Guide to Customs Clearance of Reporting Equipment Carried by Foreign Journalists

I. Applicability

This Guide to Customs Clearance of Reporting Equipment Carried by Foreign Journalists (hereinafter referred to as the “Guide”) is used as a reference for resident foreign journalists and foreign journalists for short-term coverage in China to go through customs clearance procedures for the entry and exit of the reporting equipment carried by them.

Resident foreign journalists refer to the professional journalists who are dispatched by foreign news agencies for a mission of over 6 months of news coverage within the customs territory of the P.R.C. They hold J-1 visa.

Foreign journalists for short-term coverage refer to the professional journalists who stay within the customs territory of the P.R.C. for no more than 6 months for the purpose of news coverage. They hold J-2 visa.

II. Customs clearance procedures for entry and exit of reporting equipment

A. Resident foreign journalists

Resident foreign journalists wishing to bring reporting equipment into or out of the customs territory of the P.R.C. shall go through necessary procedures in accordance with the Rules of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China on Entry and Exit of Articles of Resident Offices for Official Use (Decree No. 115 of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China).

Prior to applying for entry of articles for official use for the first time, resident offices of foreign news agencies established in China shall go through the recordation formalities at the competent customs house upon the strength of relevant documents.

When applying for entry of articles for official use, resident offices shall file an application with the competent customs house and present the Customs Recordation Certificate, the Customs Application Form for Entry and Exit of Articles for Official Use (hereinafter referred to as the “Application Form”), bills of lading (waybills), invoices and other related documents. When going through declaration procedures with the Customs at the place of entry for articles for official use, resident offices shall fill out or entrust a customs broker to fill out the Import Declaration Form, and present the Application Form approved by the competent customs house, bills of lading (waybills), invoices and other related documents.

B. Foreign journalists for short-term coverage

1. Journalists accompanying state guest delegations

Journalists who accompany state guest delegations headed by heads of state, heads of government or foreign ministers on visits to China and wish to carry reporting equipment into the customs territory of the P.R.C. shall submit to the customs at the place of entry the Certificate Letter for Reporting Equipment of Journalists Accompanying State Guest Delegations issued by the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the list of reporting equipment and other documents as required by the customs to go through the entry procedures.

Once the state guest delegations have concluded the visits, the accompanying journalists shall re-export the reporting equipment out of the customs territory of the P.R.C. in time.

2. Journalists with letter of guarantee

a) Entry procedures

For the entry of their reporting equipment, journalists shall submit to the customs at the place of entry the letter of guarantee issued by organizations which are qualified by the customs to issue such letter of guarantee or by banks or non-bank financial institutions authorized by the customs, the list of reporting equipment, J-2 visa and other related documents to go through the entry procedures. Upon completion of the entry procedures, journalists will receive an envelope sealed by customs which should be properly kept for the re-exportation formalities of the reporting equipment.

b) Exit procedures

When exiting, journalists shall present to the customs at the place of exit the envelope sealed and issued by the customs at the place of entry.

When the place of entry and the place of exit are the same port, the customs at the place of exit will, after confirming that all the equipment carried by the journalists is re-exported, note and stamp on the original letter of guarantee, complete the write-off procedures and return the stamped letter of guarantee to the journalists.

If the journalists enter and exit via different ports, the customs at the place of exit will, after confirming that all the equipment carried by the journalists is re-exported, put the letter of guarantee duly noted and stamped by it into a customs envelope, seal it and return it to the journalists or the organizations issuing the letter of guarantee. The journalists (or the issuing organizations) shall submit the letter of guarantee noted and stamped by the customs at the place of exit or the customs envelope to the customs at the place of entry to complete the closing procedures on the letter of guarantee.

3. Journalists without letter of guarantee

Journalists without letter of guarantee may, by themselves, provide the customs with related documents, pay a security for the temporary admission of their reporting equipment, and after the completion of re-exportation of the equipment, get the security refunded.

a) Entry procedures

When entering with reporting equipment, journalists shall take the red channel, fill out the Baggage Declaration Form for Incoming/Outgoing Passengers (hereinafter referred to as the “Declaration Form”; see annex 1), display their J-2 visa, and submit two copies of the list of reporting equipment to declare the equipment to the customs at the place of entry.

Journalists shall then pay a security (in RMB cash) in light of the amount specified in the Receipt of Customs Security/Caution Money/Mortgage issued by the customs.

