海关总署第44号令
（attached with the first revision of the Rules for the Implementation of Administrative Punishments under the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China）
颁布日期：19930401 　实施日期：19930401 　颁布单位：国务院

（February 17， 1993）

Official Reply

The State Council hereby approves the following amendment and supplement to the Rules for the Implementation of Administrative Punishments under the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China， according to the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China， Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Duties and the recent years' Customs practice：

1. Adding one item to Article 3， as item 3： to evade payment of customs duties by incomplete or fraudulent declaration of the price for the import or export goods.

2. Adding one item to Article 5， as item 3： The Customs shall confiscate the illegal incomes obtained from evading payment of customs duties by incomplete or fraudulent declaration of the price for the import or export goods， and may impose a fine three times the amount of duties evaded.

3. Item 5 in Article 11 shall be amended as follows： to make untruthful declaration of import or export goods for its name， quantity， standard， price， origin of production， trade manner， country of consumption， country of trading or other items which should be declared.

The subsequence of items in the above articles will be adjusted accordingly.

The Rules for the Implementation of Administrative Punishments under the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China shall be amended according to this official reply， and shall be promulgated and implemented by your Administration.

RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PUNISHMENTS UNDER THE CUSTOMS LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

（Approved by the State Council on June 30， 1987， promulgated by the General Administration of Customs on July 1， 1987， amended with the approval of the State Council on February 17， 1993 and promulgated by Decree No. 44 of the General Administration of Customs on April 1， 1993）

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Rules are formulated with a view to implementing the provision legal responsibilities under the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China （hereinafter referred to as the Customs Law） in accordance with Article 60 of the Customs Law.

Article 2 These Rules shall be applied to acts which do not constitute the crimes of smuggling， to acts which constitute the crimes of smuggling but exempted from prosecution or punishment by law， and to acts which violate provisions concerning Customs supervision and control.

Chapter II Smuggling Acts and their Punishments

Article 3 Any of the following acts shall be regarded as an act of smuggling：

1. without the approval of the State Council or the department empowered by the State Council， to transport or to carry articles prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the territory， and goods and articles restricted by the State in importation or exportation， or legally liable to Customs duties， into or out of the territory at a port where there is no Customs establishment；

2. to transport， carry or send by post articles prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the territory， and goods and articles restricted by the State in importation or exportation or legally liable to Customs duties， into or out of the territory at a port where there is a Customs establishment， by concealment， disguise， incomplete or fraudulent declaration or other means aiming at evading Customs supervision and control；

3. to evade payment of customs duties by incomplete or fraudulent declaration of the price for the import or export goods；

4. to sell without Customs approval and payment of Customs duties specially permitted bonded goods， other goods under Customs control or inward means of transport which are meant to be used outside the territory；

5. to sell without Customs approval and payment of Customs duties goods enjoying specially granted duty reduction or exemption imported for use by designated enterprises or for specified purposes， or to transport without authorization goods enjoying specially granted duty reduction or exemption from the designated areas， where they are intended for use， to other places of China.

Article 4 Any of the following acts shall be regarded and punished as an act of smuggling：

1. to purchase smuggled import goods and articles illegally and directly from the smuggler；

2. to transport， purchase or sell articles prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the territory or to transport， purchase or sell without legal certificates the goods or articles restricted by the State in importation and exportation， on inland sea or territorial waters.

Article 5 Any act listed in Article 3 and Article 4 of these Rules shall be punished in accordance with the following provisions：

1. The Customs shall confiscate the smuggled articles which are prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the territory and the illegal incomes obtained therefrom， and may impose a fine below 50，000 yuan in RMB at the same time.

2. The Customs shall confiscate the smuggled goods and articles which are restricted by the State in importation or exportation and the illegal incomes obtained therefrom， and may， at the same time， impose a fine below the value of the smuggled goods or articles， or below three times the amount of duties leviable：

3. The Customs shall confiscate the illegal incomes obtained form evading payment of customs duties by incomplete or fraudulent declaration of the price for the import or export goods， and may impose a fine three times the amount of duties evaded.

4. The Customs shall confiscate the goods or the articles used specially to cover up smuggling and confiscate or order the dissembling of specially designed equipment for the concealment of the smuggled goods and articles.

In case the smuggled goods or the articles are not confiscable， the Customs shall order the payment of an amount of money equal to the value of the smuggled goods or articles.

