Customs Law of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on January 22, 1987, revised for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 16th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on July 8, 2000, revised for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending Twelve Laws including the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics adopted at the 3rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on June 29, 2013, and revised for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending Seven Laws including the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Marine Environment adopted at the 6th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on December 28, 2013) The third amendment was made in accordance with the Decision on Amending Twelve Laws Including the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China at the 24th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 7, 2016 The fourth amendment was made in accordance with the Decision on Amending Eleven Laws Including the Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China at the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 4, 2017 The fifth amendment was made in accordance with the Decision on Amending Eight Laws Including the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China at the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on April 29, 2021)

Catalog

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Chapter 2: Inbound and Outbound Transportation Vehicles

Chapter 3: Import and Export Goods

Chapter 4: Inbound and Outbound Items

Chapter 5 Customs Duties

Chapter 6 Customs Affairs Guarantee

Chapter 7 Law Enforcement Supervision

Chapter 8 Legal Liability

Chapter 9 Supplementary Provisions

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1: In order to safeguard national sovereignty and interests, strengthen customs supervision and management, promote foreign economic, trade, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, and ensure socialist modernization construction, this Law is specially formulated.

Article 2: The Customs of the People's Republic of China is the supervisory and management authority for the entry and exit of the country's customs territory (hereinafter referred to as "inbound and outbound"). The customs shall, in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, supervise the import and export of transportation vehicles, goods, luggage, postal items, and other items (hereinafter referred to as "import and export transportation vehicles, goods, and items"), collect tariffs and other taxes and fees, crack down on smuggling, and compile customs statistics and handle other customs business.

Article 3: The State Council shall establish the General Administration of Customs to unify the management of customs throughout the country.

The state establishes customs at ports that are open to the outside world and at locations where customs supervision is concentrated. The subordinate relationship of customs is not limited by administrative divisions.

Customs independently exercises its powers in accordance with the law and is responsible to the General Administration of Customs.

Article 4: The state shall establish a specialized public security agency in the General Administration of Customs to investigate smuggling crimes, equipped with full-time anti smuggling police, responsible for investigating, detaining, executing arrests, and conducting preliminary examinations of smuggling crime cases under its jurisdiction.

Customs investigation of smuggling crimes shall be carried out by public security agencies in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China when performing their duties of investigation, detention, arrest, and preliminary examination.

Customs investigation of smuggling crimes and public security agencies may establish branch offices in accordance with relevant national regulations. Each branch office handling smuggling crime cases under its jurisdiction shall transfer the prosecution to the people's procuratorate with jurisdiction in accordance with the law.

Local public security organs at all levels shall cooperate with customs to investigate smuggling crimes. Public security organs shall perform their duties in accordance with the law.

Article 5: The state implements a joint anti smuggling, unified handling, and comprehensive governance system for anti smuggling. Customs is responsible for organizing, coordinating, and managing the crackdown on smuggling. The relevant regulations shall be formulated separately by the State Council.

Smuggling cases seized by relevant administrative law enforcement departments that should be subject to administrative penalties shall be transferred to the customs for lawful processing; Those suspected of committing crimes shall be transferred to the customs investigation and smuggling crime public security organs and local public security organs for handling according to the division of jurisdiction and legal procedures of the case.

Article 6 Customs may exercise the following powers:

（1） Inspect inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, check inbound and outbound goods and items; Those who violate this law or other relevant laws and administrative regulations may be detained.

（2） Check the documents of inbound and outbound personnel; Inquire about suspects who violate this law or other relevant laws and administrative regulations, and investigate their illegal activities.

（3） Search and copy contracts, invoices, account books, documents, records, files, business correspondence, audio and video recordings, and other materials related to inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, goods, and items; Any inbound or outbound transportation vehicles, goods, or items that violate this law or other relevant laws and administrative regulations may be detained.

（4） Inspect transportation vehicles suspected of smuggling and places suspected of hiding smuggled goods and items in customs supervision areas and coastal border designated areas near customs, and examine the bodies of smuggling suspects; The means of transport, goods and articles suspected of smuggling and the suspect of smuggling may be detained with the approval of the director of the Customs directly under the Central Government or the director of the Customs under the Central Government authorized by him; For suspect of smuggling, the detention time shall not exceed 24 hours, and may be extended to 48 hours under special circumstances.

Outside the customs supervision area and the designated coastal and border areas near the customs, when investigating smuggling cases, the customs may conduct inspections on transportation vehicles suspected of smuggling and places suspected of hiding smuggled goods and items other than citizens' residences, with the approval of the directly affiliated customs chief or its authorized subordinate customs chief, and the relevant parties shall be present; If the parties are not present, the inspection can be conducted directly in the presence of witnesses; Transport vehicles, goods, and items with evidence of suspected smuggling can be detained.

The scope of the designated coastal and border areas near the customs shall be determined by the General Administration of Customs and the public security department of the State Council in conjunction with relevant provincial people's governments.