After completing the entry procedures, journalists shall ask the customs at the place of entry for an Application Form for Refund of Security for Reporting Equipment of Journalists at Places Other Than the Place of Entry (hereinafter referred to as the “Application Form”, see annex 3), fill out the form, and keep it properly together with the customs envelope sealed and issued by the customs at the place of entry for future use at the place of exit to go through the necessary exit formalities there.

b) Exit and security refund procedures

To apply for refund of security at the place of exit for the reporting equipment, a journalist shall, 4 days in advance prior to exit, fax the Application Form and the receipt copy of the Receipt of Customs Security/Caution Money/Mortgage to the customs at the place of exit (see Annex 4 for contact persons, telephone and fax numbers) and then make confirmation.

When exiting with the reporting equipment, journalists shall submit to the customs at the place of exit the Application Form and the customs envelope sealed and issued by the customs at the place of entry.

After confirmation, the customs at the place of exit will refund to the journalists an amount in cash or cash cheque in RMB which equals the amount deposited at the place of entry.

After receiving the refunded amount, the journalist shall sign on a Verification and Approval Form for Refund of Security for Reporting Equipment of Journalists at Places Other Than the Place of Entry for confirmation.

Where a journalist fails to file the application with the Customs at the place of exit within the prescribed time limit for refund of security for his/her reporting equipment at the place of exit, or the documents he/she has submitted are incomplete, the Customs at the place of exit will not handle the formalities for refund of security for his/her reporting equipment.

C. Reporting Equipment (Facilities) under Special Management

Where a foreign journalist needs to import radio communication equipment temporarily for the purpose of coverage, the approval documents issued by related authorities shall also be submitted to the customs at the place of entry.

Annexes:

1. China Customs Baggage Declaration Form for Incoming/Outgoing Passengers (Sample)

2. Instructions for China Customs Baggage Declaration Form for Incoming/Outgoing Passengers

3. Application Form for Refund of Security for Reporting Equipment of Journalists at Places Other Than the Place of Entry

4. Contact Persons and Telephone Numbers of Relevant Customs Houses

5. Duty Rates of Relevant Cameras (Video Cameras), Recorders, Editing Equipment and Accessories

Annex 1:

China Customs Baggage Declaration Form for Incoming/Outgoing Passengers (Sample)

Annex 2:

Instructions for China Customs Baggage Declaration Form for Incoming/Outgoing Passengers

The China Customs Baggage Declaration Form for Incoming/Outgoing Passengers (hereinafter referred to as the “Declaration Form”) is composed of three parts, i.e. basic information of passengers, declaration items of passengers and detailed list of declaration items. Passengers are required to fill in each box or tick in corresponding boxes. Passengers are also required to fill in the red-colored boxes personally. In filling out the form, please follow the instructions below:

1. Incoming journalists only need to fill in the “For Incoming Passengers” section.

2. Incoming journalists are required to fill in their basic personal information as required by the Declaration Form. The information so supplied shall be truthful and detailed.

3. When carrying goods to be declared as required by the Customs, journalists are required to tick in the appropriate box(es) under the line reading “Passengers who are taking the following articles please mark ‘√’ in the appropriate boxes”. Where the reporting equipment carried by a journalist falls within the category of “Other articles that should be declared to the Customs”, he is required to tick in that box.

4. Under the line reading “Passengers who are taking any articles included in the items above shall fill out this form in detail”, journalists are required to faithfully fill in detail in the description, type/model, quantity and value of their reporting equipment.

5. Journalists who carry multiple items of reporting equipment are required to attach a list of the equipment to the declaration form.

Annex 3:

Application Form for Refund of Security for Reporting Equipment of Journalists at Places Other Than the Place of Entry

____________________ Customs:

I am ______________________ from the country (region) of_______________________. I have come to China (the mainland) to report as a journalist. My passport number is ________________. I entered China (the mainland) on the date of (yyyy-mm-dd) _____________________ via the port of_____________________, where I deposited an amount of RMB _________________ yuan as security for my reporting equipment. I plan to leave China (the mainland) at _____ hours _____ minutes on the date of ______________________ by Flight (Train/Vehicle/Vessel) No. ________________ via the port of _____________________. I hereby apply for refund of the security I deposited upon entry, at the port of _________________, from where I will leave China (the mainland).