Article 6 Where a smuggling act is done by two or more persons， they shall be punished respectively according to the extent of their involvement and their respective responsibilities.

Confiscation of illegal goods incomes shall be imposed on those who do not report the case they know and provide facilities to the smuggler， and a fine below twice the illegal incomes may be imposed at the same time. In case there is no illegal income， a fine below 5，000 yuan in RMB shall be imposed.

Article 7 Any act in the way of preparing devices or creating conditions for smuggling shall be given a lesser punishment by applying mutatis mutandis Article 5 of these Rules.

Article 8 Punishments may be exempted or be imposed in lesser degrees in cases where：

1. the smuggling act is of a minor nature；

2. the person in question owns up the case and informs against other offenders；

3. the smuggling is discovered three years later.

The duration specified in item 3 under this Article shall be counted from the day when the smuggling act takes place. In case that the smuggling is of a continuous nature， it shall be counted from the day when the last act of smuggling takes place.

Chapter III Acts Violating Regulations on Customs Control and the Punishments

Article 9 Acts which violate Customs regulations but do not constitute acts of smuggling shall be considered as acts violating regulations on Customs control.

Article 10 Goods which are imported or exported in violation of the State rules and regulations governing the importation and exportation or without license or other documents of approval shall be confiscated or ordered to be sent back. In case that a license or a documental approval is obtained afterwards， a fine below the value of the goods shall be imposed.

Article 11 A fine below the value of the goods or articles or below twice the amount of the duties leviable shall be imposed for any of the following acts：

1. to transport， carry or send by post into or out of the territory， with a view to evading Customs supervision and control， goods or articles which are not listed in the categories prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the territory or restricted by the State in importation or exportation， or legally liable to Customs duties；

2. to open， pick up， deliver， forward， change， repack， mortgage or transfer goods under Customs control or incoming and outgoing articles not yet released by the Customs without Customs authorization；

3. to keep untruthful operational records or to fail to give a justifiable reason for shortage of goods in the transportation， storage， processing， assembling and consignment sale of bonded goods；

4. to utilize， without Customs approval， goods and articles enjoying specially granted duty reduction or exemption for other purposes than those provided for；

5. to make untruthful declaration of import or export goods for its name， quantity， standard， price， origin of production， trade manner， country of consumption， country of trading or other items which should be declared；

6. to fail to re-transport temporarily exported or imported goods into or out of the territory within the specified time limit and let the said goods remain inside or outside the territory without authorization；

7. to fail to transport the transit， transshipment or through goods out of the territory within the specified time limit and let the said goods remain inside the territory without authorization；

8. to transfer materials and supplies intended for use by the inward or outward means of transport without obtaining Customs approval or paying Customs duty.

Article 12 A fine below 50，000 yuan in RMB shall be imposed upon any of the following acts：

1. for a means of transport， without approval from the State Council or other department empowered by the State Council， to enter or leave the territory at a place without a Customs establishment；

2. for an inward or outward means of transport staying at the Customs surveillance zone to leave without Customs approval；

3. for an inward or outward means of transport en route from one place with a Customs establishment to another with a Customs establishment to change route midway by moving out of the territory or to a point in the territory where there is no Customs establishment without completing the clearance formalities and obtaining the Customs approval.

Article 13 A fine below 30，000 yuan in RMB shall be imposed upon any of the following acts：

1. for an inward or outward means of transport to fail to submit papers and documents required or submit untrue papers or documents to the Customs after arriving at or before departing from a place with a Customs establishment；

2. to fail to accept the checking and examination by the Customs of the inward or outward transport， and goods and articles in accordance with relevant regulations；

3. for an inward or outward means of transport to load or unload inward or outward goods and articles， or to embark or disembark passengers without Customs approval；

4. for an inward or outward means of transport to engage， without Customs approval， concurrently in cargo or passenger transport in the territory or services other than inward and outward transportation in the territory；

5. for an inward or outward means of transport to change to transport services within the territory without completing Customs formalities in accordance with the regulations；

6. for anyone engaged in the storage， processing， assembling and consignment sale of the bonded goods to fall to complete procedures such as receipt， delivery and cancellation in accordance with the regulations or to fail to complete Customs procedures in accordance with the regulations when the relevant contracts have been suspended， prolonged or transferred；

7. to store goods under Customs control outside the Customs surveillance zone without Customs approval or to fail to accept Customs control over such goods；

8. to open or destroy， without Customs authorization， seals affixed by the Customs on the means of transport， warehouses or goods.