（5） When investigating smuggling cases, with the approval of the directly affiliated customs chief or the authorized subordinate customs chief, it is possible to inquire about the deposits and remittances of suspected units and individuals in financial institutions and postal enterprises.

（6） If an inbound or outbound transportation vehicle or individual violates customs supervision and escapes, the customs may continue to pursue them outside the customs supervision area and the designated coastal and border areas near the customs, and bring them back for processing.

（7） Customs may equip weapons to fulfill their duties. The rules for customs personnel to wear and use weapons shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs in conjunction with the public security department of the State Council and submitted to the State Council for approval.

（8） Other powers prescribed by laws and administrative regulations to be exercised by customs.

Article 7: All localities and departments shall support the customs in exercising their powers in accordance with the law and shall not illegally interfere with the customs' law enforcement activities.

Article 8: Inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, goods, and articles must enter or exit through the location where the customs is established. In special circumstances, if it is necessary to temporarily enter or exit through a location without a customs office, approval must be obtained from the State Council or an agency authorized by the State Council, and customs procedures must be handled in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Article 9: Unless otherwise specified, import and export goods may be declared and taxed by the consignee or consignor themselves, or by a customs declaration enterprise commissioned by the consignee or consignor.

The owner of inbound and outbound goods can handle customs declaration and tax payment procedures themselves, or entrust others to handle customs declaration and tax payment procedures.

Article 10: If a customs declaration enterprise accepts the commission of the consignee or consignor of import and export goods to handle customs declaration procedures in the name of the principal, it shall submit an authorization letter signed by the principal to the customs and comply with the various provisions of this Law on the principal.

If a customs clearance enterprise accepts the commission of the consignee or consignor of import and export goods to handle customs clearance procedures in its own name, it shall bear the same legal responsibility as the consignee or consignor.

If the principal entrusts the customs declaration enterprise to handle the customs declaration procedures, they shall provide the customs declaration enterprise with the true situation of the entrusted customs declaration matters; If the customs declaration enterprise accepts the commission of the principal to handle the customs declaration procedures, it shall conduct a reasonable examination of the authenticity of the information provided by the principal.

Article 11: The consignee and consignor of import and export goods, as well as the customs declaration enterprise, shall handle the customs declaration procedures in accordance with the law and file a record with the customs.

Customs declaration enterprises and personnel shall not illegally act as agents for others to declare customs.

Article 12: When the customs performs its duties in accordance with the law, relevant units and individuals shall truthfully answer inquiries and cooperate, and no unit or individual shall obstruct.

When the customs are subjected to violent resistance while performing their duties, the public security organs and the People's Armed Police Force responsible for carrying out the relevant tasks shall provide assistance.

Article 13: Customs shall establish a reporting system for acts that violate the provisions of this Law and evade customs supervision.

Any unit or individual has the right to report any behavior that violates the provisions of this law and evades customs supervision.

The customs shall provide spiritual or material rewards to units and individuals who report or assist in the discovery of cases violating this law.

Customs should keep the informant confidential.

Chapter 2: Inbound and Outbound Transportation Vehicles

Article 14: When an inbound or outbound transportation vehicle arrives at or departs from a place where a customs office is established, the person in charge of the transportation vehicle shall truthfully declare to the customs, submit documents for inspection, and accept customs supervision and inspection.

Entry and exit transportation vehicles that stay at the location where the customs are established shall not leave without the consent of the customs.

If an inbound or outbound transportation vehicle travels from a location with a customs office to another location with a customs office, it shall comply with the requirements of customs supervision and complete customs procedures. If the customs procedures have not been completed, it shall not be diverted overseas.

Article 15: Before declaring to the customs after entering the country and before leaving the country after completing customs procedures, inbound transportation vehicles shall follow the route prescribed by the transportation authority; If there is no regulation from the transportation authority, it shall be designated by the customs.

Article 16: The person in charge of the transportation vehicle or relevant transportation department shall notify the customs in advance of the arrival and departure time, place of stay, change of place during stay, and loading and unloading time of inbound and outbound ships, trains, and aircraft.

Article 17: Transport vehicles shall accept customs supervision when loading and unloading inbound and outbound goods and articles, or boarding and disembarking inbound and outbound passengers.

After the loading and unloading of goods and items is completed, the person in charge of the transportation vehicle shall submit the handover documents and records reflecting the actual loading and unloading situation to the customs.

Personnel carrying items on inbound and outbound transportation vehicles shall truthfully declare to the customs and accept customs inspection.

Article 18: When the customs inspects inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, the person in charge of the transportation vehicle shall be present and open the compartments, rooms, and doors as required by the customs; If there is suspicion of smuggling, the parts where smuggled goods or items may be hidden should be opened and the goods or materials should be moved.

Customs may dispatch personnel to perform duties with transportation vehicles according to work needs, and the person in charge of the transportation vehicle shall provide convenience.

