Laws of the People's Republic of China

PROCEDURES OF THE CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR THE
SUPERVISION OF INTERNATIONAL SAILING VESSELS
AND THE GOODS ON BOARD

(Promulgated by the Ministry of Foreign Trade on
31 December 1958)

SUBJECT: CUSTOMS

ISSUING-DEPT: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATION

ISSUE-DATE: 12/31/1958

IMPLEMENT-DATE: 03/01/1959

LENGTH: 2067 words

TEXT:

CHAPTER I GENERAL RULES

[Article 1] These Procedures are formulated for the purpose of ensuring the effective implementation of the foreign trade control system and facilitating the transportation of international sailing vessels (hereinafter simply referred to as "ship(s)").

[Article 2] With the exception of those specially permitted by the Ministry of Communications jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Trade, ships shall only be permitted to berth and carry goods and passengers in the ports provided with Customs houses.

[Article 3] The port authorities shall notify the Customs in advance of the time of arrival and departure of ships.

[Article 4] The port authorities shall designate jointly with the Customs the places for ships to berth and carry goods and passengers in the ports. The port authorities shall obtain the Customs' consent of ships' changes of berths in the ports.

[Article 5] Ships shall be put under the supervision of the Customs from their arrival in the ports till their departure from the ports. The Customs shall be entitled to examine them if it deems it necessary to do so.

During the stay of a ship in a port, the ship shall be allowed to leave the port first if it is required by force majeure to do so temporarily and it is not possible to obtain the approval of the Customs; however, the captain shall report the cause and situation of the departure from the port upon returning to the port.

[Article 6] If a ship is to carry goods, travellers' luggage, international mailbags and other articles, these jobs shall have the prior approval of the Customs and shall be done under the supervision of the Customs.

CHAPTER II CUSTOMS DECLARATION, EXAMINATION AND CLEARANCE OF SHIPS

[Article 7] When a ship enters a port, the captain shall submit to the Customs a Report of Entry (the form omitted) and the following documents:

(1) An import manifest:

(2) An incoming passenger list (including through transport travellers, but no submission is required if there are no passengers);

(3) A list (the form omitted) of the articles, currencies, gold and silver for the crew's personal use and of the ship's spares:

(4) A crew list;

(5) Other documents and papers required by the Customs.

If a ship calls at two or more ports in our country in succession on the same voyage, with the exception of its arrival at the first port, it shall be exempted from submitting the Report of Entry and the document listed in the above item (3) when it arrives at the other ports.

[Article 8] When a ship applies for export or sails to other ports in our country, the captain shall submit the following documents to the Customs:

(1) An export manifest;

(2) An outgoing passenger list (no submission is required if there are no outgoing passengers);

(3) A crew list (exempt from submission if there are no changes);

(4) A list of Renminbi balance after use (see Article 18 of these Procedures);

(5) Other documents and papers required by the Customs.

[Article 9] When a ship calls at two or more ports in our country in succession on the same voyage, the captain shall be responsible for carrying the Customs cover given to him by the first Customs house intact to the Customs house in the next port. A ship shall not be allowed to sail to any foreign country on its voyage between the ports in our country.

[Article 10] The crew shall not be allowed to leave the ship without the permission of the Customs between its arrival in the port and the completion of the Customs' examination of the ship and the crew's luggage and articles.

When a seaman carries his personal articles, currencies, gold and silver aboard the ship or on shore, he shall declare them at the Customs house and the Customs shall examine and clear them.

[Article 11] When the Customs examines a ship, the captain shall dispatch personnel to be present and open the rooms, cabins and storage places on board as required by the Customs. The captain shall act upon the request as soon as the Customs thinks it necessary to open up the parts of the ship which may be used to conceal smuggled goods.

When the Customs examines crew's luggage and articles, the seamen concerned shall be present at the time as required by the Customs and open the luggage, packages and storage places.

When the Customs finishes examining the ship, the captain shall sign the examination record prepared by the Customs.

[Article 12] With the exception of the personnel engaged in examination and piloting, others shall not be allowed to go on board ships without the permission of the Customs before the completion of the Customs' examination of arriving ships and after the completion of the Customs examination of leaving ships.

[Article 13] The port authorities shall only permit a ship to leave the port after it has been cleared by the Customs.

CHAPTER III SUPERVISION OF SHIP'S FUEL, STORES, CURRENCIES, GOLD AND SILVER

[Article 14] During a ship's stay in a port, the ship's stores and the currencies, gold and silver in the possession of the ship and its crew shall be sealed if the Customs thinks it necessary to do so; the captain shall be responsible for keeping the Customs seals intact.

[Article 15] If a ship is to replenish fuel or stores, the captain or his agent shall prepare and submit a list to the Customs (an oral declaration shall be made for the replenishment of catering materials) for the Customs' verification and clearance.

[Article 16] If an application is made for the mutual allotment and transfer of ship's fuel or between foreign ships or between the international sailing ships of Chinese registry, the captains or their agents shall prepare a list, submit it to the Customs for approval and carry out the allotment and transfer under the supervision of the Customs.