Article 14 A fine below 20，000 yuan in RMB shall be imposed on any of the following acts：

1. for the inward means of transport which has entered the territory but has not made the declaration to the Customs， or for the outward means of transport which has cleared the Customs but has not left the territory to fail to move along routes specified by competent communications authorities or by the Customs；

2. for the inward and outward vessel or vehicle carrying goods under Customs control to fail to move along the routes specified by the Customs；

3. for the inward and outward vessel or aircraft berthing or landing at a place without a Customs establishment， or jettisoning or discharging goods and articles at such a place owing to force majeure to fail to report to the Customs establishment nearby without justifiable reasons.

Article 15 For any of the following acts， the duty evaded shall be paid or the articles involved sent back， and a fine below the value of the related articles may be imposed at the same time：

1. for a person carrying or sending by post into or out of the territory articles exceeding Customs-specified quantity limits but of small amount or value and intended for personal use to fail to declare them to the Customs；

2. for a person carrying or sending by post articles into or out of the territory， to make untruthful declaration to the Customs or not to accept Customs examination；

3. to fail to take temporarily inward or outward articles exempted form Customs duties upon registration with the Customs out of or into the territory in accordance with the regulations；

4. for a person passing through the territory to leave the articles he carries in the territory without Customs approval.

Article 16 Any of the following acts shall be subject to a fine below 1，000 yuan in RMB：

1. to fail to notify the Customs in advance of the time of arrival of the inward or outward vessel， train or aircraft， the place of its stay or any changes in such time and place without justifiable reasons； 2. to open or damage the seals affixed by the Customs upon the articles without authorization；

3. to violate the Customs law and regulations， so that the Customs cannot exercise or has to suspend control over the inward and outward means of transport， goods and articles.

Article 17 In case truthful report is made prior to Customs examination concerning the carrying or sending by post of articles prohibited by the State from entering for leaving the territory into or out of the territory， the articles concerned shall be confiscated or sent back in accordance with the regulations， and a fine may be imposed at the same time depending on circumstances.

Article 18 Remission or mitigation of punishment may be applied to violations of Customs regulations if the case is of a minor nature or a confession is made by the person involved. Punishments shall be exempted for acts violating the Customs regulations if the case is discovered three years later.

Chapter IV Handling of the Smuggling Acts and Acts Violating Regulations on Customs Control

Article 19 Decisions of punishment for smuggling acts and acts violating regulations on Customs control shall be made by the director of the Customs establishment.

Article 20 Detention of goods， articles or means of transport by the Customs shall be made upon the issuance of the Detention Note.

The form of the Detention Note shall be uniformly determined by the General Customs Administration.

Article 21 In case that the goods， articles or means of transport cannot be detained or are not suitable for detention， a deposit or a mortgage of an equivalent value may be required by the Customs from the person concerned or the person in charge of the means of transport.

Article 22 The goods， articles and means of transport detained by the Customs in accordance with the regulations shall not be disposed of before the verdict by a people's court or the decision of punishment by the Customs comes into force. But in the case where goods and articles are fresh and live， perishable or easy to become ineffective， the Customs may sell them， retain the proceeds and notify the owner of the goods or the articles.

Article 23 Where it is established by the Customs after investigation that the deposits or remittances are obtained illegally from smuggling， the Customs may notify， in writing the bank or the post office concerned， asking it to suspend the payment or delivery of such deposits or remittances and inform the depositor or the remitter at the same time. The duration of the suspension shall not exceed 3 months. The money shall be disposed of by the Customs in accordance with the Customs Law and the present Rules after the decision of punishment made by the Customs has become effective.

Article 24 Where an enterprise， an undertaking， a State department or a social organization violates Customs regulations， the Customs may， besides imposing punishment upon the unit concerned， imposed a fine below 1，000 yuan in RMB on the person in charge and the person directly answerable for the violation.

Article 25 Where an enterprise， an undertaking， a State department or a social organization violates the Customs Law， the Customs may， according to the seriousness of the case， suspend temporarily the preferential treatment of duty reduction or exemption it enjoys， deprive it temporarily of the right of declaration to the Customs or revoke the Certificate for Declaration of the person in question.

