Laws of the People's Republic of China

(2) Those to be paid once every 30 days shall be levied at half the rates in the above list.

The tonnage shall be levied on an incoming vessel from the date of its declaration for import.  If the vessel does not leave China at the expiration of the tonnage licence, the levy shall be continued as from the second day of the expiration.

[Article 3] The tonnage for a vessel which is registered in or belongs to a foreign country which has entered into a treaty or agreement with the People's Republic of China for mutual preferential treatment of tonnages or fees levied on vessels shall be levied at a preferential rate.  The rates of tonnages to be levied once every three months are as follows:

Category of Vessel	††Tonnes	Tonnage per	Remarks
		Tonne
	†below 50 tonnes	3 jiao	The procedures for calculation and levy are the same as in the preceding list.
Power-driven	†††51 tonnes to 150 tonnes	3 jiao 5 fen
Vessels	††151 tonnes to 300 tonnes	4 jiao
Steamships,	††301 tonnes to 500 tonnes	4 jiao 5 fen
Motorboats,	††501 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes	5 jiao 5 fen
Tugboats	1,001 tonnes to 1,500 tonne	6 jiao 5 fen
	1,501 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes	8 jiao
	2,001 tonnes to 3,000 tonnes	9 jiao 5 fen
	more than 3,001 tonnes	1 yuan 1 jiao
	†below 10 tonnes	1 jiao 5 fen
Non-power	†††11 tonnes to 50 tonnes	2 jiao
Driven	†††51 tonnes to 150 tonnes	2 jiao 5 fen
vessels	††151 tonnes to 300 tonnes	3 jiao
Various	more than 301 tonnes	3 jiao 5 fen
Man-driven
Boats,
Lighters
and Junks

If a vessel paying the tonnage as stipulated by this article applies to make payment once every 30 days in accordance with the procedures in the preceding article, the tonnage shall be levied at half the rates in the above list.

[Article 4] A foreign registered vessel or a Chinese registered vessel chartered by a foreign firm shall submit the vessel tonnage licence and the declaration at the Customs house for examination and import or clearance purposes as stipulated by the Customs when it arrives at or leaves a port with a Customs house.  If the original licence has expired at the time of import or the tonnage has not been paid before, it shall file a declaration at the time of import, make the declaration at the Customs house and pay the tonnage by submitting

(1) The certificate of the vessel's registry (or the testimonial signed and issued by the port authorities to testify that this certificate has been kept in their custody) and

(2) The proof of the vessel's tonnage for examination.

[Article 5] If the term of validity of the tonnage licence of the above vessel has expired after its declaration for import or if it sails exclusively within the port, it shall make a declaration at the Customs house, pay the tonnage and obtain a new licence as stipulated in the preceding article on the expiration of the original licence.  If it fails to make a declaration and pay the tonnage within five days of the second day of the expiration, it shall be fined as stipulated in Article 14 of these Procedures.

[Article 6] A foreign registered vessel specially permitted to sail to or from a place with no Customs house shall submit the vessel tonnage licence to the local port authorities for examination (it shall be submitted to the local frontier public security authorities or troops for examination in a place without port authorities) as stipulated in Article 4 of these Procedures when it arrives at or leaves the port.  At the expiration of the original licence, it shall also make a declaration at the local tax bureau as stipulated in Article 4 and Article 5 of these Procedures and the bureau shall collect the tonnage and issue a new licence in lieu of the Customs according to these Procedures.  If it fails to make a declaration within the time limit, it shall be fined in accordance with Article 14.

[Article 7] The payer shall pay the tonnage within five days (Sunday and statutory holidays excepted) from the second day of the issue of the Notice of Tonnage Payment by the Customs house (or the tax bureau) and the Customs house (or the bureau) shall issue the vessel tonnage licence.  If the time limit is exceeded, the Customs house (or bureau) shall collect a fine for late payment of 1/1000 of the payable tonnage amount daily from the sixth day to the date of full payment of the tonnage and pay it into the treasury as Customs' fines.

[Article 8] In the case of a Chinese registered vessel chartered by a foreign firm or a foreign registered vessel chartered by a Chinese public or private enterprise, the vehicle and vessel service licence tax or the vessel tonnage already paid shall remain valid if it has not expired at the beginning or termination of the charter.  However, the vessel shall make a declaration at the Customs house and pay the tonnage or make the declaration at the tax bureau and pay the vehicle and vessel service licence tax upon its expiration on the basis of its usage at that time.

[Article 9] The tonnage amount shall not be readjusted within the term of validity of the tonnage licence already obtained even if the net weight of a vessel is increased or reduced due to repair.  However, at the time of the next payment of tonnage, an application shall be made for the adjustment of the tonnage amount on the basis of the certificate of tonnage after the change in its weight.  If the increase in weight is not disclosed and declared with the intention of evading tonnage payment, the vessel shall be fined as stipulated in Article 14 of these Procedures.

[Article 10] In any of the following cases for a vessel which has paid tonnage, the Customs shall annotate and comment on the extension of the term of the licence validity according to the actual number of days after examining the papers of the port authorities which have been submitted:

(1) A vessel sailing into a port in our country for the purpose of refuge or repair;

(2) A vessel unable to handle goods or passengers as a result of an epidemic prevention isolation:

(3) A vessel having been commandeered or chartered by the central or a local people's government.

[Article 11] The following foreign registered vessels shall be exempt from tonnages:

(1) Vessels engaged by embassies, legations and consulates of countries having established diplomatic relations with our country;

(2) Vessels with papers from the local port authorities to take refuge, undergo repairs, suspend service or be disassembled and not to carry goods or passengers for the time being;

(3) Mooring pontoons, floating-bridge pontoons and floating boats used exclusively to carry goods and passengers and store goods;

(4) Vessels commandeered or chartered by the central or local people's governments;

(5) International sailing vessels which are exempt from making declarations at the Customs for import as stipulated in Article 27 of the Provisional Law on Customs.

[Article 12] If a charter-party goes through Customs formalities before the vessel arrives at the port, he shall submit a written guarantee to the Customs house to assure submission of the tonnage licence for examination or payment of the tonnage and application for licence according to regulations after the vessel has entered the port.  The term of validity of the licence shall be calculated as from the date of the vessel's declaration for import.

[Article 13] If the tonnage licence obtained by a charter-party is damaged or lost during the term of validity, he shall make a written application to the original licence-issuing Customs house (or tax bureau) for a copy of the tonnage licence.  No further payment is required.

[Article 14] All formalities have to be observed within the time limit set.  A charter-party who fails to make a declaration, pay the tonnage and obtain the licence shall be fined not more than three times the payable tonnage amount and the fine shall be paid into the treasury as a Customs' fine.

[Article 15] These Procedures shall be put into force from the date of promulgation.