[Article 17] The captain or his agent shall submit a "list of advance Renminbi" to the Customs for any Renminbi borrowed by the ship when he carries the Renminbi aboard the ship.

If the ship or its crew exchange foreign currencies or gold or silver for Renminbi, a clear declaration shall be made at the Customs and the exchange memos from the bank shall be submitted for examination.

[Article 18] Before a ship sails out of port or to another port in our country, the captain shall prepare a "list of Renminbi balance" and submit it to the Customs for verification (exempt from submission if there is no Renminbi borrowed or exchanged).

If the ship sails directly to a port in a foreign country, the surplus Renminbi shall be handed over by the ship to its agent under the supervision of the Customs and he is prohibited from taking it abroad; if the ship sails to another port in our country, the surplus Renminbi shall be kept in the custody of the captain himself or the seamen themselves.

[Article 19] If a ship replenishes fuel or stores in our country, the Customs house at the place of exit shall make an examination according to the ship's record if necessary.

If an outgoing ship has to carry Renminbi, and intends to use some in the ports along the coasts of our country, it shall declare it at the Customs, while the Customs house shall seal the Renminbi and give it to the captain who shall be responsible for having custody of the money. At the next time of import, the money shall be declared at the Customs house in the place of entry for verification.

The provisions in Articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of these Procedures shall not apply to ships of Chinese registry.

CHAPTER IV CUSTOMS DECLARATION, EXAMINATION AND CLEARANCE OF GOODS

[Article 20] The owner of import goods or his agents shall submit the import licence together with the bill of lading and invoice(s) to the Customs when or before they arrive in the port.

The owner or agents of export goods shall submit the export licence together with the shipping order to the Customs before the exports are loaded on board a ship.

For the import or export goods to undergo commodity inspection as stipulated by the law, the papers shall be submitted for examination in accordance with the relevant provisions of the commodity inspection authorities.

If there is a shut-out of the export cargoes, the shipper or his agent shall make a report to the Customs within the time fixed by the Customs.

[Article 21] Import and export goods shall be examined by the Customs. When the Customs examines the goods, their owner or his agent shall be present at the time fixed by the Customs and handle such jobs as moving, measuring, opening and repacking as required by the Customs.

[Article 22] When a ship handles goods, each lot shall be clearly differentiated in accordance with the shipping order or the bill of lading and the number of packages shall be correctly counted.

The Customs shall be entitled to verify the tally records of the ship and the port authorities at any time. If confusion of goods is found or the number of goods is not correct, the ship and the port authorities shall promptly check and correct the records as required by the Customs.

[Article 23] Upon completion of a ship's handling of goods, the port authorities shall submit to the Customs a copy of the goods hand-over and take-over certificate prepared by them and the ship; if there is surplus, shortage or damage of the goods, a copy of the relevant record shall be submitted to the Customs.

[Article 24] The import or export goods under the supervision of the Customs shall be stored in the storage places agreed to by the Customs.

[Article 25] The port authorities, goods owner (or his agent) and ship shall only deliver, take delivery of or ship the export or import goods after they are cleared by the Customs and a seal is impressed on the bill of lading or the shipping order.

CHAPTER V SUPERVISION OF SHIP'S PADDING AND BALLAST

[Article 26] If a ship is to unload padding and ballast (excluding those included in the import loading list), the captain or his agent shall made a list and submit it to the Customs for approval. The padding and ballast declared for re-export later shall be transported abroad within six months of the date of unloading and the Customs shall check and clear them on the basis of the list declared at the time of import; with regard to the padding and ballast not to be re-exported, the consignee shall go through import formalities within two months of the date of unloading. Those which are not re-exported or which go through import formalities after the time limit is exceeded shall be sold by the Customs and all the proceeds shall be paid into the state treasury after the deduction of transport, custody and other expenses.

In respect of the padding, ballast and footing declared by the captain for disposal, the captain or his agent or the take-over unit shall make an oral declaration at the Customs and the take-over unit shall dispose of them with the consent of the Customs.

[Article 27] If a ship is to replenish padding and ballast, the captain or his agent shall make a list and submit it to the Customs for approval. Another list shall be prepared for the padding and ballast required to be re-imported and returned by the Customs after signing and certification.

The above padding and ballast to be re-imported shall be re-transported within one year of the date of the Customs' signing and certification and the Customs house in the place of entry shall examine and clear them on the basis of the list signed and certified by the Customs.

CHAPTER VI SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

[Article 28] If a ship fails to reach a port with a Customs house but has to berth at another place in distress or due to other cases of force majeure, it shall report to the local port authorities or people's committee so that they can supervise it on behalf of the Customs and notify the neares Customs house. If necessary, the Customs house shall dispatch an officer to exercise supervision.

[Article 29] Power-driven ships with a registered tonnage of more than 300 tonnes coming from or sailing to Hong Kong and Macao shall be handled in accordance with these Procedures.

[Article 30] These Procedures shall be put into effect as of 1 March 1959.