Laws of the People's Republic of China

The General Administration of Customs

Order of the General Administration of Customs

No. 92

The Interim Measures on the Administration of the Administrative Rulings of Customs, which were adopted after deliberation at the Executive Meeting of the General Administration of Customs on December 7, 2001, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force on January 1, 2002.

Director of the General Administration of Customs Mo XinSheng

December 24, 2001

Interim Measures on the Administration of the Administrative Rulings of Customs

Article 1

In order to facilitate foreign trade operators to go through the customs procedures, to provide convenience for legal imports and exports and to increase the efficiency of customs clearance, these Measures have been enacted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 2

Customs administrative rulings shall refer to the decisions with general binding force on actual import and export activities, which shall be made by the customs office, before the actual import and export of goods, at the request of the foreign trade operators and in accordance with the relevant customs laws, administrative regulations and rules.

Administrative rulings shall be made by the General Administration of Customs (hereinafter referred to as the GAC) or the agencies authorized by the GAC, and shall be uniformly promulgated to the public by the GAC.

Administrative rulings shall have the same force as that of the customs regulations.

Article 3

These Measures shall apply to the following customs affairs:

1)

Classification of the import and export commodities;

2)

Determination of the origins of the import and export goods;

3)

Application of the measures for prohibiting imports and exports and of the licenses;

4)

Other customs affairs that the GAC decides these Measures shall apply to.

Article 4

Applicants for customs administrative rulings shall be the operating entities of import and export goods that have registered with the customs office.

The applicants may file applications with the customs office by themselves, or entrust others to file applications with the customs office.

Article 5

Except for special circumstances, the applicant for customs administrative ruling shall file a written application to the GAC or the customs office directly under the GAC 3 months before the goods are to be imported or exported.

One application shall include only one customs affair. Where the applicant applies for customs administrative rulings on several customs affairs, it shall file the applications one by one.

The applicant may not file applications for administrative ruling on the same customs affair with two or more customs office.

Article 6

The applicant shall fill in the application form(see Attachment) for administrative ruling according to the requirements of the customs office, including basically the following elements:

1)

Basic information about the applicant;

2)

The matters for which the administrative ruling is applied;

3)

Specific information about the goods for which the administrative ruling is applied for;

4)

Estimated date of import or export and port of import or export;

5)

Other information that the customs office regards needed to be explained.

Article 7

The applicant shall, according to the requirements of the customs office, provide the materials that can sufficiently explain the applied matters, including the copies of contracts or letters of intent for import or export, pictures, specifications and analysis reports, etc.

If the documents attached to the application are in foreign languages, the applicant shall provide the foreign originals and the Chinese translations at the same time.

The application form shall bear the seal of the applicant, and a across-page seal shall be put to the application form.

Where the applicant entrusts others to apply, the letter of authorization and the identity certification of the agent shall be provided.

Article 8

The customs office may require the applicant to provide sample goods if it deems necessary.

Article 9

If the materials provided to the customs office by the applicant for the application for administrative ruling involve any commercial secret, the applicant may ask the customs office to keep secret of them. Except that the submission of those materials is required by judicial procedures, the customs office shall not reveal them without the consent of the applicant. The applicant shall present the request in wring to the customs office for keeping secret of the materials provided, and specifically list the contents that need to be kept secret.

Article 10

The customs offices directly under the GAC that receive the applications shall make preliminary examinations according to Articles 6, 7 and 8 of these Measures. Those applications meeting the provisions shall be transferred to the GAC or the agencies authorized by the GAC within 3 workdays from the day of acceptance of the application.

If the application materials do not conform to the relevant provisions, the customs office shall notify the applicant to supplement or correct them within 10 workdays. If the applicant fails to supplement or correct them within the prescribed period, its application shall be regarded as being withdrawn.

Article 11

The GAC or the authorized agencies shall, within 15 workdays from receiving the application form, examine and decide on whether to accept that application or not, and shall notify the applicant in writing. For those not accepted, the reasons shall be explained.

Article 12

In any of the following situations, the customs offices shall not accept the application:

1)

The application dose not conform to Articles 3, 4 or 5 of these Measures;

2)

The application is irrelevant to the actual import or export activities;

3)

The customs office has made effective administrative rulings or other clear provisions on the same customs affairs;

4)

Other situations that the customs office decides not to accept the application.

Article 13

Customs offices may, after accepting the application and before rendering the administrative ruling, ask the applicant to supplement relevant materials or sample goods.

If the applicant fails to provide valid and complete materials or samples within the prescribed period and thus affects the customs office in the rendering of administrative ruling, the customs may terminate the examination.

If the applicant voluntarily provides new materials or samples to the customs as supplement, it shall explain the reasons. And the customs shall make examination and decide on whether to adopt them or not.

If the customs accepts the supplemented materials, it shall make an examination anew on the basis of the supplemented facts and materials, and the time limit for rendering administrative rulings shall be calculated anew from the day of receiving the supplemented materials of the applicant.

Article 14

The applicant may, before the customs office renders an administrative ruling, declare in writing to the customs to withdraw its application.

Article 15

The customs office shall, according to the relevant facts and materials and pursuant to the relevant laws, administrative regulations and rules, make examination of and render the administrative ruling on the customs affair applied by the applicant.

In the course of examination, the customs office may seek the opinions of applicant and other interested persons.

Article 16

The customs office shall render the administrative ruling within 60 days from the day of accepting the application.

The administrative ruling rendered by the customs office shall be notified to the applicant in writing and be promulgated to the public.

Article 17

The administrative ruling rendered by the customs office shall be uniformly applicable within the customs boundaries of the People's Republic of China.

The goods in the same import or export situation shall be governed by the same administrative ruling.

The import and export goods that have gone through the relevant procedures for the ruled matter before the ruling takes effect shall not be subject to that ruling.

Article 18

If the relevant provisions in the laws, administrative regulations and rules based on which the customs office rendered the administrative ruling have changed, and such change affects the force of the administrative ruling, the original administrative ruling shall be invalidated automatically.

The GAC shall periodically promulgate the administrative rulings that have been invalidated automatically.

Article 19

In any of the following situations, the GAC shall cancel the original administrative ruling:

1)

The original administrative ruling is wrong;

2)

The original administrative ruling need to be cancelled because the application documents provided by the applicant are inaccurate or incomplete;

3)

Other situations in which cancellation is needed.

If the customs office cancels an administrative ruling, it shall notify the original applicant in writing and promulgate the cancellation to the public. The decision to cancel the administrative ruling shall take effect from the day of promulgation.

The administrative rulings that have been canceled by the GAC shall not be retroactive as to the import and export activities that have already occurred.

Article 20

If any party to the import and export activities protests the specific administrative act made by the customs office, and raises objection to the administrative ruling on which that specific administrative act is based, it may file an application for examination of the administrative ruling at the same time it applies for reconsideration of the specific administrative act. The customs office of reconsideration shall, after accepting that application for reconsideration, transfer the application for examination of the administrative ruling to the GAC, which shall make the examination and decision.

Article 21

The applicant for administrative ruling shall be responsible for the authenticity and completeness of the applied matter and the materials provided. Whoever conceals the real situations from or provide false materials to the customs office shall bear the corresponding legal liabilities.

Article 22

The GAC shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Measures.

Article 23

These Measures shall enter into force on January 1, 2002.

Attachment: Application Form for Customs Administration Ruling of the People's Republic of China (format 1,2,3)(omitted)