Promulgation Authorities:  State Council

Promulgation Date:  2019.03.02

Effective Date:  2019.03.02

Validity Status:  valid

Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Place of Origin of Imports and Exports

Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Place of Origin of Imports and Exports

Article 1    These Regulations are formulated for the purposes of proper determination of the place of origin of imports and exports, effective implementation of various trade measures and promotion of foreign trade development.

Article 2    These Regulations shall apply to the determination of the place of origin in the implementation of non-preferential trade measures and implementation of most-favoured-nation treatment, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy, safeguarding measures, management of origin mark, limit on countries and tariff quota, and government purchasing and trade statistics activities.

These Regulations shall not apply to the determination of the place of origin of imports and exports for implementation of preferential trade measures. Specific measures shall be formulated separately in accordance with the international treaties and agreements in which the People's Republic of China is a party.

Article 3    Where all the goods are sourced from one country or region, the country or region shall be the place of origin of the goods. Where the goods are produced in two or more countries or regions, the country or region where the goods undergo final substantial change and completion shall be the place of origin.

Article 4    Products sourced from one country or region referred to in Article 3 of these Regulations include:

(1) live animals born and bred in the country (region);

(2) wild animals caught, fished and collected in the country (region);

(3) unprocessed items from live animals sourced in the country (region);

(4) plants and plant products harvested in the country (region);

(5) minerals excavated in the country (region);

(6) raw items sourced in the country (region) other than those mentioned in items (1) to (5) of this Article;

(7) waste and scrap materials produced in the manufacturing process that can only be discarded or recycled in the country (region);

(8) items collected in the country (region) that cannot be restored or repaired, or such parts or materials recycled from the items;

(9) aquatic animals and other items sourced legally in sea area outside the territorial waters by ships hoisting the flag of the country;

(10) products of items listed in item 9 of this Article processed on a ship hoisting the flag of the country;

(11) items sourced from the sea bed or sea bed subsoil outside the territorial waters where the country has special excavation rights; and

(12) products of items listed in items (1) to (11) of this Article manufactured in the country (region).

Article 5    The following minor processing or treatment shall not be taken into account to determine if all the goods are sourced in one country or region:

(1) processing or treatment for transportation or storage;

(2) processing or treatment to facilitate loading and unloading; and

(3) processing or treatment such as packaging etc for sale of goods.

Article 6    Standards for determination of substantive change stated in Article 3 of these Regulations shall be based on changes in tariff classification. Where the changes in tariff classification are unable to reflect substantive change, the ad valorem percentage or manufacturing or processing procedures shall be adopted as supplementary standards. Specific standards shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs jointly with the Ministry of Commerce.

Changes in tariff classification mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall refer to the changes in certain classification of tax category in the Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China after manufacturing and processing in a certain country (region) of original materials sourced from another country (region).

Ad valorem percentage mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article shall refer to the percentage of value-added portion which exceeds the value of goods manufactured or processed in a certain country (region) using original materials sourced from another country (region).

Manufacturing or processing procedures mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article shall refer to the main procedures of manufacturing or processing in a certain country (region) to form basic characteristics of the goods.

Prior to implementation of the Rules on Coordination of Non-preferential Origin, specific standards for determination of substantive changes of origin of imports and exports shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs jointly with the Ministry of Commerce based on the actual circumstances.

Article 7    The place of origin of energy sources, factory buildings, equipment, machines and tools used in the manufacturing process and the place of origin of materials that are not material ingredients or integral components shall not affect the determination of the place of origin of the goods.

Article 8    Where the place of origin of the packaging, packaging materials and containers accompanying the imports and exports are classified together with the goods in the Import and Export Tariffs of the People's Republic of China, the place of origin of the packaging, packaging materials and containers shall not affect determination of the place of origin of the goods; the place of origin of the packaging, packaging materials and containers shall not be determined individually; the place of origin of the packaging, packaging materials and containers shall be deemed as the place of origin of the goods contained therein.

Where the packaging, packaging materials and containers accompanying the imports and exports are not classified together with the goods in the Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China, the place of origin of the packaging, packaging materials and containers shall be determined in accordance with these Regulations.

Article 9    Where the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructions or explanatory materials of normal varieties and quantities accompanying the imports and exports are classified together with the goods in the Import and Export Tariffs of the People's Republic of China, the place of origin of the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructions and explanatory materials shall not affect determination of the origin of the goods; the place of origin of the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructions and explanatory materials shall not be determined individually; the place of origin of the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructions and explanatory materials shall be deemed as the place of origin of the goods.

Where the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructions and explanatory materials accompanying the imports and exports are classified together with the goods in the Import and Export Tariffs of the People's Republic of China but they exceed normal varieties and quantities, or where they are not classified together with the goods in the Import and Export Tariffs of the People's Republic of China, the place of origin of the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructions and explanatory materials shall be determined in accordance the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 10    Processing of the goods for the purpose of evading the provisions of anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard measures shall not be taken into account by the Customs in the determination of the place of origin of the goods.

