Laws of the People's Republic of China

The General Administration of Customs

Decree of the General Administration of Customs

No.59

Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Supervising Import Exhibits has been amended, and repromulgated again, the law will enter into force as of April 1, 1997, Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Supervising Import Exhibits which is promulgated in November 3, 1975 is nullified at the same time.

Director of the General Administration of Customs: Qian Guanlin

February 14, 1997

Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Supervising Import Exhibits

Article 1

These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China for the purpose of promoting foreign trade in our country and international exchange in respects of the economy, science and technology, culture and sports and facilitating the holding of exhibitions in China by companies, trade associations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, etc. from foreign countries or from the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions.

Article 2

Import exhibits (hereinafter referred to as exhibits) used in these Measures include the following goods and articles:

(1)

goods and articles to be used in an exhibition for display or demonstration;

(2)

articles necessary for demonstrating the machines or appliances on display;

(3)

building or decoration materials for exhibitors to set up their temporary exhibition stands; and

(4)

films, slides, videotapes, audiotapes, manuals, advertisements, etc. to be used for demonstrating and publicizing the exhibits.

Article 3

Exhibits listed as goods to be temporarily imported with Customs consent shall be exempted an application for an import licence and the payment of import Customs duties and other taxes or charges at importation. Import exhibits shall be subject to Customs supervision and shall have Customs formalities completed in accordance with the provisions of these Measures.

Article 4

Any unit receiving an exhibition to be held in China shall in advance send a copy of the relevant approval document to the Customs office at the place of exhibition and complete the recordation formalities with the Customs office at the place of exhibition.

Article 5

Where Customs dispatches officers to be stationed at the site of the exhibition for the performance of supervision duties, the host unit or sponsor unit of the exhibition shall provide them with offices and necessary office equipment, and shall pay to Customs the prescribed fees.

Article 6

All exhibits shall be reshipped out of the territory within six months of the date of importation. If it is necessary to extend the time limit for reshipping them out of the territory, the matter shall be reported to the competent Customs office for approval and such extension shall not exceed six months at the longest.

For an exhibition which will last more than six months, the host unit or its agent shall report in advance to the General Administration of Customs for verification.

Article 7

When importing exhibits, the host unit of the exhibition and the exhibitors or their agents shall provide a guarantee to Customs. The guarantee may be a cash deposit equal to the tax payment, a letter of guarantee from a bank or another financial institution, or other forms of guarantee acceptable to Customs.

Where an exhibition is to be held at a place designated by Customs or at a place under the supervision of officers dispatched by Customs, there may be an exemption from providing any guarantee to Customs.

Article 8

The host unit of an exhibition or its agent shall complete import declaration formalities for its exhibits with the Customs office at the place of exhibition. The exhibits imported through a Customs office at a place other than the place of exhibition shall complete transit formalities with the Customs office at the place of entry.

A host unit or its agent declaring import exhibits shall submit to Customs an exhibit list. The contents in the exhibit list shall be complete and accurate and translated into Chinese.

Article 9

If any exhibits include articles which are subject to import restrictions in accordance with the stipulations of relevant laws or regulations of the State except as provided for in Article 3 of these Measures, the host unit or its agent shall complete inspection or approval formalities in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Article 10

The host unit of an exhibition or its agent shall notify Customs before unpacking the exhibits in preparation for Customs inspection on the spot. When Customs inspect the exhibits, the owner of the exhibits or his agent shall be present and responsible for moving, unsealing, re-sealing and re-packing the goods, and other work assisting with the inspection.

Article 11

Where printed matter, audiovisual products and other articles which shall be inspected as required by Customs are to be displayed or used during an exhibition, approval shall be obtained from Customs upon inspection before display or use.

No printed matter and audiovisual products detrimental to politics, the economy, culture or morality of the State or which infringe upon intellectual property may be displayed or used, and Customs shall, in light of the circumstances, confiscate them, send them back out of the territory, or order the unit that displays them to use them after alteration.

Article 12

Without Customs permission, no exhibit shall be moved out of the place where the exhibit is supervised, and those which need to be moved out for some reason shall be reported to Customs for verification and approval.

Article 13

After the close of an exhibition, the host unit of the exhibition or its agent shall promptly submit a list of exhibits to be verified to the competent Customs office at the place of exhibition for examination. The exhibits which have not in time been reshipped out of the territory shall be stored at a place or warehouse designated by Customs for supervision and shall be supervised by Customs.

Article 14

With regard to exhibits which have been rearranged as to be imported formally, Customs shall process import formalities in accordance with the relevant provisions.

The host unit of an exhibition shall go through import clearance formalities promptly with Customs for exhibits which have been rearranged as to be imported formally and shall be responsible for paying all arrears in taxes or charges to Customs for exhibitors or its agents.