Article 19: Overseas transportation vehicles entering the country and domestic transportation vehicles exiting the country shall not be transferred or used for other purposes without completing customs procedures and paying customs duties.

Article 20: Entry and exit vessels and aircraft engaged in domestic passenger and cargo transportation shall comply with customs supervision requirements.

If the inbound and outbound transportation vehicles are converted to domestic transportation, they need to go through the procedures with the customs.

Article 21 Coastal transport vessels, fishing boats, and special vessels engaged in maritime operations shall not carry, exchange, buy, sell, or transfer inbound and outbound goods and articles without the consent of the customs.

Article 22: If an inbound or outbound vessel or aircraft is forced to anchor, land, throw, or unload goods or items at a location without a customs office due to force majeure, the person in charge of the transportation vehicle shall immediately report to the nearby customs.

Chapter 3: Import and Export Goods

Article 23: Imported goods shall be subject to customs supervision from the time of entry until the completion of customs procedures, exported goods from the time of declaration to customs until the time of exit, and transit, transshipment, and through goods from the time of entry until the time of exit.

Article 24: The consignee of imported goods and the consignor of exported goods shall truthfully declare to the customs and submit for inspection the import and export license and relevant documents. Goods restricted by the state from import and export without import and export permits shall not be released, and the specific handling measures shall be formulated by the State Council.

The consignee of imported goods shall declare to the customs within 14 days from the date of entry of the transportation vehicle, and the shipper of exported goods shall declare to the customs 24 hours before the goods arrive at the customs supervision area and are loaded, unless otherwise authorized by the customs.

If the consignee of imported goods declares to the customs beyond the time limit specified in the preceding paragraph, the customs shall levy a late declaration fee.

Article 25: Customs declaration procedures for import and export goods shall be carried out in the form of paper declaration forms and electronic data declaration forms.

Article 26: After the customs accepts the declaration, the customs declaration documents and their contents shall not be modified or revoked, except for those that comply with customs regulations.

Article 27: The consignee of imported goods, with the consent of the customs, may inspect the goods or extract samples before declaration. Goods that require legal quarantine shall be sampled after passing the quarantine inspection.

Article 28 Import and export goods shall be subject to customs inspection. When customs inspects goods, the consignee of imported goods and the shipper of exported goods shall be present and responsible for moving the goods, opening and resealing the packaging of the goods. When deemed necessary, the customs may conduct inspections, re inspections, or extract samples of the goods directly.

Customs may exempt imported and exported goods from inspection in special circumstances, and the specific measures shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs.

Article 29: Except for those specially approved by the customs, import and export goods shall be released by the customs after the consignee and consignor have paid the taxes or provided guarantees.

Article 30: If the consignee of imported goods fails to declare to the customs within three months from the date of declaration of the means of transport for entry, the imported goods shall be extracted and sold by the customs in accordance with the law. If there is still a balance after deducting transportation, loading and unloading, storage and other expenses and taxes, it shall be refunded within one year from the date of lawful sale of the goods upon the consignee's application; If there are restrictive regulations on imports imposed by the state and a permit cannot be provided, it will not be returned. If no one applies or refuses to return within the deadline, it shall be turned over to the national treasury.

For imported goods that are indeed mistakenly or over unloaded, after customs approval, the person in charge of the original transportation vehicle or the consignee or consignor of the goods shall handle the return or import procedures within three months from the date of unloading of the transportation vehicle; If necessary, with the approval of the customs, an extension of three months can be granted. Those who fail to complete the procedures within the prescribed time limit shall be dealt with by the customs in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If the goods listed in the first two paragraphs are not suitable for long-term storage, the customs may handle them in advance according to the actual situation.

Imported goods declared abandoned by the consignee or the owner of the goods shall be extracted and sold by the customs in accordance with the law; After deducting transportation, loading and unloading, storage and other expenses, the proceeds shall be turned over to the national treasury.

Article 31: Goods temporarily imported or exported in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, or the regulations of the State Council or the General Administration of Customs shall be re exported or re imported within six months; If it is necessary to extend the deadline for re shipment out of or into the country, the extension procedures shall be handled in accordance with the regulations of the General Administration of Customs.

Article 32: The storage, processing, assembly, display, transportation, consignment business of bonded goods and the operation of duty-free shops shall comply with customs supervision requirements, be approved by customs, and complete registration procedures.

The transfer, transfer, and entry/exit of bonded goods into and out of bonded areas shall go through relevant procedures with the customs and be subject to customs supervision and inspection.

Article 33: Enterprises engaged in processing trade shall register with the Customs in accordance with the regulations of the General Administration of Customs. The unit material consumption of processed trade products shall be determined by the customs in accordance with relevant regulations.

The finished products of processing trade shall be re exported within the prescribed time limit. The imported materials used, which are allowed to be bonded according to national regulations, shall go through verification procedures with the customs; For those who are subject to pre tax collection, they shall handle the tax refund procedures with the customs in accordance with the law.

