Decree No. 193 of the General Administration of Customs of the P. R. China

The General Administration of Customs of the P. R. China (GACC) has deliberated and adopted on October 14, 2010, through its administrative conference, the Decision by the General Administration of Customs of China on Revising the "Regulatory Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Entry-Exit Public Articles of Resident External Offices", which is promulgated herein and to take effect as of December 5, 2010.


To standardize customs supervision over entry-exit public articles of resident external offices, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has decided to make revisions as below to the Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Entry & Exit of Public Articles, which is as Annex 2 to the Regulatory Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Entry-Exit Public Articles of Resident External Offices (hereinafter referred to as the Measures, which is released with the GACC Decree No. 115):

1. Adding in the header section the applicant name and 12 items including customs code, article approval number, entry/exit, country (region) of source/destination, port of loading/destination, transport mode (waterway, railway, automobile, airplane, postal service, etc.), vehicle name, flight number, bill-of-lading/waybill number, number of packages, gross weight (kilogram), and remarks; while deleting 3 items of nationality, address, and registration number.

2. Adding the column "For the Trustee" including such 6 items as entry/exit date, package type, volume, number of TEU, number of inner package, trustee name and customs code (ID card number).

3. Adding in the form such 5 items as item number, article tax number, specification/model, currency, and remarks; while deleting 2 items of entry/exit customs comment and period of validity.

This Decision is to take effect as of December 5, 2010.

The Measures are re-promulgated below with revisions as per this Decision.



Article 1 The Measures are formulated in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, for the purpose of standardizing customs supervision over entry-exit public articles of resident external offices.

Article 2 The entry and exit of public articles applied for by the resident external office shall be restricted within a reasonable amount for self-use. A resident external office shall file a written application for the entry and exit of public articles to the competent Customs in Charge by itself or its entrusted customs brokers. After the application examination and approval by the competent Customs in Charge, the Customs at the place of entry and exit shall inspect and release the articles upon the strength of the approval document and other relevant documents from the competent Customs in Charge.

Article 3 The Customs shall collect taxes on the entry and exit of public articles of resident external offices in accordance with relevant provisions of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Tariffs.

Taxes shall be exempted for tax-free public articles imported by resident external offices, where they are provided in any convention between China and other Governments.

Article 4 In the case of application for entry of public articles for the first time, resident external offices shall go through formalities for archival filing to the competent Customs in Charge upon the strength of the following documents:

(1) The original and photocopy of the documents of approval by the examination and approval authority for establishing the resident external office;

(2) The original and photocopy of registration certificates (hereinafter referred to as the Registration Certificates) issued by competent authorities;

(3) Pattern of declaration seal of the resident external office;

(4) The original and photocopy of the pattern of signature and identity card of the responsible person of the resident external office;

(5) Name list of the resident staff members of the resident external office, which shall cover the name, sex, nationality of any resident staff member, and his/her number of the effective entry/exit certificate, number of permanent residence certificate, time for taking office, tenure, job title, address within the territory of China, and so on.

After making examination and confirming that there is no fault in the aforesaid documents, the competent Customs in Charge shall issue the Customs Certificate of the People's Republic of China on Archival Filing of Resident External Offices (hereinafter referred to as the Customs Certificate on Archival Filing , see Annex I).

In case there is any alteration in the contents of the Customs Certificate on Archival Filing, the resident external office shall go through formalities for alteration with the competent Customs in Charge within 10 working days from the date of making alteration.

Article 5 Where applying for entry of public articles, the resident external office shall have the following documents submitted to and checked by the competent Customs in Charge:

(1) The Customs Certificate on Archival Filing;

(2) The Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Entry & Exit of Public Articles (hereinafter referred to as the Application Form, see the Annex II);

(3) Bills of Lading, Waybills, Invoices, Packing Lists, and other relevant documents.

The competent Customs in Charge shall make a reply within 3 working days from the day of accepting the application.

Where applying for entry of motor vehicles, the resident external office shall, in addition to submitting the documents above-prescribed for check, submit the valid identity certificates of all its resident staff members for check. The competent Customs in Charge shall make a reply within 5 working days from the day of accepting the application.

Article 6 Where going through customs declaration formalities for public articles with the entry Customs, the resident external office shall fill out or entrust a customs broker to fill out the Customs Declaration Form for Goods Importation, and submit the Application Form approved by the competent Customs in Charge, and submit such relevant documents as the bills of lading, waybills, invoices, and packing lists.

The entry Customs shall make comments on its inspection and release in the acknowledging receipt of the Application Form, and return them to the competent Customs in Charge for archival filing and verification.

Article 7 Where the resident external office applies for entry of motor vehicles, the Customs shall check the total number of the entry vehicles in light of the actual number of staff members of the resident external office:

(1) Where there are no more than five resident staff members, the total number of entry vehicles shall be one;

(2) Where there are 6 up to 10 resident staff members, the total number of entry vehicles shall be no more than 2;

(3) Where there are 11 up to 20 resident staff members, the total number of entry vehicles shall be no more than 3;

(4) Where there are 21 up to 30 resident staff members, the total number of entry vehicles shall be no more than 4;

(5) Where there are no less than 31 resident staff members, the total number of entry vehicles shall be no more than 6.