Article 15

For all small articles for sale during an exhibition, the host unit or its agent shall submit to Customs for examination the approval document of the foreign trade administration department of the State and pay import Customs duties and other taxes or charges at the Customs office.

Article 16

Goods which have been confirmed by Customs as to be waived or presented as gifts by the owner of the exhibits shall be dealt with by Customs in accordance with the relevant provisions.

If it is impossible to reship out of the territory exhibits which have been destroyed, lost or stolen, the host unit of the exhibition or its agent shall report thereon to Customs promptly and go through relevant formalities. For exhibits destroyed, Customs shall assess the taxes payable according to the extent of damage; and for exhibits lost or stolen, taxes shall be levied as usual as done to the like products.

If exhibits have been damaged or lost due to force majeure, Customs shall, in light of their losses suffered, reduce or exempt from Customs duties and import taxes.

Article 17

Customs shall, in accordance with the circumstances such as the category of the exhibition, the scale of exhibitors and the number of visitors, reduce or exempt from import Customs duties and import taxes within the range of a reasonable quantity and total value for the following goods which are not reshipped out of the territory once having been imported:

(1)

small packages of samples which can represent foreign goods in display activities, including samples of food or beverages (non-alcoholic) imported with original packing or produced during the exhibition period with raw materials imported in bulk, and which shall be in conformity with the following requirements:

a.

those provided and distributed free by exhibitors during the exhibition period among visitors only for their personal use or consumption;

b.

those clearly used as advertising samples and having a very low unit price;

c.

those which are not suitable for commercial use and in which per unit content is distinctly less than the minimum packing content for retail; or

d.

those samples of food or beverages which, failing to be packed for distribution as provided for in subparagraph (l)c, have been really consumed in the course of exhibition.

(2)

goods and materials imported for demonstrating the operation of machines or their components and parts on display in an exhibition and consumed or damaged in the course of demonstration;

(3)

cheap goods used only once, such as paint, coatings and wall paper, imported by exhibitors for building, putting up or decorating their exhibition stands;

(4)

literature, catalogues, manuals, price lists, posters, calendars with advertisements, photos not framed, etc. related to activities of the exhibitors who provide and distribute them free among visitors during the exhibition period; and

(5)

archives, records, forms and other documents imported to be used in various kinds of international conferences or for other related purposes.

This Article shall not be applicable to alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and fuel.

Article 18

If the goods mentioned in Subparagraph (1) of the preceding article need to be imported in excess of the restricted quantities, taxes shall be levied as usual on that part exceeding the restrictions. If part of the goods and materials mentioned in Subparagraphs (2) and (3) of the preceding article has not been used or consumed and isn't reshipped out of the territory, import formalities shall be completed according to the provisions and taxes shall be levied thereon according to rules and regulations. If articles mentioned in Subparagraph (4) of the preceding article have not been entirely distributed during the exhibition period and need to remain within the territory after the close of the exhibition, the host unit or its agent shall complete import formalities according to the provisions of the State governing the import of printed matter and pay taxes according to rules and regulations.

Article 19

Where goods and articles other than those provided for in Article 17 are imported to hold an exhibition, taxes shall be levied thereon without exception according to rules and regulations.

Article 20

Where exhibits are to be placed on exhibition with approval at two or more places of Customs establishment within the territory of our country, the host unit of the exhibitions or its agent shall move them to the following place of Customs establishment for another exhibition as required by Customs, and accept Customs supervision at the place of exhibition.

Where, at the close of an exhibition, part of the exhibits need to be shipped to another place of Customs establishment for another related exhibition, with Customs consent, transit formalities shall be undertaken according to the relevant Customs provisions for transit shipment.

Where, beyond the original approved exhibition plan, exhibits need another site for exhibition unexpectedly, or to be placed on another exhibition, the host unit of the exhibition or its agent shall file with Customs a written application by presenting the approval document that the original approving unit has consented to adding a site of exhibition or holding another exhibition, and after Customs consent, undertake transit formalities according to the relevant Customs provisions for transit shipment.

Article 21

At the close of an exhibition, formalities for Customs verification shall be undertaken with the Customs office at the place of exhibition. When the exhibits are actually reshipped out of the territory, the host unit of the exhibition or its agent shall submit to Customs the relevant list for verification and transport documents to undertake exit formalities for the exhibits.

For the exhibits which need to be transported to another place of Customs establishment before being reshipped out of the territory, transit formalities shall be undertaken according to the relevant Customs provisions for transit shipment.

Article 22

With regard to the goods which are imported for holding a technological exchange fair, a commodity exhibition or for engaging in similar activities, Customs shall exercise supervision in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Measures.

Article 23

Whoever violates the provisions of these Measures shall be punished by Customs in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the Rules for the Implementation of Administrative Punishments under the Customs Law of the people's Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations of the State.

Article 24

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

Article 25

These Measures shall enter into force as of April 1, 1997.