For bonded imported materials or finished products for domestic sales in processing trade, the customs shall levy taxes on the bonded imported materials in accordance with the law; If there are restrictive regulations on imports imposed by the state, import permits should also be submitted to the customs.

Article 34: Customs special supervision areas such as bonded zones established within the territory of the People's Republic of China with the approval of the State Council shall be supervised by the customs in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Article 35: Imported goods shall be handled by the consignee at the customs at the place of entry, while exported goods shall be handled by the shipper at the customs at the place of exit.

Upon application by the consignee or consignor and approval by the customs, the consignee of imported goods may handle customs procedures at the designated place of shipment with customs, while the consignor of exported goods may handle customs procedures at the place of departure with customs. The transit transportation of the above-mentioned goods shall comply with the requirements of customs supervision; When necessary, the customs can send personnel to escort the shipment.

For goods transported in and out of the country through cables, pipelines, or other special means, the operating unit shall regularly declare and handle customs procedures with the designated customs.

Article 36: For transit, transshipment, and through goods, the person in charge of the transportation vehicle shall truthfully declare to the customs at the place of entry and shall transport them out of the country within the prescribed time limit.

Customs may inspect transit, transshipment, and through goods when deemed necessary.

Article 37: Customs supervised goods shall not be opened, extracted, delivered, shipped, exchanged, modified, mortgaged, pledged, detained, transferred, marked, repurposed or otherwise disposed of without Customs permission.

The seal imposed by the customs shall not be opened or damaged by anyone without authorization.

If the people's court makes a judgment, ruling or the relevant administrative law enforcement department decides to handle customs supervised goods, the parties shall be ordered to complete customs procedures.

Article 38 Enterprises engaged in the storage of goods under customs supervision shall register with the customs and handle the procedures for receipt and delivery in accordance with customs regulations.

Storing customs supervised goods outside the customs supervision area shall be subject to customs approval and supervision.

If the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs are violated or if the goods under customs supervision are damaged or lost during the period of custody, except for force majeure, the person responsible for the custody of the goods under customs supervision shall bear corresponding tax obligations and legal responsibilities.

Article 39: The supervision measures for inbound and outbound containers, salvage of inbound and outbound goods and sunken ships, supervision measures for small-scale border trade import and export goods, as well as supervision measures for other inbound and outbound goods not specifically listed in this Law, shall be formulated separately by the General Administration of Customs or by the General Administration of Customs in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council.

Article 40: If the state has prohibitive or restrictive regulations on the import and export of goods and articles, the customs shall implement supervision in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, provisions of the State Council, or provisions authorized by relevant departments of the State Council in accordance with laws and administrative regulations. The specific regulatory measures shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs.

Article 41: The origin of imported and exported goods shall be determined in accordance with the relevant rules of origin of the state.

Article 42: The classification of imported and exported goods shall be determined in accordance with the relevant national regulations on commodity classification.

Customs may require the consignee and consignor of imported and exported goods to provide relevant information required to determine the classification of the goods; When necessary, the customs may organize laboratory tests and inspections, and use the results recognized by the customs as the basis for classifying goods.

Article 43: Customs may make administrative rulings such as commodity classification in advance for goods intended for import or export based on written applications submitted by foreign trade operators.

The same administrative ruling on commodity classification shall apply to the import or export of the same goods.

The administrative rulings made by the customs on the classification of goods shall be made public.

Article 44: Customs shall protect intellectual property rights related to inbound and outbound goods in accordance with laws and administrative regulations.

If it is necessary to declare the intellectual property status to the customs, the consignee and consignor of import and export goods and their agents shall truthfully declare the relevant intellectual property status to the customs in accordance with national regulations, and submit proof of legal use of the relevant intellectual property.

Article 45: Within three years from the date of release of import and export goods, or within the customs supervision period of bonded goods or imported goods subject to tax reduction or exemption, and within three years thereafter, the customs may conduct inspections on the accounting books, accounting vouchers, customs declaration certificates, and other relevant materials and related import and export goods of enterprises and units directly related to the import and export goods. The specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council.

Chapter 4: Inbound and Outbound Items

Article 46: Personal luggage and items carried in and out of the country, as well as items mailed in and out of the country, shall be limited to personal use, reasonable quantities, and subject to customs supervision.

Article 47: The owner of inbound and outbound goods shall truthfully declare to the customs and accept customs inspection.

The seal imposed by the customs shall not be opened or damaged by anyone without authorization.

Article 48: The loading, unloading, transportation, and transit of inbound and outbound mail bags shall be subject to customs supervision. Postal enterprises shall submit mail waybills to the customs.

Postal enterprises shall notify the customs in advance of the time of opening and sealing international mail bags, and the customs shall dispatch personnel to supervise and inspect on time.

Article 49: Items transported by mail into or out of the country must be inspected and released by the customs before the relevant business units can deliver or deliver them.

