Promulgation Authorities:  General Administration of Customs

Promulgation Date:  2022.09.26

Effective Date:  2022.11.01

Validity Status:  valid

Document Number:  Decree No.260 of the General Administration of Customs

Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Supervision over Transit Goods

Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Supervision over Transit Goods

Decree No.260 of the General Administration of Customs

(Promulgated under Decree No.260 of the General Administration of Customs on September 26, 2022, and effective on November 1, 2022)

Article 1    These Measures are enacted in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine and its implementation regulation, the Border Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China and its implementation rules as well as other relevant laws and regulations to strengthen the supervision and administration of transit goods by customs, safeguard the sovereignty, security and interests of the State and promote trade facilitation.

Article 2    For the purpose of the present Measures, "transit goods" refer to goods shipped from abroad, transported through land routes within the territory of China and shipped to overseas successively.

For transit goods from a country or region, which has concluded or jointly acceded to an international treaty or agreement with China which contains clauses on transit of goods, transit shall be granted according to the relevant treaty or agreement. For other transit goods, transit shall be granted upon the approval of the competent authorities of commerce and transport and upon the record-filing with the customs at the place of entry. Where laws and regulations stipulate otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 3    No transit shall be granted to the following goods:

(I) goods from or to a country or region with which China has stopped or prohibited trade;

(II) weapons, ammunition, explosives and military supplies, except for those transported through military channels;

(III) potent poisons, narcotics, and opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine and other narcotic drugs;

(IV) hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes;

(V) microbes, human tissues, biological products, blood and products thereof and other special articles;

(VI) invasive alien species;

(VII) endangered animals and plants and products thereof, such as ivory, except as otherwise provided for by law;

(VIII) articles prohibited from entering China by the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine, except as otherwise provided for by law;

(IX) goods endangering the politics, economy, culture or morality of China; and

(X) other goods for which transit is prohibited by the State.

Article 4    Transit goods, from the time of entry to the time of exit, shall be subject to supervision by customs.

Without the approval of the customs, no entity or individual may open, pick up, deliver, forward, replace, repack, mortgage, pledge, take lien of or transfer transit goods or change the identification marks on such goods, use such goods for other purposes or dispose of such goods by other means. Without approval of customs, animals and plants, their products and other quarantine objects shall not be unloaded from the transport vehicles.

Article 5    Persons in charge of transport vehicles that transport transit goods within the territory of China (hereinafter referred to as "persons in charge of transport vehicles") shall engage in transit goods transportation upon the approval of relevant authorities of the State and file with the customs as required.

Article 6    Transit goods, from the time of entry to the time of exit, shall be transported pursuant to the routes prescribed by the competent transport authority, if there is no such provision, the customs shall formulate such provisions.

Whoever transports animals across the border shall follow the route specified by the customs.

Article 7    The transit animals and other transit goods assessed to be of high risk for biosecurity shall enter the territory through the designated port.

Article 8    The person in charge of transport vehicles shall submit the declaration form of transit goods transportation and truthfully declare to the customs at the place of entry.

If the transit goods are animals or plants, their products or other quarantine objects, the quarantine certificate issued by the animal and plant quarantine department of government in the exporting country or region shall be provided; if the transit goods are animals, the animal transit permit issued by the customs shall also be provided; if the transit goods are dual-use items or other goods whose transit is restricted by the State, the relevant permit shall be provided.

Article 9    Where transit goods are carried to the place of entry, the transit transportation may be allowed only with the approval of the customs at the place of entry. When quarantine is needed in accordance with the law, the goods shall be transported by transit after they pass the quarantine. Carcasses, excrements, bedding materials, and other wastes of transit animals must be disposed of according to law and may not be cast away without authorization.

When transit goods arrive at the place of exit, they may be transported out of the territory after being verified and written off by the customs at the place of exit.

Article 10    Transit goods shall not be transported with other inbound and outbound goods and articles in combined vans or containers.

Article 11    Customs may affix seals to domestic transport vehicles or containers carrying transit goods. No one may open or damage the seals without authorization.

Article 12    Where a new transport vehicle or container is needed for transit goods after their departure from the place of entry and before their arrival at the place of exit, the person in charge of the transport vehicles shall apply to the customs of the place where such goods are to be reloaded for transshipment formalities.

The reloading of transit goods shall be made in the warehouse or site designated or approved by the customs. The reloading of hazardous chemicals or dangerous goods shall be made at a place with safe operation conditions approved by relevant authority.

Article 13    Where a new transport vehicle or container is needed for transit goods with a through bill of lading during the domestic transportation, the person in charge of the transport vehicles may file a one-off application with the customs at the place of entry and the customs at the place of reloading for going through transit transport and reloading formalities.

Article 14    The customs may, as needed, send its officer to escort the transportation of transit goods, and the person in charge of the transport vehicles shall provide facilitation therefor.

Article 15    The customs may check transit goods if it deems necessary, and the person in charge of the transport vehicles shall cooperate on the site.

Article 16    Where transit goods are lost or short in amount within the territory of China, the person in charge of the transport vehicles shall go through the relevant customs formalities with the customs at the place of entry, except due to force majeure.

Article 17    Where no declaration is made to the customs for transit goods within three months from the date of declaration of entry of the transport vehicle, such goods shall be deemed as imported goods, which shall be handled in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations.

Article 18    Transit goods shall exit the territory of China within six months from the date of declaration of entry of the transport vehicle. Under special circumstances, the period may be extended upon the approval of the customs at the place of entry, but the extended period shall not exceed three months.

Where transit goods fail to be transported out of the territory of China within three months after the expiry of the period prescribed in the preceding paragraph, they shall be taken over and sold by the customs according to law. Where laws and regulations stipulate otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 19    Transit goods are not included in the trade statistics of import and export goods and shall be counted separately by the customs.

Article 20    Where transit goods are not declared or falsely declared, the customs may give a warning or impose a fine not more than 30,000 yuan.

For any other violation of these Measures, the customs shall impose punishments according to relevant laws and regulations; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be investigated according to the law.

Article 21    The power to interpret these Measures resides with the General Administration of Customs.

Article 22    These Measures shall come into force as of November 1, 2022, repealing simultaneously the Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Supervision over Transit Goods promulgated under Decree No. 38 of the General Administration of Customs on September 1, 1992, and revised according to Decree No. 198 of the General Administration of Customs on November 26, 2010 and Decree No. 240 of the General Administration of Customs on May 29, 2018.