Laws of the People's Republic of China

Ministry of Commerce, Customs General Administration

Order of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs

No.9

In accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Trade and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Control of Nuclear Export, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Nuclear Dual-use Items and Related Technologies, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Missiles and Related Items and Technologies, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Biological Dual-use Items and Related Equipment and Technologies, and the Measures for the Export Control of Relevant Chemicals and Related Equipment and Technologies, the Interim Measures for the Administration of Export Licenses for Sensitive Items and Technologies have been formulated and were adopted at the sixth executive meeting of the Ministry of Commerce on November 14th, 2003. They are hereby promulgated and shall be implemented on January 1st, 2004.

Lv Fuyuan, Minister of Commerce

Mou Xinsheng, Director-general of the Customs General Administration

December 1st, 2003

Interim Measures for the Administration of Export Licenses for Sensitive Items and Technologies

Article 1

In order to safeguard the state security and public interest, to regulate the export of sensitive items and technologies, and to strengthen the administration of the export licenses for sensitive items and technologies, the present Measures are formulated in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Trade and the relevant regulations and rules of the state on export control.

Article 2

The relevant regulations and rules of the state on export control as mentioned in the present Measures refer to the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Control of Nuclear Export, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Nuclear Dual-use Items and Related Technologies, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Missiles and Related Items and Technologies, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Biological Dual-use Items and Related Equipment and Technologies, and the Measures for the Export Control of Given Chemicals and Related Equipment and Technologies.

Article 3

In light of the relevant regulations and rules of the state on export control, the Ministry of Commerce, along with the Customs General Administration, promulgate the Catalogue for the Administration of Export Licenses for Sensitive Items and Technologies (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue), which shall be separately promulgated as an appendix of the present Measures.

Article 4

The sensitive items and technologies as mentioned in the Catalogue fall within two types. The first type includes the sensitive items and technologies that can correspond to the customs commodity codes, for such items and technologies, the customs office shall require the exporter to present the export license for sensitive items and technologies. The second type includes the sensitive items and technologies that have no accurate customs commodity codes at present. The exporter shall, when exporting such goods, present the export license for sensitive items and technologies to the customs office, and shall assume any consequences arising if he fails to do so.

Article 5

Where an exporter exports any of the sensitive items and technologies listed in the Catalogue to any country (region) by any trade method, he shall apply for approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies according to the provisions, draw the export license for sensitive items and technologies, and present the license voluntarily when making customs declarations. The customs office shall accept the declaration and handle the clearance formalities upon the strength of the export license for sensitive items and technologies.

The customs office has the right to question whether the goods of the export fall within the scope of sensitive items and technologies, and the exporter shall, according to the provisions, file an application to the Ministry of Commerce for approval for the export or for relevant certificates showing that the goods fall outside of the control scope. Where the exporter fails to provide the export license or the relevant certificates, the customs office shall not handle the relevant formalities.

Article 6

In accordance with the relevant regulations and rules on export control, if an exporter knows or should have known that the export items and technologies will be used by the recipient for any purpose related to weapons of mass destruction and the conveyance systems thereof, the exporter shall file an application for approval for the export no matter whether such items and technologies are listed in the Catalogue.

During the process of export of the sensitive items and technologies, the exporter shall report to the Ministry of Commerce in good time if finding out that the items or technologies may be used by the recipient for the purpose of developing weapons of mass destruction and the conveyance systems thereof, and shall actively take cooperative steps to terminate the execution of the contract.

Article 7

Exporters undertaking the export of sensitive items and technologies shall apply to the Ministry of Commerce (Department of Science and Technology) for exporting sensitive items and technologies, and shall, upon approval, draw the export license for sensitive items and technologies at the license issuing agency (hereinafter referred to as issuing agency) authorized by the Ministry of Commerce upon the strength of the letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies issued by the Ministry of Commerce.