Article 50: Articles registered with the customs for temporary duty-free entry or temporary duty-free exit shall be re brought out or into the country by the individual.

Transit personnel are not allowed to leave their belongings within the country without customs approval.

Article 51: Items declared abandoned by the owner of inbound and outbound items, items that have not gone through customs procedures within the prescribed time limit or are unclaimed by the customs, and inbound postal items that cannot be delivered or returned shall be handled by the customs in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of this Law.

Article 52: The entry and exit of official or personal items of foreign institutions or personnel who enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities shall be handled in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Chapter 5 Customs Duties

Article 53: Goods allowed for import and export, as well as inbound and outbound items, shall be subject to customs duties in accordance with the law.

Article 54: The consignee of imported goods, the shipper of exported goods, and the owner of imported and exported goods are the taxpayers of customs duties.

Article 55: The dutiable value of imported and exported goods shall be determined by the customs based on the transaction price of the goods. When the transaction price cannot be determined, the dutiable value shall be assessed by the customs in accordance with the law.

The dutiable value of imported goods includes the value of the goods, transportation and related expenses before unloading at the place of import within the territory of the People's Republic of China, and insurance premiums; The dutiable value of exported goods includes the value of the goods, transportation and related expenses before loading at the export location within the territory of the People's Republic of China, and insurance premiums. However, the export tariff included in it should be deducted.

The dutiable value of imported and exported goods shall be determined by the customs in accordance with the law.

Article 56: The following import and export goods, as well as inbound and outbound items, shall be subject to reduced or exempted tariffs:

（1） Advertisements and samples without commercial value;

（2） Materials donated by foreign governments and international organizations without compensation;

（3） Goods that are damaged or lost before customs clearance;

（4） Items within the specified amount;

（5） Other goods and items that are subject to tariff reduction or exemption as stipulated by law;

（6） Goods and articles subject to tariff reduction or exemption as stipulated in international treaties concluded or participated in by the People's Republic of China.

Article 57: Import and export goods from specific regions, specific enterprises, or with specific purposes may have reduced or exempted tariffs. The scope and methods of specific tax reductions or exemptions shall be stipulated by the State Council.

Goods imported with reduced or exempted tariffs in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph can only be used for specific regions, specific enterprises, or specific purposes. Without customs approval and payment of tariffs, they cannot be used for other purposes.

Article 58: Temporary reduction or exemption of tariffs outside the scope specified in Article 56 and the first paragraph of Article 57 of this Law shall be decided by the State Council.

Article 59: Goods temporarily imported or exported, as well as bonded goods specially approved for import, are allowed to be temporarily exempt from customs duties after the consignee or consignor pays a deposit equivalent to the tax or provides a guarantee to the customs.

Article 60 The taxpayer of imported and exported goods shall pay the tax within 15 days from the date of issuance of the tax payment certificate by the customs; If the payment is overdue, the customs will levy a late fee. If the taxpayer or guarantor fails to pay within three months, the customs may take the following compulsory measures with the approval of the directly affiliated customs director or the authorized subordinate customs director:

（1） Notify in writing the bank or other financial institution where the account is opened to withhold taxes from its deposits;

（2） Sell taxable goods in accordance with the law and use the proceeds from the sale to offset tax payments;

（3） Retain and lawfully sell goods or other property whose value is equivalent to the tax payable, and use the proceeds from the sale to offset the tax payment.

When the customs takes compulsory measures, they shall also enforce the late fees that have not been paid by the taxpayers and guarantors listed in the preceding paragraph.

The taxpayer of imported and exported goods shall pay the tax before the release of the goods.

Article 61: If the taxpayer of imported or exported goods shows obvious signs of transferring or hiding their taxable goods or other property within the prescribed tax payment period, the customs may order the taxpayer to provide a guarantee; If the taxpayer is unable to provide tax payment guarantee, with the approval of the directly affiliated customs chief or the authorized subordinate customs chief, the customs may take the following tax preservation measures:

（1） Notify the taxpayer in writing to suspend payment of the taxpayer's deposit equivalent to the tax payable to the bank or other financial institution where the taxpayer has opened an account;

（2） Retain goods or other property of the taxpayer with a value equivalent to the tax payable.

If the taxpayer pays the tax within the prescribed tax payment period, the customs must immediately lift the tax preservation measures; If the taxpayer fails to pay the tax upon the expiration of the deadline, with the approval of the directly affiliated customs chief or the authorized subordinate customs chief, the customs may notify the taxpayer in writing to deduct the tax from the suspended deposit or sell the detained goods or other property in accordance with the law, and offset the tax with the proceeds from the sale.

If improper tax preservation measures are taken, or if the taxpayer has already paid the tax within the prescribed time limit and the customs fails to immediately lift the tax preservation measures, resulting in losses to the legitimate rights and interests of the taxpayer, the customs shall bear compensation liability in accordance with the law.