Article 8 Where any entry motor vehicle is seriously damaged due to accidents, force majeure or other reasons, or loses use value due to wear and tear or exceeding the service life, the resident external office may, after discarding it as useless, and upon the strength of the certificate of cancellation of motor vehicles issued by the public security organs in charge of traffic control, reapply for entry of motor vehicles on the basis of the quantity of closed motor vehicle cases, upon the approval by the competent Customs in Charge for handling the formalities for closing a motor vehicle case.

Where any entry motor vehicle is lost, stolen, transferred or sold, or exceeds the supervision time-limit, the resident external office may not reapply for entry of motor vehicles.

Article 9 Any resident external office shall, within 10 working days from the day of Customs release of entry motor vehicles, apply to the competent Customs in Charge for receiving the Notice on Receiving/Revoking the License Plates of Entry/Exit Vehicles Supervised by the Customs of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Notice on Receiving/Revoking License Plates, see the Annex III), and go through formalities of application for the license plates.

For the entry of tax-free motor vehicles, the resident external office shall also apply for receiving the Registration Certificates of Motor Vehicles Supervised by the Customs of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Registration Certificates of Vehicles Supervised, see the Annex IV) to the competent Customs in Charge within 10 working days from the day of obtaining the Notice of Receiving/Revoking the License Plates upon the strength of the License of Motor Vehicle issued by the public security organs in charge of traffic control.

Article 10 In the case of entry sample goods, advertising articles and temporary imports, any resident external office shall, after approved by the competent Customs in Charge, go through the formalities for customs inspection and release in accordance with the Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Supervision over Imports & Exports of Sample Goods and Advertising Articles and the Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Supervision over Temporary Goods Importation.

Article 11 In the case of re-exit of any entered public articles, the resident external office shall file an application to the competent Customs in Charge upon the strength of the Customs Certificate on Archival Filing , Application Form and relevant documents. The competent Customs in Charge may make a reply within 3 working days from the day of accepting the application.

Where the resident external office applies for re-exit of any entered motor vehicle, and the competent Customs in Charge has issued the Notice on Receiving/Revoking License Plate after its examination and approval, the resident external office may go through the formalities for cancellation of license plate with the public security organs in charge of traffic control by submitting the Notice above-mentioned. The competent Customs in Charge shall make comments in the Application Form on approval or disapproval of the license-plate cancellation, after receiving the acknowledging receipt of the Notice on Receiving/Revoking License Plate.

Article 12 A resident external office shall fill out the Declaration Form for Goods Exportation when handling the formalities for declaration of public articles with the Customs at the place of exit, and submit relevant documents such as the Application Form annotated by the competent Customs in Charge.

The Customs at the place of exit shall make comments in the acknowledging receipt of the Application Form on articles inspection and release, and then return it to the competent Customs in Charge for archival filing and verification.

Article 13 Where the entry of any tax-free motor vehicle by any resident external office in accordance with paragraph 2, Article 3 of the present Measures is subject to customs supervision, the competent Customs in Charge shall make follow-up supervision over such entered tax-free motor vehicle, and the time limit for the supervision shall be 6 years as from the date of release by the Customs.

None of such motor vehicles entered into China's territory may, without the approval by the Customs, be transferred, sold, leased, mortgaged, pledged, or disposed in any other way at will within the time limit of Customs supervision.

Article 14 The Customs may implement annual examination system on the entered motor vehicles under Customs supervision of any resident external office. A resident external office shall, according to announcements of the competent Customs in Charge and within the prescribed time limit, pull in its entered motor vehicle under supervision to the designated place, and go through formalities for Customs annual examination of its motor vehicle at the competent Customs in Charge upon the strength of the Registration Certificate of Vehicles Supervised, License of Motor Vehicle, and Customs Certificate on Archival Filing. Where such entered motor vehicle has passed the annual examination, the competent Customs in Charge may affix the seal of the annual examination to the Registration Certificate of Vehicles Supervised.

Article 15 Where being longer than four years in service from the date of being released by the Customs, the Customs-supervised motor vehicles of any resident external office may be transferred to other resident external offices or resident foreign persons or sold to any franchising entity according to relevant provisions with the approval by the competent Customs in Charge. And then any transferee's entry quota for motor vehicles shall be deducted accordingly.

Where the transferee of such motor vehicles also enjoys the same right of tax-free entry of motor vehicles, the transferred motor vehicle may be exempted from taxes. And within the remaining period under Customs supervision, the competent Customs in Charge of the transferee may implement follow-up supervision over the transferred motor vehicle.

Article 16 Where any resident external office transfers its entered motor vehicle, the transferee shall submit to the competent Customs in Charge the Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Transfer of Public/Self-Use Vehicles (hereinafter referred to as the Transfer Application Form, see Annex V) and other relevant documents that are confirmed with signatures and signets by both the transferor and the transferee.

