Promulgation Authorities:  General Administration of Customs

Promulgation Date:  2018.05.29

Effective Date:  2018.07.01

Validity Status:  valid

Measures of the People's Republic of China on Customs Supervision and Control of Inward and Outward Express Consignment

Measures of the People's Republic of China on Customs Supervision and Control of Inward and Outward Express Consignment

Chapter 1 General Principles

Article 1   These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and administrative regulations for the purposes of strengthening Customs supervision and administration and facilitating Customs clearance of inward and outward express consignment.

Article 2    Inward and outward express consignment referred to in these Measures shall mean inbound and outbound goods and articles contracted and carried by inward and outward express operators by way of express business operations promised to customers.

Article 3    Inward and outward express consignment operators referred to in these Measures (hereinafter referred to as the "Operators") shall mean international freight agencies registered in the People's Republic of China in accordance with laws and having records filed with the Customs to engage in inward and outward express consignment operations.

Article 4    Operators shall not undertake or carry items listed in the "List of Articles Prohibited from Entering or Exiting the People's Republic of China"; if found, operators shall not dispose such articles without authorisation but shall forthwith notify the Customs and assist the Customs in the disposal.

Operators shall not undertake shipment of private mails without approval of the postal authorities of the People's Republic of China.

Article 5    Operators shall not lease, loan or transfer customs declaration rights for inward and outward express consignment, and shall not act as an agent for declaration of goods and articles which are not undertaken or shipped by them.

Article 6    Without approval of the Customs, inward and outward express consignment articles which have not completed Customs formalities shall not be removed out of the Customs supervision and control area, and shall not be loaded, unloaded, opened, repacked, re-labelled, collected, delivered or forwarded.

Chapter 2 Registration of Operators

Article 7    Operators applying to engage in inward and outward express consignment agency declaration services shall complete registration formalities with the local Customs office in accordance with Customs regulations on administration of international freight agency registration.

Article 8    Operators shall satisfy the following criteria for completion of registration formalities with the local Customs office:

(1) a domestic-funded international freight agency and its branch(es) has obtained a "Filing form for International Freight Agency issued by the foreign trade administrative department of the State Council or its entrusted filing agency; a foreign-funded freight agency has obtained an "Approval Certificate for Foreign Investment Enterprise" and been approved to engage in inward and outward express consignment operations; a branch of a foreign-funded international freight agency has obtained the approval document of the foreign trade administrative department of the State Council and been approved to engage in inward and outward express consignment operations;

(2) the Operator has obtained an "Enterprise Legal Person Business Licence" issued by the industrial and commercial administrative authorities and been approved to engage in inward and outward express consignment operations;

(3) the Operator has completed enterprise registration formalities with the Customs;

(4) the Operator has established a domestic and international inward and outward express consignment network, and has two or more overseas branch offices or agents;

(5) the Operator possesses a designated inward and outward express consignment label, and shipment airway bill and transportation vehicles comply with Customs supervision and control requirements and are approved by and has registered with Customs;

(6) the Operator shall satisfy the requirements for Customs declarations via electronic data exchange;

(7) the external packaging for express consignment shall bear a bar code which satisfies the requirements for automated Customs inspection requirements; and

(8) the Operator has entered into a cooperative shipping contract or agreement with its foreign partners (including the overseas branch offices of domestic enterprise legal persons).

Article 9    The Customs shall revoke the qualifications of those inward and outward express consignment operators which no longer satisfy any of the criteria set out in Article 8 or which have not engaged in inward and outward express consignment operations within one year.

Chapter 3 Categories of Inward and Outward Express Consignment

Article 10    These Measures classify inward and outward express consignment into three categories — documents, personal articles and goods.

Article 11    Inward and outward express consignment in the documents category shall refer to documents, invoices and certificates, bills and other documents that are duty-exempt as stipulated by laws and regulations and have no commercial value.

Article 12    Inward and outward express consignment in the personal articles category shall refer to unaccompanied luggage of tourists, gifts from relatives and friends, and other personal articles, which are brought into and out of the country for own consumption and within a reasonable quantity.

Article 13    Inward and outward express consignment in the goods category shall refer to express consignment items other than those stipulated in Article 11 and Article 12.

Chapter 4 Supervision and Control of Inward and Outward Express Consignment

Article 14    Clearance of inward and outward express consignment shall be carried out at a specified supervision and control site approved by the Custom; clearance outside the specified site under special circumstances shall be approved by the Customs in advance.

Operators shall set up designated sites, warehouses and equipment which satisfy the requirements of Customs supervision and control, in the inward and outward express consignment supervision and control sites specified by the Customs.

Administrative measures on specific supervision and control sites for inward and outward express consignment shall be formulated separately by the General Administration of Customs.

Article 15    Clearance of inward and outward express consignment shall be carried out during normal office hours of the Customs; clearance outside normal office hours shall be approved by the local Customs office in advance.

