatch officers to be onsite to process the relevant formalities stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article.

Article 13    The tally department or the operator of Customs-supervise work premises, and Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles shall submit a tally report to the Customs via electronic data method within six hours from the completion of unloading of goods and articles from an inbound transportation vehicle.

Where there is a need to conduct tally twice,  upon the consent of the Customs, the tally report may be submitted to the Customs via electronic data method within 24 hours from the completion of unloading of goods and articles from an inbound transportation vehicle.

Article 14    The Customs shall verify the original manifest against the tally report; where there is any inconsistency between the original manifest and the tally report, the Customs shall notify the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle via electronic data method. The person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle shall report the reason for inconsistency to the Customs within 48 hours from the completion of unloading of goods and articles.

Article 15   The Customs may order the person-in-charge of a transportation vehicle to directly return shipment of inbound goods and articles which are not stated in the original manifest.

Article 16   Where there is a need to distribute inbound goods and articles, the manifest sender shall apply to the Customs via electronic data method for consent to distribution of goods and articles; distribution may be carried out only upon the consent of the Customs.

When distributed goods and articles arrive at Customs-supervise work premises, and Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles, operators of the relevant premises shall submit an arrival report on distributed goods and articles to the Customs via electronic data method.

The tally department or operators of the relevant premises shall submit a tally report on distributed goods and articles to the Customs via electronic data method within two hours from the completion of disassembly of distributed goods and articles.

Article 17    Where there is a need to carry out evacuative distribution of goods and articles, the operator of Customs-supervise work premises, and Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles shall apply to the Customs via electronic data method for consent to evacuative distribution; evacuative distribution may be carried out only upon the consent of the Customs.

Upon completion of evacuative distribution, operators of the relevant premises shall submit an arrival report on evacuative distribution of goods and articles to the Customs via electronic data method.

Article 18   Upon submission of arrival report for distribution cargo and articles, the Customs may forthwith inspect the cargo and items and process clearance formalities.

Article 19   Where an inbound transportation vehicle carries passengers, the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle or the operator of Customs clearance premises for passengers shall submit an application for clearance of inbound passengers and their luggage articles within three hours from the completion of alighting of passengers from the inbound transportation vehicle, and provide the actual number of alighting passengers, quantity of collected check-in luggage articles and quantity of undelivered luggage articles. Upon verification by the Customs that there is no error, the Customs may process clearance formalities; where there is any inconsistency between the original manifest and clearance application, the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle or the operator of Customs clearance premises for passengers shall report the reason for inconsistency to the Customs within 24 hours from the completion of alighting of passengers from the inbound transportation vehicle.

The person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle or the operator of Customs clearance premises for passengers shall hand over uncollected check-in luggage articles to the Customs for handling.

Chapter 3 Administration of Outbound Manifests

Article 20    For goods and articles transported via containers, the consignor of exported goods shall transmit the electronic data of packing list to the Customs before the packing of the goods and articles.

Article 21   For outbound transportation vehicle which is scheduled to carry goods and articles, the manifest sender shall transmit the key data on advance manifests to the Customs prior to the processing of declaration formalities for goods and articles.

Upon receipt by the Customs of transmitted key data on advance manifests, the manifest sender shall transmit other data on advance manifests to the Customs within the following time limits:

(1) 24 hours before loading of containers onto a container vessel; two hours before the start of loading of goods and articles onto a non-container vessel;

(2) four hours before the start of loading of goods and articles on an aircraft;

(3) two hours before the start of loading of goods and articles on a railway carriage; and

(4) one hour before the start of loading of goods and articles on a highway vehicle.

Where an outbound transportation vehicle is scheduled to carry passengers, the manifest sender shall transmit electronic data on advance manifests to the Customs one hour before the start of processing of aircraft (vessel, vehicle) boarding formalities for the outbound passengers.

Article 22    When outbound goods and articles arrives at Customs-supervise work premises, and Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles, operators of the relevant premises shall submit an arrival report to the Customs via electronic data method.

Upon submission of the arrival report, the Customs may then process inspection and Customs clearance formalities of goods and articles.

Article 23    The manifest sender shall transmit electronic data on packing manifests to the Customs 30 minutes before the start of loading of goods and articles onto the transportation vehicle.

Goods and articles stated in the packing manifest shall have been cleared by the Customs.

Article 24    The manifest sender shall transmit electronic data on passenger manifests to the Customs upon the processing of aircraft (vessel, vehicle) boarding formalities for the passengers and prior to the boarding of passengers of the transportation vehicle.

Article 25    Upon receipt by the Customs of transmitted electronic data on the packing manifest and passenger manifest, the Customs shall notify the manifest sender via electronic data method of its decision on non-approval of loading of goods and articles or boarding of passengers, and state the reason for non-approval of loading of goods and articles or boarding of passengers.

Where the Customs is unable to notify via electronic data method due to certain reasons, it shall dispatch officers to be onsite to process the relevant formalities stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article.

Article 26    The person-in-charge of a transportation vehicle shall notify the Customs of the departure time of the transportation vehicle, two hours before the departure of the transportation vehicle from the place where the Customs is located.

For last-minute added transportation vehicle, the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle shall notify the Customs of the departure time of the transportation vehicle, before the departure of the transportation vehicle from the place where the Customs is located.

Article 27    The person-in-charge of a transportation vehicle shall submit an application for clearance to the Customs upon completion of loading of goods and articles or aircraft (vessel, vehicle) boarding of all passengers; upon the processing of Customs clearance formalities, the outbound transportation vehicle may then depart.