The competent Customs in Charge of the transferee may, after making examination and comments on the documents, pass on the Transfer Application Form to the competent Customs in Charge of the transferor. With the approval of the Transfer Application Form by the competent Customs in Charge of the transferor, the transferor shall go through the cancellation of license plate of its motor vehicle with the public security organs in charge of traffic control, upon the strength of the Notice on Receiving/Revoking License Plate issued by its competent Customs in Charge.

The competent Customs in Charge of the transferor may, after conducting the formalities for closing the motor vehicle case, transfer the original archives of the entered motor vehicle and the acknowledging receipt of the Transfer Application Form to the competent Customs in Charge of the transferee.

The transferee shall go through the application for receiving the license plate for the transferred motor vehicle to the public security organs in charge of traffic control, upon the strength of the Notice on Receiving/Revoking License Plate issued by its competent Customs in Charge.

The transferee shall make up to its competent Customs in Charge for any unpaid taxes on the transferred motor vehicle according to law.

Where any resident external office sells its entered motor vehicles under Customs supervision to any franchising entity, the franchising entity shall submit the Transfer Application Form, which has been confirmed with signet by the resident external office, to the competent Customs in Charge of the resident external office.

In case the competent Customs in Charge finds no fault in the Transfer Application Form after examination, the franchising entity shall go through case closing formalities such as cancellation of the license plate of the sold motor vehicle as per the provisions in preceding paragraphs, and make up for any unpaid taxes on such motor vehicles to the competent Customs in Charge according to law.

Article 17 Where the period expires for Customs supervision over such entered motor vehicles, the resident external office shall apply to the competent Customs in Charge for releasing from the supervision upon the strength of the Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Releasing from Supervision over Public/Self-Use Vehicles (See Annex 6), Registration Certificate of Vehicles Supervised, License of Motor Vehicle, and the Customs Certificate on Archival Filing.

After approval of the application, the competent Customs in Charge may issue to the resident external office the Certificate of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Releasing from Supervision for Supervised Vehicles (see Annex 7). Upon the strength of the Certificate, the resident external office may go through relevant formalities with the public security organs in charge of traffic control.

Article 18 Where any motor vehicle within the time-limit of Customs supervision is used to compensate for debts as per any court judgment or is lost or stolen, the original owner of the motor vehicle shall apply to the Customs for going through the release from supervision over the motor vehicle upon the strength of relevant certificates, meanwhile making up for any unpaid taxes according to law.

Article 19 Any resident external office, if having been revoked upon approval, shall go through with its competent Customs in Charge the close of any case of Customs-supervised motor vehicles and other relevant formalities.

Article 20 Where any resident external office fails to go through with the Customs the annual examination of supervised motor vehicles in accordance with the Measures, transfers or sells supervised motor vehicles without Customs approval, or has any other acts of smuggling or violation of Customs supervision provisions, the Customs may punish such resident external office in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and the Detailed Rules for Implementation of the Administrative Penalty under the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China.

Any resident external office, where committing any criminal act, shall be subject to criminal liabilities according to law.

Article 21 The following expressions in the Measures shall assume the following meanings:

1. The "resident external office" shall refer to any resident office established within the territory of China by external enterprises, news agencies, economic and trade organizations, cultural organizations, and other external legal persons upon approval of competent government agencies of the People's Republic of China.

2. The "competent Customs in Charge" shall refer to the Customs directly under the General Administration of Customs of P. R. China or the subordinated Customs authorized by the Customs directly under the General Administration of Customs, at the place where the resident external offices locate.

3. The "public articles" shall refer to office equipments, office articles and motor vehicles that are necessary for any resident external office to carry out its business.

4. The "motor vehicles" shall refer to sedans, off-road vehicles, and small passenger cars with 9 seats or less.

The expression "less than" or "more than" as mentioned in Article 7 of the Measures shall include the figure itself.

Article 22 The Measures are not applicable to the entry and exit of articles by foreign embassies and consulates in China, the United Nations and its special organizations, and other representative offices of any international organizations that have signed relevant agreements with China, all of which shall be otherwise in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 23 The power to interpret the Measures shall remain with the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China.

Article 24 The Measures shall come into force as of August 1, 2004. The regulatory documents listed in Annex 8 to the Measures shall be repealed simultaneously.

Annexes:

1. Customs Certificate of the People's Republic of China on Archival Filing of Resident External Offices (omitted)

2. Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Entry & Exit of Public Articles (omitted)

3. Notice on Receiving/Revoking the License Plates of Entry/Exit Vehicles Supervised by the Customs of the People's Republic of China (omitted)

4. Registration Certificates of Motor Vehicles Supervised by the Customs of the People's Republic of China (omitted)

5. Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Transfer of Public/Self-Use Vehicles (omitted)

6. Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Releasing from Supervision over Public/Self-Use Vehicles (omitted)

7. Certificate of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Releasing from Supervision for Supervised Vehicles (omitted)

8. List of Repealed Documents (omitted)