Article 8

The Ministry of Commerce shall deal with an application after receiving the complete and valid application materials, and shall make the decision on whether or not to approve the export within the time limits for examination prescribed by the relevant regulations and rules on export control. Where the export is approved, the Ministry of Commerce shall issue to the exporter a letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies; and where the export is not approved, the exporter shall be notified by the Ministry of Commerce.

Article 9

The following documents shall be submitted to file an application for exporting sensitive items and technologies:

1)

The photocopy of the registration certificate of the export of sensitive items and technologies;

2)

A copy of the original Application Form for the Export License for Sensitive Items and Technologies of the People's Republic of China;

3)

A copy of both the original certificate of end user and end usage and the Chinese translation thereof;

4)

A copy of the duplicate of contracts;

5)

A copy of the technical specifications of the sensitive items and technologies of which the export is applied for;

6)

A copy of the identity certificate with the sample signature of the legal representative of the enterprise;

7)

A copy of both the identity certificate of the handling person and that of the principal operator; and

8)

The company profile produced by the end user which shall include a set of documents describing the business scope and business status, etc., and the exporter shall provide the corresponding translations. In case the website and brochures, etc., of the end user are available, such information shall be provided along with the others.

Article 10

When examining an export application, the Ministry of Commerce has the right to inquire the exporter, and may require the exporter to supplement the relevant materials if necessary.

Article 11

The Ministry of Commerce shall, according to different circumstances, decide to issue the letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies which will be valid for three months, six months, or one year (calculated as of the issuing day). The exporter shall, within 30 days from the issuing day of the letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies, draw the export license for sensitive items and technologies with the license issuing agency. The license shall be invalidated automatically if the exporter fails to draw it within the prescribed time limit.

Article 12

When applying for the export license for sensitive items and technologies, an exporter shall make the application in light of the facts, may not commit any fraud, and is prohibited from cheating for the export license for sensitive items and technologies by using any falsified contract, falsified letter of credit or by any other improper means.

The export license for sensitive items and technologies may not be traded, transferred, forged or altered.

Article 13

The export license for sensitive items and technologies shall be used within its valid term and will be invalidated automatically upon expiration. When an export license for sensitive items and technologies is used in the year immediately after the issuing year, the deadline shall be the last day of February of the next year, providing that the validity of the license has not expired, and the license issuing agency shall, upon expiration of that period, issue a new corresponding export license for sensitive items and technologies in light of the valid term of the license as instructed in the letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies.

Article 14

The export licenses for sensitive items and technologies shall be subject to the system of "one license for one customs office" and the system of "one license for one declaration". Where export by installments is needed in respect of a contract, the exporter shall put forward the issue in the export application, and the Ministry of Commerce shall, after ratification, issue letters of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies in the corresponding number. Not more than twelve installments shall be applied for in one application.

The system of "one license for one customs office" means that each license may only be used in one customs office for declaration; and the system of "one approval for one license" means that each license may be used only once in customs declaration.

Article 15

Each export license for sensitive items and technologies is divided into four pages, the first page is the customs formality page; the second page is the customs record page; the third page is the bank foreign exchange settlement page; and the fourth page is the license-issuing agency record page.

Article 16

After receiving the written letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies and ensuring there is no mistake after check, the license-issuing agency shall issue the export license for sensitive items and technologies within one workday.

Article 17

The following documents shall be submitted for obtaining the export license for sensitive items and technologies:

1)

The original letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies issued by the Ministry of Commerce;

2)

The valid work certificate of the person who draws the license for the exporter and the original official letter (letter of introduction) of the exporter; where the export license for sensitive items and technologies is conducted at any place other than where the exporter is located and it is needed to entrust another person to deal with the process because of special circumstances, the entrusted person shall present the original official letter of entrustment (the letter of entrustment shall indicate the reasons for the entrustment and the identity of the entrusted party) of the exporter and the valid certificate of his/her identity.