Article 16    Inward express consignment shall declare to the Customs within 14 days from declaration of arrival of the transportation vehicle; outward express consignment shall declare to the Customs three hours prior to the departure of the transportation vehicle.

Article 17    Operators shall transmit or deliver a shipment manifest or detailed list for inward and outward express consignment to the Customs, the Customs shall accept the declaration for processing upon confirmation of no error. Operators making advance declaration shall give advance written notification to the Customs of the shipment and arrival details of inward and outward express consignment and transmit or deliver the shipment manifest or detailed list to the Customs, the Customs shall accept the advance declaration application for processing upon confirmation of no error.

Article 18    When Customs inspects inward and outward express consignment items, the Operators shall arrange for their personnel to be present, and take charge of  moving, opening and re-packing of the inward and outward express consignment items.

When the Customs open and inspects personal articles among inward or outward express consignment items, the Operator shall arrange for the consignee of the inward express consignment or the consignor of the outward express consignment to be present during inspection; in the event that the consignee or consignor cannot be present for the inspection, the Operator shall submit the power of attorney to Customs, and bear corresponding legal liability.

Where necessary, the Customs may proceed to open and inspect, or re-inspect, or take samples of inward and outward express consignment.

Article 19    Unless otherwise stipulated, when the Operators handles declaration formalities for inward and outward express consignment, it shall submit the relevant declaration documents for each category stipulated in Article 11, Article 12 and Article 13 of these Measures to the Customs separately, and go through the relevant customs declaration and tax payment procedures.

Article 20    When making declaration for items under the documents category of inward and outward express consignment, the Operators shall submit the "KJ1 Customs Declaration Form of the People's Republic of China for Inward and Outward Express Consignment", master airway bill (duplicate) and other documents required by the Customs.

Article 21    When making declaration for items under the personal articles category of inward and outward express consignment, the Operators shall submit the "Customs Declaration Form of the People's Republic of China for Inward and Outward Express Consignment Personal Articles", separate airway bills for each item, a photocopy of the personal identification of the consignee of inward express consignment or consignor of outward express consignment, and other documents required by the Customs.

Article 22    When making declaration for items under the goods category of inward express consignment, the Operators shall submit declaration documents to the Customs as follows:

For goods with a dutiable value below the customs duty threshold as stipulated in the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Duties, as well as samples and advertising items exempted for duty by the Customs, the "KJ2 Customs Declaration Form of the People's Republic of China for Inward and Outward Express Consignment", separate airway bills and invoices for each item, and other documents required by the Customs shall be submitted.

For samples and advertising items subject to customs duty (except for items subject to licence administration and requiring exchange payment for importation as provided by laws and regulations), the "KJ3 Customs Declaration Form of the People's Republic of China for Inward and Outward Express Consignment", separate airway bills and invoices for each item, and other documents required by the Customs shall be submitted.

Article 23    Goods other than those stipulated in Article 20, Article 21 and Article 22 shall be handled in accordance with Customs regulations on clearance of imports.

Article 24    When making declaration for items under the goods category of outward express consignment, the Operators shall submit declaration documents to the Customs according to the following scenario:

For samples and advertising items (except for items subject to licence administration or export customs duties, or requiring exchange payment for exportation, or seeking export tax rebates as provided by laws and regulations), the "KJ2 Customs Declaration Form of the People's Republic of China for Inward and Outward Express consignment", separate airway bills and invoices for each item, and other documents required by the Customs shall be submitted.

Goods other than the aforesaid shall be handled in accordance with Customs regulations on clearance of exports.

Chapter 5 Inward and Outward Express Consignment Special Courier

Article 25    Special courier for inward and outward express consignment refers to undertaking of inward and outward air freight express consignment shipments via special courier by Operators.

Article 26    In addition to completing registration formalities in accordance with the relevant provisions of Chapter 2, Operators engaging in special courier for inward and outward express consignment operations shall also register the port of arrival or departure, time, route, flight or vessel number, personal details of the courier and labels with the local Customs office. Where there is any change, registration shall be completed with the local Customs office five working days prior to the change.

The local Customs office shall issue a "Certificate of Registration of the People's Republic of China for Special Courier for Inward and Outward Express Consignment" to Operators that satisfy the above criteria. Operators shall present the Certificate to complete declaration for special courier items of inward and outward express consignment.

Article 27    Special courier items of inward and outward express consignment shall be shipped as luggage, use designated packaging, and label the name of the Operator and the wordings "Special Courier for Inward and Outward Express Consignment" in a prominent manner in the overall package.

Chapter 6 Legal Liability

Article 28    For smuggling and illegal acts in violation of these Measures, the Customs shall deal with in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations such as the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and the Implementation Regulations on Administrative Penalties of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with laws.

Chapter 7 Supplementary Provisions

Article 29    The General Administration of Customs shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Measures.

Article 30    The documents stipulated in these Measures shall be separately formulated and promulgated by the General Administration of Customs.

Article 31    These Measures shall be implemented with effect from 1 January 2004.