Laws of the People's Republic of China

   Article 1 In order to promote foreign economic and trade scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, and strengthen customs supervision and management, these Regulations are made in keeping with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, and the relevant regulations governing railways, and in the light of the actual situation of railway transportation.

   Article 2 The "inbound and outbound trains" in these Regulations refer to the locomotives, passenger trains, goods trains, mail trains, baggage trains, electricity generating trains, guard's trains, and track trains that pass through the Customs on the border.

The "goods and commodities" in these Regulations refer to the goods, baggage, packages, mail and other items carried on trains passing through the Customs on the border.

The word "inter-customs transportation" in these Regulations refers to the fact that when goods and commodities have been transported into the country they will be sent, under the supervision of the Customs, into another customs station for entry formalities, or to the goods and commodities allowed through the Customs under the supervision of the Customs for which export formalities have been complied with at the place of shipment, or to the goods and commodities that are transported from one customs station on another in the country and that should be supervised by the Customs.

   Article 3 Outbound or inbound trains must stay at departure or entry stations for customs supervision and examination.

Form the time an inbound train arrives at an entry station to the time when the Customs has finished its examination, or from the time the Customs begins examining an outbound train to the time Customs allows it to pass through, it cannot move, be disintegrated (except for wheel replacement for passenger cars), or leave the entry or departure station without permission.

   Article 4 During the Custom's examination of an inbound or outbound train, no personnel are allowed to board and alight it except for those personnel from relevant port examination and quarantine departments or railway service personnel who carry out their duties.

   Article 5 The goods, commodities and passengers carried on an inbound or outbound train should be supervised by the Customs. When goods and commodities have been loaded or unloaded, the railway station should hand documents and business records to the Customs, which attest to the actual situation.

If the Customs finds inbound or outbound goods or commodities to have been smuggled or if it suspects them to have been smuggled, it can inform the railway station by letter to unload them at a place designated by the Customs or transfer the relevant cars to a designated place for further handling.

   Article 6 The goods and commodities under the supervision of the Customs should be supervised by the Customs whether they are stored in the Customs supervision area or outside it.

The personnel sent by the Customs to a railway station, a warehouse of a freight supervision area, or a cargo transshipment area should abide by relevant railway regulations and must produce their credentials when needed. All railway departments should play a supportive role.

   Article 7 When an inbound or outbound train leaves a departure or entry station, the railway station should notify in advance the Customs of the departure time, number, and the place where the train stays at and leaves from.

For each inbound and outbound goods train, a railway station should hand to the Customs a list of the orderly grouping of trains and a goods hand-over note.

   Article 8 When the Customs finishes examining a train, it should immediately notify a departure or entry station. If it cannot finish the examination during the stay of an inbound passenger train, it can continue the examination by sending its personnel onto the train, and the head of the entry station must provide them round-trip tickets enabling them to come to a station nearest to the front station and provide them working conditions.

   Article 9 For the goods and commodities carried on an inbound or outbound train, the departure or entry railway station must hand the following documents to the Customs:

(1) a goods delivery note, or a baggage or package hand-over note and supplementary documents.

(2) a goods hand-over note, or a baggage or package hand-over note.

(3) other relevant documents as required by the Customs.

   Article 10 When proceeding with formalities for the import and export of goods, the recipient of imported goods (including packages) or the sender of exported goods, or the agents should declare their goods by filling out goods declaration forms and handing in the following as required:

(1) a goods delivery note (including package declaration) and supplementary documents;

(2) the license for imported or exported goods; and

(3) other documents as required by the Customs.

The owner of inbound reclaimed baggage and outbound checked baggage must complete relevant customs formalities.

   Article 11 When the Customs is examining goods, the departure and entry railway station should send its personnel to break the seals in the cars, open car doors, or remove the tarpaulin in accordance with customs requirements. The recipient or sender of the goods, or their agents should remove, load, or unload goods, and open or re-pack them. When the Customs deems necessary, it can, at its discretion, open them for examination or re-examination, or take samples. The Customs should produce evidence for the name and amount of each item taken as a sample.

   Article 12 For the goods and commodities that are returned by the Customs because they do not meet China's entry control regulation, the railway station should complete the formalities for their return upon production of a written notice of rejection issued by the Customs. For those goods that are rejected as they contravene the international railway transportation regulation, the Customs must allow the return upon production of the railway department's record of rejection.

   Article 13 Only after the Customs has stamped a seal on the goods delivery note, or baggage or package declaration, can the railway station deliver or transport the relevant goods and commodities out of the country.

   Article 14 Prior to the transportation of "inter-customs transportation" goods, the Customs should stamp a seal on the goods delivery note with words Goods Under Customs Supervision after checking that the relevant documents, goods and commodities are correct. It then returns the delivery note to the railway station together with the customs seal for their transportation. The customs seal must be handed to the responsible person of a train by the railway station. It then will be sent together with a delivery note to the designated place or to the customs of the departure station.

   Article 15 For the goods under customs supervision, if there is any change in the station of arrival in the country or a station of departure in the country, the railway station that arranges for the change should notify the customs of such a change. The designated station or departure station that has been changed must be a customs station. The relevant railway station should hand the customs seal to the responsible person of a train together with the delivery note to the designated place or the customs of the departure station that has been changed. In case there is no customs house at the designated place, the applicant for the change will have to obtain the consent of the customs near the designated delivery station before the entry station will proceed with the change.

   Article 16 The goods carried by passengers that have gone through customs and approved by the customs at the station of arrival in the country will be sealed by the Customs, and then the Customs seal will be handed to the responsible person of the train, which will then be brought to the Customs at the place of arrival.

   Article 17 The materials, spare parts, tools, wheel, and bogies for the repair of an inbound or outbound train will be exempted from customs duties and product taxes (or value-added taxes) when they are confirmed to be used for the repair of an inbound or outbound car under the supervision of the Customs.

For the materials used for sealing cars and tools for railway transportation (including tarpaulin), the railway station should declare in good faith to the Customs, and the Customs will inspect them and let them pass tax-free.

   Article 18 The goods for public use and the daily necessities for personal use within a reasonable amount carried by the personnel at the departure and entry station and by stewards on trains (including food such as grain and vegetables), and the drink and food used by passengers on an inbound and outboard train, will be inspected by the Customs and then allowed through tax-fee.

For the return of tarpaulin and empty containers, the recipient and sender or their agents should fill out the "tax-exemption certificate for the returned of goods" for the tarpaulin and containers of recipients or senders. It then must be handed to Customs of the entry or departure station in the country for signature and stamping before being returned to the railway station for the tax-free return of these items.