Article 18

A license shall be used only by the exporter that obtained it. The exporter shall keep in good conditions the original vouchers in relation to the sensitive items and technologies, may not destroy them within 5 years, and shall reserve them for future selective reference by the Ministry of Commerce.

Article 19

Once the export license for sensitive items and technologies has been issued, any entity or individual may not modify the contents on the license, and if it is necessary to alter any of the contents, the exporter shall return to the Ministry of Commerce the original export license for sensitive items and technologies, explain the reasons in writing, and after applying anew for a letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies, draw the export license for sensitive items and technologies with the license issuing agency upon the strength of the original license and the new letter of approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies.

Article 20

The surplus or short quantities of sensitive items and technologies in large bulks may not be more than 5% of the export quantities specified in the export license for sensitive items and technologies.

Article 21

With respect to the not-for-sale exhibits transported to outside of China for participating foreign exhibitions or for holding exhibitions abroad, the participant entity (exporter) shall, upon the strength of the documents of approval for the exhibition, file an application for approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies according to the provisions. The word "exhibition" shall be indicated in the box of note on the export license for sensitive items and technologies. The customs office shall carry out the control and clearance upon the strength of the export license for sensitive items and technologies and the customs declaration form of the export goods. The participant entity shall, within 6 months after the end of the exhibition, transport the not-for-sale exhibits back to China in their original quantities, and the customs office shall make the verification upon the strength of the relevant exit documents. Under special circumstances, the participant entity may file an application to the customs office for extension. however, the extension may not be more than 6 months at the most.

Article 22

The for-sale exhibits transported to outside of China for participating foreign exhibitions or for holding exhibitions abroad shall be deemed as ordinary export goods, and the participant entity (exporter) shall, upon the strength of the documents of approval for the exhibitions, file an application for approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies pursuant to the provisions.

Article 23

The sample goods or samples for experimental purpose transported to outside of China shall be deemed as ordinary export goods, and the exporter shall file an application for approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies according to the provisions. The words "sample goods" shall be indicated in the note box on the export license for sensitive items and technologies.

Article 24

The sensitive items and technologies that are exported through foreign intercourse, exchange, gift, aid, services or other forms shall be deemed as ordinary export goods, and the relevant entity (exporter) shall file an application for approval for the export of sensitive items and technologies.

Article 25

In case the export license for sensitive items and technologies already obtained is lost, the exporter shall promptly notify the Ministry of Commerce and the customs office in writing. The application formalities shall be gone through again if necessary.

Article 26

The license-issuing agency shall, according to the provisions of the Ministry of Commerce on network check, submit the data of license issuing to the Ministry of Commerce (Department of Science and Technology), notify the customs office at the same time, check the data fed back by the customs office, regularly inspect the use of export licenses for sensitive items and technologies and find out the existing problems.

Article 27

Where any party exports sensitive items and technologies without approval or beyond the approved scope, or violates Article 11 of the present Measures, the Ministry of Commerce shall punish that party according to the relevant regulations and rules of the state on export control.

Any entity or individual may expose to the Ministry of Commerce or the customs office the acts of exporting sensitive items and technologies of an exporter that is in violation of the relevant regulations and rules of the state on export control and the provisions of the present Measures. The Ministry of Commerce and the customs office shall keep confidential for the party exposing the violation, and shall punish the violator according to the law. Where the exposure is found to be true upon investigation, the competent authority may award the party exposing the violation.

Article 28

The Ministry of Commerce may, together with the General Administration of Customs, adjust the Catalogue in light of the actual situations.

Article 29

Where the Ministry of Commerce adjusts any authorized license issuing agency, that agency may no longer issue the export license for sensitive items and technologies as of the day of adjustment. The export licenses for sensitive items and technologies obtained by the exporters prior to the adjustment shall remain valid within their respective valid terms.

Article 30

The responsibility to interpret the present Measures shall remain with the Ministry of Commerce and the Customs General Administration in accordance with their respective duties.

Article 31

The present Measures shall be implemented on January 1st, 2004.