Article 62: If the customs discovers that the import and export goods or inbound and outbound items have been released, and the tax has been underpaid or omitted, the customs shall, within one year from the date of payment of the tax or release of the goods or items, make up for the tax payable to the taxpayer. If the taxpayer violates regulations and causes underpayment or omission of taxes, the customs may pursue the collection within three years.

Article 63: Customs shall immediately refund any overpaid taxes upon discovery; Taxpayers may request a refund from customs within one year from the date of payment of taxes.

Article 64: In the event of a tax dispute between the taxpayer and the customs, the taxpayer shall pay the tax and may apply for administrative reconsideration in accordance with the law; If the party is still dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision, they may file a lawsuit with the people's court in accordance with the law.

Article 65: The collection and management of customs duties in the import process shall be subject to the provisions of tariff collection and management.

Chapter 6 Customs Affairs Guarantee

Article 66: If the consignee or consignor requests the release of the goods before determining the commodity classification, valuation, and providing valid customs declaration documents or completing other customs procedures, the customs shall release the goods after providing a guarantee that is appropriate to the legal obligations it should fulfill according to law. Except for those that can be exempted from guarantee according to laws and administrative regulations.

If there are other provisions in laws and administrative regulations regarding the guarantee of fulfilling customs obligations, such provisions shall prevail.

If the state has restrictive regulations on the import and export of goods and items, and permits should be provided but cannot be provided, as well as other situations where guarantees are not allowed according to laws and administrative regulations, the customs shall not handle guarantee release.

Article 67: Legal persons, other organizations, or citizens who have the ability to provide guarantees for customs affairs may become guarantors. Except for those who are not allowed by law to act as guarantors.

Article 68: The guarantor may provide guarantees for the following assets and rights:

（1） Renminbi, freely convertible currency;

（2） Bills of exchange, promissory notes, cheques, bonds, and certificates of deposit;

（3） Bank or non bank financial institution guarantees;

（4） Other property and rights recognized by customs in accordance with the law.

Article 69: The guarantor shall assume the guarantee responsibility within the guarantee period. If the guarantor fulfills the guarantee responsibility, it does not exempt the guarantor from the obligation to handle relevant customs procedures.

Article 70: The Measures for the Administration of Customs Affairs Guarantees shall be formulated by the State Council.

Chapter 7 Law Enforcement Supervision

Article 71: Customs must comply with the law, safeguard national interests, strictly enforce the law in accordance with their statutory powers and procedures, and accept supervision when performing their duties.

Article 72 Customs staff must enforce the law impartially, be honest and self disciplined, be loyal to their duties, provide civilized services, and shall not engage in the following behaviors:

（1） Cover up, condone smuggling, or collude with others to engage in smuggling;

（2） Illegally restricting the personal freedom of others, illegally inspecting the body, residence, or place of others, illegally inspecting or detaining inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, goods, and items;

（3） Using one's authority to seek personal gain for oneself or others;

（4） Soliciting or accepting bribes;

（5） Disclosing state secrets, trade secrets, and customs work secrets;

（6） Abuse of power, intentionally making things difficult, delaying supervision and inspection;

（7） Purchase, privately distribute, or occupy confiscated smuggled goods and items;

（8） Participate or indirectly participate in for-profit business activities;

（9） Violating legal procedures or exceeding authority to perform duties;

（10） Other illegal activities.

Article 73 Customs shall strengthen the construction of its team according to the needs of performing its duties in accordance with the law, so that customs staff have good political and professional qualities.

Customs professionals should possess legal and relevant professional knowledge, and meet the professional job requirements stipulated by the customs.

Customs recruitment of staff shall be conducted in accordance with national regulations, through public examinations, strict assessments, and selective recruitment.

Customs should provide planned training and assessment on political ideology, legal system, and customs business for its staff. Customs staff must receive regular training and assessment. Those who fail the assessment shall not continue to perform their duties.

Article 74: The General Administration of Customs shall implement a regular exchange system between customs chiefs.

The Chief of Customs shall regularly report his/her duties to the higher-level Customs and truthfully state his/her performance of duties. The General Administration of Customs shall conduct regular assessments of the directly affiliated customs officers, and the directly affiliated customs shall conduct regular assessments of the subordinate customs officers.

Article 75: The administrative law enforcement activities of the customs and its staff shall be subject to supervision by the supervisory authorities in accordance with the law; The anti smuggling police conduct investigative activities and accept supervision from the People's Procuratorate in accordance with the law.

Article 76: Audit institutions shall, in accordance with the law, conduct audit supervision on the financial revenue and expenditure of customs, and have the right to conduct special audit investigations on matters related to national financial revenue and expenditure handled by customs.

Article 77: The higher-level customs shall supervise the law enforcement activities of the lower level customs in accordance with the law. If the higher-level customs deems that the handling or decision made by the lower level customs is inappropriate, it may be changed or revoked in accordance with the law.

