Laws of the People's Republic of China

No. 156

The Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Administering Direct Return of Imported Goods have been deliberated and adopted at the executive meeting of the General Administration of Customs on December 21, 2006. They are hereby promulgated, and shall go into effect as of April 1, 2007. Director General Mou Xinsheng

February 2, 2007

Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Administering Direct Return of Imported Goods

Article 1

For the purpose of strengthening the administration of direct return of imported goods, and protecting the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, these Measures are formulated under the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China as well as other relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 2

After the goods have entered the territory and before the customs release formalities are finished, if the consignee and the consigner of the imported goods, the person in charge of the original transport means or his agent (hereinafter uniformly referred to as the party involved ) applies to direct return of his all or part of its goods abroad, or the customs orders such direct return under the related the state provisions, these Measures shall apply.

After the imported goods to be transited between customs offices are released at the customs house at the entry place, if the party involved applies for the direct return thereof, these Measures may not apply, instead, the general return formalities shall be handled.

Article 3

The direct return of imported goods shall be determined by the directly subordinate customs or its authorized subordinate customs.

Article 4

After the goods have entered the territory and before the customs release formalities are finished, the party involved may apply for handling the direct return formalities to the customs under any of the following circumstances:

(1)

The consignee is unable to provide related certificates by virtue of adjustment of the trade administration policies of the state;

(2)

The written evidential instruments of the consigner or the carrier can be provided to testify the mis-delivery, mis-unloading or over-unloading of the goods;

(3)

Both the consignee and the consigner, through negotiations, agree on the return, and the written mutual consent of both parties can be provided;

(4)

A dispute arises out of related trade, and the judgment of the court, the arbitral award of the arbitration institution, or the undisputed valid goods ownership voucher can be provided; or

(5)

The goods are damaged or are not qualified from the inspection and quarantine of the state, and the related inspection testimonial as issued by the state inspection and quarantine department upon application of the consignee can be provided.

Article 5

After the transport means carrying the batch of goods is declared to enter the territory, and before the customs releases goods, a related party applying for direct return of any imported goods shall file a written application to the customs where the goods are located.

Article 6

A related party applying to the customs for direct return shall, according to the requirement of the customs, present an application form for direct return of imported goods (see Affix 1 for the format), the contracts testifying the actualities of the import, the invoices, the shipment lists, the original declaration form for the goods that have been declared to the customs, the bill of lading or carriage list and other related documents, the related testimonial satisfying the conditions for application, and other documents to be provided by the party involved as required by the customs.

Article 7

The customs shall, according to the following circumstances, separately handle the applications for direct return of imported goods as filed by the related parties:

(1)

In case the party involved is not qualified for applying for direct return of imported goods, the customs shall decide not to accept the application;

(2)

In case the application materials are incomplete or do not satisfy the legal form, the customs shall, either on the spot or within 5 days as of its sign for the acceptation of the application materials, notify the party involved of the contents in need of supplement once and for all, or in case the customs fails to do so, it shall be considered to have accepted the application as of its receipt of the application materials;

(3)

In case the application materials only contain literal, technical or binding errors, etc. which may be corrected on the spot, the customs shall permit the party involved to correct on the spot, and the party involved shall sign and seal to confirm the corrected contents; or

(4)

In case the application materials are complete and satisfy the legal form, or the party involved has submitted all supplementary application materials as required by the customs, the customs shall accept the application for direct return of imported goods.

In case the customs notifies the party involved pursuant to Item (2) of the preceding paragraph, and has decided to accept or not accept the application for direct return of imported goods, it shall make and issue a corresponding Notification of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on the Application for Direct Return of Imported Goods (see Affix 2 for the format), the Decision of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Accepting the Application for Direct Return of Imported Goods (see Affix 3 for the format), and the Decision of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Not Accepting the Application for Direct Return of Imported Goods (see Affix 4 for the format), affix its special seal for administrative license, and indicate the date.

Article 8

Unless a decision on direct return is made on the spot, the directly subordinate customs shall, within 20 days as of its acceptance of the application for direct return, make a decision, and shall make and issue the Decision of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Permitting Direct Return of Imported Goods (hereinafter referred to as the Decision on Permitting the Direct Return, see Affix 5 for format) to the party involved with respect to a decision on permitting direct return upon examination; or shall make and issue the Decision of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Refusing Direct Return of Imported Goods (see Affix 6 for the format) to the party involved with respect to a decision on refusing direct return upon examination,.