Article 11    Consignees of imports shall declare the place of origin of the imports truthfully in accordance with the criteria for determination of place of origin stipulated in these Regulations when they complete Customs declaration formalities in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and relevant regulations; separate declaration shall be made for the respective place of origin if the goods in the same lot came from different places of origin.

Article 12    Prior to importation, the consignee or other related parties which have direct relations to the imports may apply in writing to the Customs for pre-determination of the place of origin of the imports. The applicant shall submit the materials required for pre-determination of the place of origin to the Customs in accordance with the provisions.

The Customs shall conduct pre-determination of the place of origin of the imports and announce the same in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations within 150 days from receipt of the application for pre-determination of the place of origin and all relevant materials.

Article 13    Upon acceptance of a declaration, the Customs shall examine and determine the place of origin of the imports in accordance with the provisions.

Where there is no change in the pre-determined place of origin of goods imported within three years from the pre-determination of place of origin and no change in the criteria for determination of the place of origin stipulated in these Regulations, the Customs will not re-determinate the place of origin of the imports. Where there is any discrepancy between the imports and the pre-determined results, the Customs shall re-examine and determine the place of origin of the imports in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 14    When examining and determining  the place of origin of the imports, the Customs may require the consignee of the imports to submit the certificate of origin of the imports for examination. Where necessary, the Customs may request that the relevant organisation in the exporting country to examine the place of origin of the goods.

Article 15    The Customs may issue an administrative ruling on pre-determination of the place of origin of the imports in accordance with Article 43 of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, based on a written application by the foreign trader, and announce the ruling.

The same administrative ruling shall apply to similar imports.

Article 16    The State shall administer an origin mark system. Where there is an origin mark on the goods or the packaging, the place of origin described by the origin mark shall match the place of origin determined in accordance with these Regulations.

Article 17    Consignors of exports may apply to the Customs, China Council for Promoting International Trade and its sub-councils (hereinafter referred to as "certification organisations") for a certificate of origin for exports.

Article 18    Consignors of exports applying for a certificate of origin for exports shall complete registration formalities and declare the place of origin of the exports truthfully in accordance with the provisions and provide materials required by the certification organisations for issue of the certificate of origin for exports.

Article 19    Upon acceptance of an application from the consignor of exports, the certification organisations shall examine and determine the place of origin of the exports in accordance with the provisions and issue a certificate of origin for the exports. Where the exports are not manufactured in the People's Republic of China, the certification organisations shall not issue a certificate of origin for the exports.

Specific measures on issue of certificate of origin for exports shall be formulated separately by the General Administration of Customs jointly with other related departments of the State Council.

Article 20    In response to the request of relevant authorities in the importing country (region), the Customs and certification organisations may examine the place of origin of the exports and feedback to the relevant authorities in the importing country (region) promptly.

Article 21    Unless provided in accordance with the relevant provisions or consent of units or individuals providing the materials and information, the Customs and certification organisations shall maintain confidentiality of the materials and information used for determination of the place of origin of the goods.

Article 22    Persons guilty of violation of the provisions of these Regulations shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Foreign Trade Law of the People's republic of China, the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and the Implementation Regulations of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Penalties.

Article 23    Persons guilty of obtaining a certificate of origin using fraudulent materials or forgery, transaction or theft of a certificate of origin shall be imposed a fine ranging from RMB5,000 to RMB100,000 by the Customs. Persons guilty of obtaining a certificate of origin by fraudulent means, or forgery, transaction or theft of a certificate of origin and use such certificate for Customs clearance shall be imposed a fine of not more than the amount of the goods; if the amount of the goods is below RMB5,000, a fine of RMB5,000 shall be imposed. Illegal earnings shall be confiscated by the Customs. Where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with laws.

Article 24    Where there is a discrepancy between the origin mark and the place of origin determined in accordance with these Regulations, the Customs shall order the relevant parties to make  correction.

Article 25    Personnel responsible for determination of the place of origin of imports or exports who violate the provisions of these Regulations in the course of determination of the place of origin of goods, or disclose commercial secret or guilty of abusing their power, dereliction of duty, embezzlement and malpractice shall be imposed administrative sanction. Illegal earnings shall be confiscated. Where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the laws.

Article 26    The following terms used in these Regulations shall be defined as follows:

"Sourced" shall refer to catching, fishing, collecting, harvesting, excavating, processing or manufacturing.

"Place of origin of the goods" shall refer to the country (region) which is the source of certain goods as determined in accordance with this Regulation.

"Certificate of origin" shall refer to a written document issued by the exporting country (region) in accordance with the rules of origin and related requirements, stipulating the country (region) of origin of the goods.

"Origin mark" shall refer to the wordings and diagrams stipulated on the goods or the packaging to indicate the place of origin of the goods.

Article 27    These Regulations shall be effective 1 January 2005. These Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Place of Origin of Exports promulgated by the State Council on 8 March 1992 and the Provisional Regulations of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Place of Origin of Imports promulgated by the General Administration of Customs on 6 December 1986 shall be repealed simultaneously.