Laws of the Guangdong Province

Regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on the Comprehensive Control against Smuggling

(Adopted at the Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourth Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress on January 20, 2006, promulgated on February 6, 2006, and put into force from March 1, 2006)

Chapter I General Provisions

       Article 1 In order to effectively prevent and crack down smuggling acts, to maintain the order of socialist market economy, these regulations are hereby formulated in accordance with the basic principles of Customs Law of the People' s Republic of China and other laws and administrative regulations and in light of the practical conditions of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

       Article 2 In the fight against smuggling, the guideline of combining crack-down with prevention and giving priority to prevention shall be upheld; and the principle of joint search for smugglers and smuggled goods, unified settlements, and comprehensive control shall be followed.

       Article 3 The departments of customs, public security, border defense, industrial and commercial administration shall execute anti-smuggling duties according to law, the other government offices shall give their support and cooperation.

       Article 4 The municipal, district people' s governments (hereinafter referred to as the municipal, district governments) shall carry out the comprehensive control against smuggling according to these regulations and the related rules of the state.

       The municipal, district offices in charge of the comprehensive control against smuggling (hereinafter referred to as the comprehensive control offices) shall be specifically responsible for organization, direction, coordination, supervision, inspection of the comprehensive control against smuggling.

       The municipal comprehensive control office shall direct and supervise the work of district comprehensive control offices in a professional way.

       Article 5 The funds needed for the comprehensive control against smuggling shall be entered into the fiscal budgets of the municipal, district governments and thus be ensured.

       The special funds for anti-smuggling work appropriated by the state, province shall be used for their specified purposes only, and shall not be misappropriated for the other use.

Chapter II Duties

       Article 6 The customs is the office of the state in charge of the supervision and administration of entry and exit at customs areas and shall independently execute the duties to track down and apprehend smugglers and to search and seize smuggled goods according to law.

       The municipal, district governments and their departments shall support the customs in discharging duties according to law, and shall not interfere in the law enforcement activities of the customs.

       Article 7 The offices of public securities shall execute the following duties:

(1)   to find out and punish no-tax-related smuggling crimes which take place out of the areas under the supervision of the customs;

(2)   to promptly stop, investigate and ascertain smuggling acts out of the areas under the supervision of the customs;

(3)   to give assistance and impose punishments when the departments of customs, border defense, industrial and commercial administration, etc. encounter resistance in their execution of anti-smuggling duties;

(4)   the other duties prescribed by laws, regulations.

The departments of public security and border defense shall execute anti-

smuggling duties according to the related rules of the state.

       Article 8 The departments of industrial and commercial administration shall execute the following duties:

(1)   jointly with the related departments to supervise, control, check, and rectify the markets which sell smuggled goods or articles, articles specially permitted to be imported with reduced tax or without tax, imported articles without certificate concerning their legal origins;

(2)   to cooperate with the related departments in investigation and punishment of the suspected smuggling acts taking place in import and export enterprises and in special trades as well;

(3)   the other duties prescribed by laws, regulations.

Article 9 The comprehensive control offices shall execute the following duties:

(1)   to organize the propagation of the laws, regulations, guidelines, and policies concerning the fight against smuggling;

(2)   to work out programs, plans for the comprehensive control against smuggling, and to put them into practice after approval by the government at the corresponding level;

(3)   to organize, direct, coordinate the related units to prevent smuggling;

(4)   to organize, coordinate the related departments to take joint action or special action against smuggling, to oversee dealing with serious, complicated smuggling cases and to investigate and handle such cases themselves;

(5)   to coordinate the related departments to deal with unexpected incidents such as resisting, obstructing the investigation and punishment of smuggling, etc;

(6)   to supervise, inspect, and assess the related units' comprehensive control against smuggling;

(7)   to coordinate in dealing with the related matters when the customs needs the cooperation of local government agencies in the investigation and punishment of smuggling;

(8)   to organize the cooperation with the neighboring regions in the comprehensive control against smuggling;

(9)   the other duties prescribed by laws, regulations.

Article 10 When finding clues to smuggling in discharging their duties, the

related departments of inspection and quarantine, economy and trade, tax affairs, culture, fishery administration and superintendence, tobacco monopoly, liquor administration, finance, etc. and the related units shall promptly inform the customs or the comprehensive control offices.

Chapter III Prevention

       Article 11 The job responsibility system shall be put into practice for the comprehensive control against smuggling. The progress that the related departments and units have made in the comprehensive control against smuggling shall be considered as one item in their performance assessment.

       The specific measures on the job responsibility system for the comprehensive control against smuggling shall be formulated by the municipal government separately.

       Article 12 The municipal comprehensive control office shall regularly publish the reports on the state of the comprehensive control against smuggling, summarize the city-wide comprehensive control against smuggling, analyze the features and regular patterns of smuggling activities, and put forward various measures to prevent smuggling.

       Article 13 The municipal comprehensive control office shall direct the trade association of import and export enterprises to establish an anti-smuggling credit system, and coordinate the related departments to conduct the classified administration of import and export enterprises according to their credit levels.

       Article 14 An anti-smuggling system of monitoring and early warning shall be established, the municipal comprehensive control office shall coordinate the related departments to analyze and forecast smuggling trends, and direct the related units to undertake prevention.

       Article 15 An anti-smuggling system of emergency management shall be established, the municipal comprehensive control office shall coordinate the related departments to work out a contingency plan for emergency management and to make the related preparation for dealing with an emergency.