Article 78 Customs shall establish and improve an internal supervision system in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, and conduct supervision and inspection on the implementation of laws, administrative regulations and compliance with discipline by its staff.

Article 79: The responsibilities and authorities of the main positions responsible for document review, inspection, release, inspection, and investigation within the customs shall be clearly defined, separated, and mutually constrained.

Article 80: Any unit or individual has the right to accuse or report any illegal or disciplinary violations committed by the customs and its staff. If the authority receiving the accusation or report has the right to handle it, it shall investigate and deal with it in a timely manner according to its division of responsibilities in accordance with the law. The authorities receiving complaints and reports, as well as the authorities responsible for investigating and dealing with them, shall keep confidential the complainants and informants.

Article 81: Customs officers shall recuse themselves from investigating and handling illegal cases if they encounter any of the following situations:

（1） Is a party to this case or a close relative of a party;

（2） I or my close relatives have an interest in this case;

（3） Having other relationships with the parties involved in this case that may affect the fair handling of the case.

Chapter 8 Legal Liability

Article 82: Anyone who violates this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations, evades customs supervision, evades tax payments, or evades national prohibitions or restrictive management on entry and exit, and falls under any of the following circumstances, is considered a smuggling act:

（1） Transporting, carrying, or mailing goods or items prohibited or restricted by the state from entering or leaving the country, or goods or items that are subject to tax payment according to law;

（2） Selling bonded goods, specific tax exempt goods, and other customs supervised goods, items, and imported overseas transportation vehicles within the territory without the permission of the customs and without paying the applicable taxes or submitting relevant permits for inspection;

（3） Other acts that evade customs supervision and constitute smuggling.

If any of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph do not constitute a crime, the customs shall confiscate smuggled goods, items, and illegal gains, and may impose a fine; Goods and items specifically or repeatedly used to cover up smuggling, transportation vehicles specifically or repeatedly used for smuggling, shall be confiscated. Special equipment used to conceal smuggled goods and items shall be ordered to be dismantled or confiscated.

If one of the acts listed in the first paragraph constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

Article 83: Anyone who commits any of the following acts shall be punished as a smuggling act and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 82 of this Law:

（1） Directly purchasing smuggled imported goods and items from private individuals;

（2） In the inland waters, territorial waters, boundary rivers, and boundary lakes, ships and their passengers transport, purchase, or sell goods and items prohibited or restricted by the state from entering or leaving the country, or transport, purchase, or sell goods that should be taxed according to law without legal proof.

Article 84: Whoever forges, alters, buys or sells customs documents, colludes with smugglers to provide loans, funds, accounts, invoices, certificates, customs documents to smugglers, or colludes with smugglers to provide transportation, storage, mailing or other convenience to smugglers, shall be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law; If it does not constitute a crime, the customs shall confiscate the illegal gains and impose a fine.

Article 85: If an individual carries or mails more than a reasonable amount of personal use items into or out of the country without declaring them to the customs in accordance with the law, they shall be ordered to pay the customs duties and may be fined.

Article 86: Anyone who violates the provisions of this Law by committing any of the following acts may be fined, and any illegal gains shall be confiscated:

（1） Transportation vehicles entering or leaving the country without passing through a designated customs location;

（2） Not informing the customs of the arrival time, stopping location, or changing location of the inbound and outbound transportation vehicles;

（3） The declaration of import and export goods, items, or transit, transshipment, or through goods to the customs is false;

（4） Not accepting customs inspections and checks on inbound and outbound transportation vehicles, goods, and items in accordance with regulations;

（5） Unauthorized loading and unloading of inbound and outbound goods or items, or boarding and disembarking of inbound and outbound passengers by inbound and outbound transportation vehicles without the consent of the customs;

（6） The inbound and outbound transportation vehicles that stay at the location where the customs are established leave without the consent of the customs;

（7） An inbound or outbound transportation vehicle that travels from a location with a customs office to another location with a customs office, without completing customs procedures and obtaining customs approval, and without authorization, changes its route to a location outside or within the country without a customs office;

（8） Import and export transportation vehicles that do not meet customs supervision requirements or have not gone through customs procedures, and operate or change domestic transportation without authorization;

（9） Due to force majeure, inbound and outbound vessels and aircraft are forced to anchor, land, or throw or unload goods or items within the territory at locations without customs, without justifiable reasons, and fail to report to nearby customs;

（10） Without the permission of the customs, opening, extracting, delivering, shipping, exchanging, modifying, mortgaging, pledging, retaining, transferring, replacing marks, using for other purposes or disposing of goods under customs supervision;

（11） Unauthorized opening or damaging of customs seals;

（12） Engaging in the transportation, storage, processing, and other business of goods under customs supervision, where the goods are lost or the relevant records are untrue and cannot provide justifiable reasons;

（13） Other behaviors that violate customs supervision regulations.