Article 28    The operator of Customs-supervised work premises or the tally department shall submit a tally report to the Customs via electronic data method within six hours from the departure of an outbound transportation vehicle from the port of loading.

Article 29    The Customs shall verify the packing manifest against the tally report; where there is any inconsistency between the packing manifest and the tally report, the Customs shall notify the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle via electronic data method. The person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle shall report the reason for inconsistency to the Customs within 48 hours from the completion of loading of goods and articles.

The Customs shall verify the passenger manifest against the application for clearance; where there is any inconsistency between the passenger manifest and the application for clearance, the Customs shall notify the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle via electronic data method. The person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle shall report the reason for inconsistency to the Customs within 24 hours from the completion of clearance of the outbound transportation vehicle.

Chapter 4 Administration of Manifest Amendment

Article 30    Where there is a need to amend electronic data on manifests which has been transmitted, the manifest sender may make the amendment directly before the stipulated transmission time frame for original manifests and advance manifests, except where the owner of the goods and articles has processed declaration formalities with the Customs for the goods and articles.

The time of transmission of electronic data on manifests shall be the time of acceptance of the amendment of electronic data on manifests by the Customs.

Article 31    After the lapse of the stipulated transmission time frame for original manifests and advance manifests, the manifest sender may complete change formalities with the Customs in any of the following circumstances:

(1) where there is an extinguishment, shortage or loss of goods and articles due to a force majeure event which renders the electronic data on manifests inaccurate;

(2) where the outbound goods and articles listed in a packing manifest are rejected by the Customs partially or in entirety due to reasons such as loading, stowage etc, or there is change of transportation vehicle therefor;

(3) where the excess or shortage quantity of large bulk cargo or bulk cargo loaded and shipped in independent units of containers falls within the stipulated scope; or

(4) where there is transmission error due to other objective reason.

Article 32    Where there is a need to amend electronic data on manifests following the action taken pursuant to the provisions of Article 37 of these Measures, the manifest sender shall make amendment according to the requirements of the Customs.

Article 33    When applying to the Customs for amendment of cargo manifest or passenger manifest, the manifest sender shall submit an "Application Form for Manifest Amendment" and the correct manifest affixed with the official seal of the manifest sender.

Chapter 5 Supplementary Provisions

Article 34    The following terms used in these Measures shall be defined as follows:

"Original manifests" shall mean manifests transmitted by the manifest sender to the Customs to reflect the information of goods and articles or passengers carried by an inbound transportation vehicle.

"Advance manifests" shall mean manifests which reflect the information of goods and articles or passengers scheduled to be carried by an outbound transportation vehicle.

"Packing (passenger) manifests" shall mean manifests which reflect the information of goods and articles or passengers actually carried by an outbound transportation vehicle.

"Bill of lading" shall mean documents which prove transportation contract for goods and articles, and prove the receipt or loading by the shipper of goods and articles, as well as the undertaking of the shipper to deliver goods and articles.

"Master bill of lading" shall mean a bill of lading issued by the person-in-charge of the transportation vehicle or the vessel agency enterprise.

"Sub-bill of lading" shall mean a bill of lading under a master bill of lading, which is issued by an enterprise such as an operator of non-vessel operating common carriers, a freight agency, an express courier operator etc.

"Arrival report" shall mean the records submitted by the operator of Customs-supervised work premises to the Customs to reflect actual cargo arrival information when inbound and outbound cargo arrives at Customs-supervised work premises, as well as the records submitted by the operator of the relevant premises to the Customs to reflect actual cargo arrival information when inbound and outbound articles arrive at the Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles.

"Tally report" shall mean the records on actual loading and unloading of goods and articles carried by inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, which is verified and confirmed by the operator or the tally department of Customs-supervised work premises or Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles.

"Evacuative distribution" shall mean evacuation of the relevant goods and articles to other Customs-supervised work premises or Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles, pursuant to the decision of the port administrative authorities, for the purposes of preventing backlog of goods and articles and port congestion.

"Distribution" shall mean the act of moving inbound goods or articles from one premise to another premise by an operator of Customs-supervised work premises or Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles.

"Packing list" shall mean a document which reflects the actual loading information of outbound goods and articles transported by a container before packing.

"exceeds", "less than" and "within" shall include the numeral referred to.

Article 35    The serial number of a bill of lading in a manifest shall not be repeated within two years.

Within three years from the date of the acceptance by the Customs of the electronic data on manifests, the manifest senders, operators and tally departments of Customs-supervise work premises and Customs clearance premises for passengers and postal articles shall keep properly the information such as hard-copy manifests, tally reports, arrival reports and the relevant accounts books etc.

Article 36    The format of electronic data of the following manifests of these Measures shall be separately formulated by the General Administration of Customs:

(1) original manifest (including key data and other data);

(2) tally report;

(3) application for distribution of goods and articles;

(4) tally report on distributed goods and articles;

(5) application for evacuative distribution;

(6) arrival report on goods and articles subject to evacuative distribution;

(7) packing list;

(8) advance manifest (including key data and other data);

(9) arrival report; and

(10) packing (passenger) manifest.

Article 37   Violations of these Measures, which constitute the acts of smuggling, violations of Customs regulatory provisions or other violations of the Customs Law, shall be dealt with by the Customs pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Customs Law and the Implementation Regulations of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Penalties; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

Article 38    The documents stipulated in these Measures shall be separately formulated and promulgated by the General Administration of Customs.

Article 39   The General Administration of Customs shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Measures.

Article 40    These Measures shall be implemented with effect from 1 January 2009. The Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Transmission of Electronic Data on Manifest promulgated via General Administration of Customs Order No. 70 on 1 February 1999 shall be repealed simultaneously.