       Article 16 The comprehensive control offices shall strengthen the propagation and education on the fight against smuggling, the related government offices, enterprises and institutions, and other organizations shall provide their support and cooperation.

       Article 17 News media shall strengthen the propagation and report on the comprehensive control against smuggling in accordance with needs.

Chapter IV Search and Investigation

       Article 18 A joint meeting system of the comprehensive control against smuggling shall be established, the municipal comprehensive control office shall call the related departments together for regular meetings to study and handle the following matters:

(1)   to analyze the trends and situations of smuggling;

(2)   to propose specific anti-smuggling measures;

(3)   to arrange joint actions and special actions to fight against smuggling;

(4)   to deal with the other matters that need coordination.

Article 19 An anti-smuggling mechanism to exchange and process information

shall be established, the municipal comprehensive control office shall coordinate the related departments such as those of customs, public security, border defense, industrial and commercial administration, etc. to exchange and share information.

       Article 20 The comprehensive control offices shall conduct a special control of the areas with high incidence of smuggling, key channels of smuggling, and smuggled goods in short supply.

       Article 21 In case of organization of others to bring articles to the country under the guise of reasonable personal use in small amount each time but many times in order to sell for profits, the department of industrial and commercial administration shall confiscate violator' s illegally collected articles and illegal earnings, and impose a fine of one to three times of the illegal earnings; any person who is suspected of committing a crime shall be handed over to a judicial office to be dealt with according to law.

       Article 22 An incentive mechanism of anti-smuggling information shall be established, the related departments shall strengthen the collection of information, promptly process collected information, and reward informants according to the related rules.

       Specific measures on rewarding shall be formulated separately by the municipal comprehensive control office jointly with the related departments.

Chapter V Settlement

       Article 23 The smuggling cases which are under the jurisdiction of the customs according to law shall be transferred to the anti-smuggling office of the customs for settlement in compliance with the related rules of the state.

       As for the smuggling cases under the jurisdiction to which there is an objection, the related departments shall promptly handed them over to the municipal comprehensive control office for coordination in their settlement.

      Article 24 If the related departments have seized suspected smuggled goods, articles in the process of law enforcement, but cannot find out both owners and facts of law-breaking smuggling, the goods and articles shall be handed over to the municipal comprehensive control office; the municipal comprehensive control office shall make a public notice to look for claimants for 60 days. If nobody comes to make a claim after the deadline set by the public office, these goods, articles shall be handed over to the municipal department of finance to be disposed of according to the related rules. Specific measures shall be formulated separately by the municipal comprehensive control office jointly with the related departments.

       If there are dangerous articles which are dangerous or fresh, easy to perish, easy to cease to be effective in the goods and articles referred to in the previous section, the municipal comprehensive control office shall dispose of them in time according to the related rules, the proceeds shall be deposited into a special account of public finance; if nobody comes to make a claim after the deadline set by the public notice, the proceeds shall be turned over to the state treasury.

       Article 25 The means of transport used only for smuggling or used for smuggling many times shall be disposed of by the customs according to law; as for the other means of transport used for smuggling, the municipal comprehensive control office shall register them for record, and suggest the related departments to dispose of them according to law.

       If there is need to destroy at one place the means of transport used for smuggling, the municipal comprehensive control office shall organize the related departments to destroy them according to the related rules.

       Article 26 If any enterprise, any individual business household sells smuggled goods, articles, the department of industrial and commercial administration shall confiscate the goods and articles in addition to the punishment imposed by the customs; if the sales volume is large, the operator' s business license shall be revoked; anyone who is suspected of committing a crime shall be handed over to the judicial office to be dealt with according to law.

Chapter VI Rewards and Punishments

       Article 27 The municipal, district governments shall commend and reward the units and individuals if they satisfy one of the following requirements:

(1)   having remarkable achievements in putting the job responsibility system of the comprehensive control against smuggling into practice;

(2)   having an outstanding contribution to investigating and dealing with a  serious, extra major case;

(3)   having an outstanding contribution to cracking a smuggling case in active assistance;

(4)   having ferreted out a good number of smuggled goods, articles which are reactionary, pornographic, infringing upon intellectual property rights, etc.;

(5)   having the fruit of a study of or a rational proposal on the comprehensive control against smuggling which is accepted and produces a marked effect;

(6)   having other contributions to the fight against smuggling.

The specific measures on rewards and punishments shall be formulated separately

by the municipal comprehensive control office, reported to the municipal government, and put into practice after approval.

Article 28 If a related unit has one of the following situations, the

comprehensive control offices shall order rectification and announce it in a circular:

(1)   having failed to put the job responsibility system of the comprehensive control against smuggling into effective practice and, as a result, seen serious smuggling activities or a baneful influence in its own region, its own jurisdiction;

(2)   having failed to properly deal with unexpected incidents such as violent resistance to or obstruction of the crack-down on smuggling in accordance with the contingency plan for emergency management;

(3)   having failed to effectively discharge the other duties prescribed by these regulations.

Article 29 If a related department fails to execute duties according to these

regulations and the circumstances are serious, the unit which this department is affiliated with or the department of administrative supervision shall impose administrative sanctions on the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible persons.

       If the personnel of the related departments abuse power, practice favoritism and engage in irregularities, neglect duties, the units which they are affiliated with or the department of administrative supervision shall impose administrative sanctions; the persons who are suspected of committing a crime shall be handed over to the judicial office to be dealt with according to law.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions