Regular Workflow of the Customs on the Supervision and Control over the Import &

(Ⅲ) Clearance of Import & Export Goods
Goods clearance is the last step of the supervision and control over the entry and exit goods by the Customs. It refers to the behavior of the Customs that the entry and exit goods are approved to be taken out of the supervision and control site or shipped out of the territory after a serial of procedures, e.g. document review, checkup and verification, going through the procedures of duty collection and guarantee. In appearance, goods clearance is only a kind of representing form of the Customs sealing on the relevant transportation documents and returning to the declarant. In reality, goods clearance must be preconditioned by the Customs going through the procedures of duty collection or guarantee after document review and checkup. In terms of the common import & export goods, the Customs formalities have all been concluded on clearance because the duty has been paid according to the regulations.
 
However, for the duty-exempted or duty-reduced, bonded, temporarily-permitted import & export goods, either the customs duty can be exempted temporarily or favorable duty-free policies can be enjoyed in the specified conditions, therefore, the customs formalities have not been concluded on clearance. In such case, there will be two different conditions of the import & export goods after the clearance. The common import & export goods is at the disposal of the party concerned (the export goods is still under the supervision and control until it leaves the territory); the duty-exempted or duty-reduced, bonded, temporarily-permitted goods can be disposed by the party concerned in the specified scope (use, storage, processing). The customs formalities cannot be concluded until the expiry time of supervision and control and canceling on verification.

Only by confirming that the import & export goods are legally "qualified" for the Customs clearance through thorough re-verification of the on-site supervision and control formalities and the documents of declaration, checkup and verification, duty collection, can the person in charge of clearance stamp the "clearance" seal on the relevant documents, i.e. bill of lading, bill of freight, shipping order, etc.