Article 87: If an enterprise allowed by the customs to engage in relevant business violates the relevant provisions of this Law, the customs shall order it to make corrections, give a warning, suspend its relevant business, or even revoke its registration.

Article 88: Those who engage in customs declaration business without filing with the customs may be fined by the customs.

Article 89: If a customs declaration enterprise illegally acts as an agent for others to declare customs, the customs shall order it to rectify and impose a fine; Those with serious circumstances are prohibited from engaging in customs declaration activities.

Customs clearance personnel who illegally act as agents for others to declare customs shall be ordered by the customs to rectify and fined.

Article 90: If the consignee or consignor of import and export goods or the customs declaration enterprise bribes the customs staff, the customs shall prohibit them from engaging in customs declaration activities and impose a fine; Those who commit crimes shall be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law.

Customs declaration personnel who bribe customs staff shall be fined; Those who commit crimes shall be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law.

Article 91: If the import or export of goods violates the provisions of this Law and infringes upon the intellectual property rights protected by the laws and administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China, the customs shall confiscate the infringing goods in accordance with the law and impose a fine; Those who commit crimes shall be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law.

Article 92: Goods, articles, and transportation vehicles detained by the customs in accordance with the law shall not be dealt with before the judgment of the people's court or the decision of the customs on punishment is made. However, dangerous goods or goods, items that are not suitable for long-term storage such as fresh, perishable, and easily expired goods, as well as goods, items, and transportation vehicles that the owner applies to sell in advance, may be sold in accordance with the law with the approval of the directly affiliated customs director or the authorized subordinate customs director. The proceeds from the sale shall be kept by the customs and the owner shall be notified.

The smuggled goods, items, illegal gains, smuggled transportation vehicles, and specially designed equipment confiscated by the people's court or the customs shall be uniformly handled by the customs in accordance with the law. The proceeds and fines imposed by the customs shall be all turned over to the central treasury.

Article 93: If a party fails to comply with the customs penalty decision within the prescribed time limit and does not apply for reconsideration or file a lawsuit with the people's court, the customs that made the penalty decision may offset its security deposit or transfer the detained goods, items, or transportation vehicles to a lower price in accordance with the law, or apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement.

Article 94: If the customs damages the inspected goods or items during the inspection of inbound and outbound goods or items, they shall compensate for the actual losses.

Article 95: If the customs illegally detain goods, items, or transportation vehicles, resulting in losses to the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved, they shall bear compensation liability in accordance with the law.

Article 96: Customs personnel who commit any of the acts listed in Article 72 of this Law shall be subject to administrative sanctions in accordance with the law; If there are illegal gains, they shall be confiscated in accordance with the law; Those who commit crimes shall be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law.

Article 97: If the financial revenue and expenditure of the customs violate the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, the auditing authority and relevant departments shall handle it in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations; Directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be subject to administrative sanctions in accordance with the law; Those who commit crimes shall be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law.

Article 98: If the complainant, informant, or informant fails to keep confidential in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be subject to administrative sanctions by their respective units or relevant units in accordance with the law.

Article 99: If customs officials fail to recuse themselves in accordance with the provisions of this Law during the investigation and handling of illegal cases, the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be subject to administrative sanctions in accordance with the law.

Chapter 9 Supplementary Provisions

Article 100: The meanings of the following terms in this Law:

Directly affiliated customs refer to customs directly under the leadership of the General Administration of Customs, responsible for managing customs business within a certain area; Subordinate customs refers to the customs directly under the leadership of the customs, responsible for handling specific customs business.

Inbound and outbound transportation vehicles refer to various types of ships, vehicles, aircraft, and pack animals used to transport personnel, goods, and articles into and out of the country.

Transit, transshipment, and through goods refer to goods that are shipped from overseas and continue to be transported through China to overseas. Among them, goods transported by land within the country are called transit goods; If the transportation vehicle is changed at the location where the customs is established within the territory, instead of being transported by land within the territory, it is called transshipment goods; Goods transported into the country by ships or aircraft and exported by original transport vehicles are called through cargo.

Customs supervised goods refer to the import and export goods listed in Article 23 of this Law, transit, transshipment, and through goods, specific tax exempt goods, as well as temporary import and export goods, bonded goods, and other inbound and outbound goods that have not yet completed customs procedures.

Bonded goods refer to goods that have been approved by customs to enter the country without completing tax procedures, and are stored, processed, and assembled within the country before being transported out of the country.

Customs supervision zone refers to ports, stations, airports, border crossings, international mail exchange bureaus (exchange stations), and other places with customs supervision business that have established customs, as well as entry and exit locations approved by the State Council even though no customs have been established.

Article 101: The supervision measures for transportation vehicles, goods, and articles exchanged between specific areas such as special economic zones and other areas within the country shall be separately formulated by the State Council.

Article 102: This Law shall come into effect on July 1, 1987. The Provisional Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, promulgated by the Central People's Government on April 18, 1951, was simultaneously abolished.