In case the customs is unable to make a decision within 20 days, the time limit may be extended by 10 days upon approval of the person in charge of the directly subordinate customs, and the customs shall make and issue a Notification of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Extending the Time Limit for Examining the Direct Return (see Affix 7 for the format), and notify the party involved of the reasons for extending the time limit.

Article 9

In case the goods are determined by the customs to be checked or considered by it to be involved in suspected smuggling before the party involved applies for direct return, the direct return may not be permitted, and the aforesaid goods shall be dealt with by the customs under the related provisions after they have been checked or the case has been finalized.

Article 10

The formalities for direct return of imported goods which are not prescribed in these Measures shall be governed by the related provisions in the Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Implementing the Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 11

After the goods have entered the territory and before the customs release formalities are finished, the customs shall order the party involved to directly return the imported goods abroad under any of the following circumstances, under which the goods shall be returned under law:

(1)

The imported goods are forbidden by the state from being imported, and the customs has dealt with under law;

(2)

The import of goods goes against any policy or regulation of the state on inspection and quarantine, and the inspection and quarantine department of the state has dealt with the matter and issued the Notification on Inspection and Quarantine or other evidential instruments ;

(3)

The party involved imports solid wastes restricted from being imported without permission, and uses them as raw materials, and the customs has dealt with under law; and

(4)

Other circumstances, under which the party involved goes against any related law or administrative regulation of the state, and shall be ordered to directly return the goods.

Article 12

In case it is necessary to order the direct return of imported goods, the customs shall, on the basis of the testimonial as issued by the related governmental administrative department, make and issue a Notification of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Ordering Direct Return of Imported Goods (hereinafter referred to as Notification on Ordering the Direct Return, see Affix 8 for format) to the party involved.

Article 13

After receiving the Decision on Permitting the Direct Return or the "Notification on Ordering the Direct Return, The party involved shall, make a declaration to the customs for direct return of imported goods as required by the customs.

Article 14

When making the declaration for direct return of imported goods, a party involved shall, unless there are otherwise different provisions, fill out an export declaration form and make a declaration to the customs first, then fill out an import declaration form, and fill the export declaration form number in the column of Associated Declaration Form of the import declaration form.

Article 15

In case some certain imported goods are to be directly returned, the party involved concerned shall fill out a declaration form for the import and export of goods under the Norms of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Filling out Declaration Forms for Import and Export of Goods, and shall satisfy the requirements as follows:

(1)

filling out the serial number of the Decision on Permitting the Direct Return or of the Notification on Ordering the Direct Return in the column of Remarks;

(2)

filling out Direct Return (Code: "4500") in the column of Supervision Method.

Article 16

In case the goods are not required to submit its or his import or export permit or other supervisory certificate upon approval of the customs or its order of direct return, they shall be exempted from various taxes, fees and surcharges for delay, and may not be listed into the statistics of the customs.

Article 17

In case some certain goods are approved by the customs to be directly returned after they have entered the territory upon being declared to the customs, the customs shall, before handling the formalities for exit declaration of the imported goods to be directly returned abroad, revoke the original import declaration form or the data of the transit list.

Article 18

In case the mis-delivery, mis-unloading or over-unloading of the goods are caused by the consignee, consigner or carrier of the imported goods, and the customs approves or orders direct return, the party involved shall be exempted from filling out the declaration form, and shall apply to the customs for handling the direct return formalities upon the strength of the Decision on Permitting the Direct Return or the Notification on Ordering the Direct Return.

Article 19

The imported goods subject to direct return shall exit from the territory via the port at the original entry place. If the transport method needs to be changed or to exit from the territory via another port by virtue of any transport reason, the goods shall exit from the territory in the method of transit transport upon approval of the customs at the entry place.

Article 20

The direct return of imported goods in bonded zones, export processing zones, other areas under special supervision of the customs, and bonded surveillance areas shall be handled under the related provisions of these Measures by analogy.

Article 21

In case anyone violates these Measures by committing smuggling or any other act violating the customs supervision provisions, it/he shall be punished by the customs under the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Implementing Administrative Penalties; if a crime is committed, he shall be subject to criminal liabilities under law.

Article 22

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

Article 23

These Measures shall go into effect as of April 1, 2007.