Laws of the People's Republic of China

No. 90

Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Coal Inspections, which have been deliberated and adopted by the executive meeting of the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on May 30, 2006, are hereby promulgated, and shall enter into force as of August 1, 2006. Director General Li Changjiang

June 26, 2006

Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Coal Inspections Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1

In order to regulate import and export coal inspections, safeguard the health and safety of the people, protect the environment, improve the quality of import and export coal, and promote the development of coal trade, these Measures are formulated subject to the Law of the People's Republic of China concerning Import and Export Commodity Inspection (hereinafter referred to as the Commodity Inspection Law), the detailed rules for the implementation thereof, as well as other related laws and regulations.

Article 2

These Measures apply to the inspection, surveillance of import and export coal.

Article 3

The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (hereinafter referred to as the SAQSIQ) shall be responsible for the inspections of import and export coal in China.

The entry and exit inspection and quarantine institutions established by the SAQSIQ in all localities (hereinafter referred to as the inspection and quarantine institutions) shall implement inspections and surveillances of import and export coal in accordance with the division of their respective functions,.

Article 4

An inspection and quarantine institution shall carry out port inspections and surveillances to import coal, and implement the supervision in the place of origin with the port inspections and surveillance to export coal.

Chapter II Import Coal Inspections

Article 5

The inspection and quarantine institution at the port of discharge shall take charge of inspecting the import coal.

Article 6

A consignee of import coal or its agent shall report to the inspection and quarantine institution at the port of discharge for inspection in accordance with related provisions of the SAQSIQ before discharging the import coal.

Import coal shall be discharged at a place that meets the requirements for inspection upon the surveillance of the inspection and quarantine institution at the port.

Article 7

An inspection and quarantine institution shall conduct the inspection on the import coal in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection, as well as the related quality, quantity, and weight, and shall issue a certificate pursuant to the inspection result within 10 working days.

The import coal that has not been inspected or fails to pass the inspection shall not be sold or used.

Article 8

In case of the quality problems found in any import coal, the consignee or its agent shall be ordered by the inspection and quarantine institution to dispose of them effectively under surveillance; as to unqualified issues in safety, health, or environmental protection, it shall be handled under related provisions of the Regulation for the Implementation of the Commodity Inspection Law, and shall be timely reported to the SAQSIQ.

Chapter III Inspections of Export Coal

Article 9

The inspection and quarantine institutions at the locality of the export coal production enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin) shall be responsible for the categorized administration and daily surveillance of the export coal production enterprises under their respective jurisdictions.

The inspection and quarantine institution at the port of export shall be in charge of the inspection on the export coal at the said port.

Article 10

Export coal production enterprises shall adopt a system of categorized administration. The inspection and quarantine institution at the place of origin shall examine the quality credibility, production and processing techniques, technical conditions of production, quality guaranty capacity, etc. subject to the standards after receiving the voluntary application of an export coal production enterprise. The said inspection and quarantine institution shall also classify the export coal production enterprises into four categories, namely A, B, C and D, and carry out separate surveillance according to different requirements.

Article 11

In accordance with the principle of free will, an export coal production enterprise may apply to the local inspection and quarantine institution for categorized administration, and shall submit the materials at the time of filing the application as follows:

(1)

an application letter for categorized administration;

(2)

a copy of the business license;

(3)

the work safety permit;

(4)

the certificate document on the quality management system;

(5)

an ichnography of the mining area (station);

(6)

the instruction of the production processing; and

(7)

other materials required by the SAQSIQ.

Article 12

An inspection and quarantine institution shall investigate the application materials after receiving an application. In case of unqualified applications under examination, the inspection and quarantine institution shall notify the enterprise of all the contents to be supplemented; as regards the qualified application, it shall organize an on-site assessment within 10 working days, and shall determine the category of categorized administration applicable to the enterprise within 20 working days as of the assessment on the spot.

Article 13

An enterprise of Category A shall meet the following requirements:

(1)

It shall be an enterprise engaging in the production of clean coal;

(2)

It shall rigidly observe the laws and regulations of the state and related provisions of the SAQSIQ;

(3)

It shall have a sound quality management system, have passed the ISO9000 quality system certification or have quality guaranty capacity accordingly;

(4)

It shall be equipped with enough effective percussion caps and ironware cleaning devices;

(5)

The coal preparation process can ensure the stability of the quality of the export coal;

(6)

It was not involved in any major quality accident in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection within recent 2 years of exporting coal;

(7)

The matters of the export coal in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection meet related compulsory requirements of the state on technical norms.

Article 14

An enterprise of Category B shall meet the requirements as follows:

(1)

It shall be an enterprise engaging in the production of clean coal, or an export coal production enterprise engaging in the processing of self-produced coal, or an export coal production enterprise partially engaging in coal washing;

(2)

It shall rigidly observe the laws and regulations of the state and related provisions of the SAQSIQ;

(3)

It shall have a moderately sound quality management system;

(4)

It shall be equipped with enough effective percussion caps and ironware cleaning devices;

(5)

It was not involved in any major quality accident in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection within 1 year of exporting coal;

(6)

The matters of the export coal in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection meet related compulsory requirements of the state on technical norms.

Article 15

An enterprise of Category C shall meet the requirements as follows:

(1)

It shall be a coal distribution station purchasing coal and processing it for export, or an enterprise engaging in the production of clean coal, or an export coal production enterprise engaging in the process of self-produced coal, or an export coal production enterprise partially engaging in coal washing, which has not been appraised to fall within Category A or B;

(2)

It shall rigidly observe the laws and regulations of the state and related provisions of the SAQSIQ;

(3)

It shall have sound quality management system, and shall be equipped with enough effective percussion caps and ironware cleaning devices;

(4)

The mining sites that supplies coal to it shall have passed the survey and approval by the inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin, and the emphasis of the survey and approval shall be the percussion cap's quality indicators in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection; and

(5)

The matters of the export coal in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection meet related compulsory requirements of the state on technical norms.

Article 16

An enterprise that fails to apply to the inspection and quarantine institution for categorized administration, or application of which does not include in Category A, B or C shall be automatically listed as an enterprise of Category D.

Article 17

An inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall make special random inspections and tests on the export coal production enterprises under related provisions of the SAQSIQ, and publicize the result of the random inspection and tests. The proportion of random inspections on an enterprise of Category A shall be restricted at 5% to 15% of the groups in which it files an application; the proportion of random inspections on an enterprise of Category B shall be restricted at 16% to 45% of the groups in which it files an application; the proportion of random inspections on an enterprise of Category C shall be restricted at 46% to 100% of the groups in which it files an application; and the proportion of random inspections on an enterprise of Category D shall be 100%.

The SAQSIQ shall uniformly formulate the contents of the special random inspection and test and shall organize the said inspection for implementation.

Article 18

Before each batch of export coal is shipped and consigned, an export coal production enterprise shall declare to the inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin under the export contract or the export plan distributed by the competent department, as well as the enterprise's bill of conformity from self-inspection. The inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall, on the basis of daily surveillance, issue a Document on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods in accordance with related provisions.

The valid term of a Document on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods shall be 6 months. In case of expiration, the export coal production enterprise or operation enterprise may apply to the inspection and quarantine institution for renewal. The inspection and quarantine institution may extend the valid term of the Document on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods for the corresponding batch by 3 months after confirming the said Document inerrable upon examination.

Article 19

An export coal operation enterprise shall apply to the inspection and quarantine institution at the port under related provisions of the SAQSIQ for inspection before the export coal arrives at the port for discharge, and shall provide the Document on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods during inspection. Where it fails to provide the said Document, the inspection and quarantine institution at the port shall not accept the application for inspection.

An export coal operation enterprise shall provide related information about coal blending plan, stacks, and means of loading, etc when applying for inspection of export coal blending.

Article 20

The export coal shall be discharged under the surveillance of the inspection and quarantine institution at the port at a place qualified for inspection after being carried from the place of origin to the port.

The export coal operation enterprise shall separately pile the export coal entering the site at the port by varieties, and set clear marks, instead of mixing up the different varieties of coal.

Article 21

The quantity on the Document on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods shall be written off by the inspection and quarantine institution at the port.

Article 22

The inspection and quarantine institution at the port shall inspect the matters of export coal in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection, and the quality, quantity, weight, etc. and shall issue a certificate on the basis of the inspection result within 10 working days.

Article 23

As regards quality problems in export coal, the export coal operation enterprise shall be ordered by the inspection and quarantine institution at the port to settle the said problems effectively under surveillance. Any export coal that involves a serious quality problem in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection and is unable to be settled effectively shall not be exported.

Chapter IV Surveillance

Article 24

An inspection and quarantine institution at the place of origin shall be responsible for the daily surveillance of the export coal production enterprises within its jurisdiction.

An inspection and quarantine institution at the port shall be in charge of surveilling the import and export coal at the port.

Article 25

The contents of daily surveillance conducted by an inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin on an export coal production enterprise shall include:

(1)

information about the enterprise abiding by the laws and regulations of the state as well as related provisions of the SAQSIQ;

(2)

information about the quality credibility of the enterprise;

(3)

operation of the its quality management system;

(4)

equipment and operation of the percussion caps and ironware cleaning devices;

(5)

production and processing information;

(6)

the special random inspection and tests;

(7)

survey of the quality problems; and

(8)

other information requiring for inspection.

The inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall establish a filing of surveillance of coal production enterprises on the basis of the information on daily surveillance.

Article 26

The inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall evaluate the export coal production enterprises under categorized administration annually.