Article 26 After a decision of punishment is made upon a smuggling act or an act violating regulations on Customs control， the Customs shall send a Notification of Punishment to the person in question.

If the person in question finds the Customs decision of punishment unacceptable， he may submit an appeal for reconsideration of the case to either the Customs establishment making the decision or to one at a higher level， within 30 days of receipt of the notification of punishment； the Customs shall make a decision within 90 days of receipt of the appeal and send a Decision of Reconsideration to the person in question. If the person in question finds the decision made after the reconsideration still unacceptable， he may sue at a people's court within 30 days of receipt of the decision.

The person in question may also sue directly at a people's court within 30 days of receipt of the Notification of Punishment. Where string directly at the people's court is chosen， the person in question may not appeal to the Customs for reconsideration.

The form of the Notification of Punishment and the Decision of Reconsideration of the Customs shall be uniformly determined by the General Customs Administration.

Article 27 The Notification of Punishment or Decision of Reconsideration may be sent to the person in question by the Customs directly and signed by him to acknowledge the receipt or sent by post. In the latter case， the date indicated on the registration receipt of the post office shall be regarded as the day of receipt. A public announcement shall be made in case the delivery is impossible， and the announcement shall be regarded equally as receipt.

Article 28 If the person in question fails to appeal for reconsideration or sue at a people's court in the specified time limit， the decision of punishment shall enter into force.

The fine， the illegal income and the sum of money equal to the value of the smuggled goods， articles or smuggling means of transport which are confiscated in accordance with the regulations shall be paid within the time limit specified in the decision of punishment of the Customs.

Article 29 If the person punished by the Customs does not have a permanent residence in the territory， the fine， the illegal income and the sum of money equal to the value of the smuggled goods， articles or smuggling means of transport which are confiscated in accordance with the regulations shall be paid prior to his leaving of the territory. Where the person in question fails to accept the decision of punishment by the Customs or cannot pay the amount of money prior to his leaving of the territory， a deposit or a mortgage of a value equal to the amount of money to be paid， or a guarantee which is acceptable to the Customs shall be provided.

Where the person in question executes the decision of punishment by the Customs within the specified time limit， the Customs shall return the deposit or the mortgage provided by him without delay and the guarantee shall cease right away.

Article 30 Where the person in question refuses to execute the Customs decision and fails to appeal for a reconsideration of the case or sue at a people's court within the specified time limit， the Customs making the decision may confiscate the deposit provided by him or take the goods， articles or means of transport detained or kept as a mortgage as substitutes for the money required by the decision of punishment after an assessment made according to the current prices， or request the People's Court for an enforced execution.

Article 31 A fine imposed in accordance with these Rules shall not exempt the person in question from the payment of Customs duties and the completion of the relevant Customs formalities specified by the laws and regulations in case the inward or outward goods， articles or means of transport are not confiscated.

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Article 32 The Customs personnel who abuse their powers and intentionally create difficulties or procrastinate the control and examination shall be given a disciplinary sanction in accordance with the provisions governing the rewards and punishments of the personnel working for government departments. Those who practise graft， neglect their duties or connive at smuggling shall be given a disciplinary sanction in accordance with the provisions governing the rewards and punishments of the personnel working for the government department or be subject to an investigation of criminal responsibility in accordance with the law， depending on the seriousness of the cases.

Article 33 The following terms used in these Rules shall have the meanings hereunder assigned to them：

“Articles” also include currencies， gold and silver， and other negotiable securities；

“Equivalent value” is based on the retail price of the similar product sold at the local State-owned shops. Where such a price is not available， it shall be assessed and determined by the Customs；

“Below” or “under” includes the number itself.

Article 34 The list of goods restricted by the State in importation or exportation shall be announced by the competent departments under the State Council.

The list of articles prohibited by the State from entering or leaving the territory shall be decided by the General Customs Administration in accordance with the Customs Law and other laws and regulations， together with relevant competent departments under the State Council， and made public by the General Customs Administration.

The list of articles restricted by the State in entering or leaving the territory shall be made public by the General Customs Administration.

Article 35 The right to interpret these Rules shall reside in the General Customs Administration.

Article 36 These Rules shall come into effect as of July 1， 1987.