Article 27

The inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall conduct dynamic administration over the export coal production enterprises subject to the annual evaluating result, surveillance filing information and the feedback of the inspection and quarantine institution at the port, and upgrade or degrade them under related provisions of the SAQSIQ.

Article 28

As regards an export coal production enterprise under any of the following circumstances, it shall be ordered to make a rectification within a time limit by the inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin, and the issuance of Documents on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods to the said enterprise shall be suspended during the period for rectification, and it shall be submitted to the SAQSIQ:

(1)

It is found to have any dishonest act;

(2)

It refuses to accept or intentionally evades the surveillance;

(3)

The percussion caps and ironware cleaning devices are found to be incompletely equipped or to work under an unusual state;

(4)

Any quality problem in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection arises, and the circumstance is serious;

(5)

The unqualified groups found from the special random inspection and tests exceed 5% of the groups under application.

The inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall, after investigation, resume the issuance of the Document on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods to the enterprise complying with the related provisions of SAQSIQ after the rectification.

Article 29

An export coal production enterprise and an operation enterprise shall perfect the quality management rules, improve the quality guaranty system, enhance the consciousness of quality and good faith, accept the surveillance of inspection and quarantine institution, and ensure the quality of export coal to meet the compulsory requirements of the technical norms of the state in terms of safety, health, or environmental protection.

Article 30

An inspection and quarantine institution at the port shall surveil the impunity removal and quality inspection, etc. of the import and export coal at the port in accordance with the compulsory requirements of the related technical norms of the state,.

Article 31

The SAQSIQ and the inspection and quarantine institutions shall take effective measures, simplify procedures, and facilitate import and export as required to facilitate foreign trade.

When handling the procedures for applying for inspection of import and export coal and accepting the inspection surveillance, the form of electronic data documents shall be taken to the qualified enterprises.

Article 32

An inspection and quarantine institution at the port shall establish a rapid information transmission mechanism with the inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin, and carry out electronic transmission of information.

The inspection and quarantine institution at the port and the inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall exchange information with each other on the export coal inspection surveillance every 3 months, and shall timely communicate with each other concerning the major issues arising out of the inspection surveillance.

The inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin shall timely publicize the information on the classification and appraisal of the export coal production enterprises within its jurisdiction to the inspection and quarantine institution at the port.

Article 33

A quality analysis of the import and export coal shall be made by the inspection and quarantine institution at the port once every half year, and shall be submitted to the SAQSIQ. A copy of the quality analysis of the export coal shall be submitted to the related inspection and quarantine institution in the place of origin.

Article 34

An inspection and quarantine institution shall timely report to the SAQSIQ the quality problems in terms of the safety, health, or environmental protection of import and export coal that have aroused strong responses within or outside China.

The SAQSIQ shall publish a pre-warning circular concerning the information of the import coal relating to serious problems on safety, health, or environmental protection.

Article 35

An inspection and quarantine institution shall, subject to related provisions of the Commodity Inspection Law, punish the acts of forging, altering or imitating the Document on the Change of Certificate for Exit Goods and other acts violating related provisions of the Commodity Inspection Law.

Article 36

When an inspection and quarantine institution and its staff perform their duties, they shall follow the law, maintain the interests of the state, strictly enforce the law pursuant to legal powers and legal procedures, and accept surveillance.

The inspection and quarantine staff shall accept business trainings and evaluation at regular intervals, and may not perform their duties on their positions unless passing the evaluation.

The inspection and quarantine staff shall be devoted to their duties, render services in a civilized manner, and follow professional disciplines, and shall not abuse their official capacities or advance private interests.

Article 37

An inspection and quarantine staff member that violates the Commodity Inspection Law by divulging any commercial secret he has access to shall be given an administrative sanction subject to related laws, and his illegal proceeds, if any, shall be recovered; if any crime has been committed, criminal liability shall be investigated according to law.

Where any inspection and quarantine staff member abuses his official capacity, deliberately creates difficulties, commits irregularities for private interests, forges inspection results, or neglects his duties, delays in making an inspection or issuing a certificate, he shall be given an administrative sanction subject to related laws; if any crime has been committed, criminal liability shall be investigated according to law.

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Article 38

As regards the coal loaded in the place of origin, for which the means of transport is not changed, and which is carried by the original means of transport directly for export, the inspection in the place of origin as well as the port check and inspection surveillance shall be conducted subject to the Regulation for the Implementation of the Commodity Inspection Law.

Article 39

As regards the export coal production enterprises under categorized administration by the inspection and quarantine institution before these Measures are promulgated, the inspection and quarantine institution shall still conduct surveillance on the enterprises in light of the original surveillance category of categorized administration.

Article 40

These Measures are subject to the interpretation of the SAQSIQ.

Article 41

These Measures shall take effect as of August 1, 2006. Measures for the Administration of Export Coal Inspections promulgated by the former State administration for entry-exit inspection and quarantine (Order No. 18 of the State Administration of Inspection and Quarantine) shall be abolished simultaneously.