Applicant: (Signature)

Date: yyyy - mm - dd

Note: In case a journalist loses the Customs envelope, when exiting, he/she can only get the refund at the Customs at the place of entry where he/she has deposited the security.

Annex 4:
Contact Persons and Telephone Numbers of Relevant Customs Houses
Customs		Name	Office Number	Fax
Beijing Customs	T3	WU Ling	010-85734300	010-64556820
	T2	SHI Yi	010-85735785	010-64590507
	Station	BAO Qiang	010-85735683	010-51933590
Tianjin Customs	Airport	TUO Ya	022-24905992	022-24905970
	Airport	GUO Keke	022-24905991	022-24905976
	Xin’gang	WANG Binwei	022-65308212	022-65308214
Shijiazhuang Customs		WEI Qunbiao	0311-87869203	0311-87869109
Taiyuan Customs		TIAN Baozhen	0351-7287023	0351-7287009
Hohhot Customs		LI Liang	0471-6982946	0471-6982941
Manchuria Customs	Manchuria	BAI Shufeng	0470-2321539	0470-2321537
	Hailar	WANG Ying	0470-2219580	0470-2219562
		WANG Jian	0470-2219580	0470-2219562
		LI Ming	0470-2219563	0470-2219562
	Erguna	REN Dehui	0470-2355967	0470-2355967
Dalian Customs	Harbor	TANG Jian	0411-82618278	0411-82618278
	Airport	Qü Hua	0411-82618577	0411-82618575
	Dandong	JIN Deguo	0415-2123409	0415-2123409
	Dadong Port	CONG Liqun	0415-7149971	0415-7148517
	Bayuquan	WANG Song	0417-6140302	0417-6140140
Shenyang Customs		WU Jingliang	024-22695196	024-22695205
Changchun Customs		SUN Mingquan	0431-84601215	0431-88798698
Changchun Customs		ZHOU Yu	0431-84601618	0431-84601665
	Harbin	WANG Jing	0451-82381513	0451-82381737
Harbin Customs	Qiqihar	YANG Yong	0452-2456026	0452-2446217
	Qiqihar	YAO Jingyu	0452-2456008	0452-2446218
	Jiayin	LAN Hui	0458-2678912	0458-2624096
	Dongning	SONG Bo	0453-3679852	0453-3679905
	Luobei	DENG Weiguang	0468-6823661	0468-6823661
	Fujin	YU Lei	0454-2321964	0454-2331854
	Raohe	YUE Qiang	0469-5620333-6203	0469-5626079
	Jiamusi	ZHENG Dan	0454-8686950	0454-8609257
	Tongjiang	SUN Jun	0454-2931541	0454-2922908
	Xunke	WANG Jiazhuo	0456-4453751	0456-4457487
	Suifenhe	LI Xiujie	0453-3933737	0453-3923405
	Suifenhe	XING Dandan	0453-3953590	0453-3923405
	Fuyuan	ZHAO Guoyu	0454-2121663-2141	0454-2121400
	Heihe	ZHU Hongbin	0456-8230590	0456-8220080
	Mishan	YANG Yongxiang	0467-5211511	0467-5235051
	Taiping Airport	WANG Hefei	0451-82894255	0451-82895427
		CONG Yongsheng	0451-82894256	0451-82895427
		WEI Shizhao	0451-82894257	0451-82895427
	Mudanjiang	WANG Tao	0453-5888359	0453-6252254
Shanghai Customs	Pudong Airport	FU Lei	021-68841118-4830	021-68340465
	Pudong Airport	ZHU Hong	021-68841118-4831	021-68340465
	Pujiang	DING Yi	021-65416408	021-65416408
	Station	ZHI Yimei	021-51234130	021-52657500

Nanjing Customs	Lukou Airport	WANG Xiaofeng	025-52482050-3251	025-52482208
	Wuxi	Lü Yingchun	0510-85328500	0510-85323237
	Wuxi	QIANG Xiaochen	0510-85323655	0510-85323237
	Yancheng	GAO Jingjin	0515-88258628	0515-88215051
	Xuzhou	DONG Jing	0516-83736336	0516-83757674
	Lian’yun’gang	YANG Baogang	0518-82368185	0518-82368185
Hangzhou Customs	Xiaoshan Airport	PENG Xiao	0571-86660122	0571-86660129
		LU Shan	0571-86660122	0571-86660129
		XU Kai	0571-86660122	0571-86660129
	Wenzhou	PAN Wei	0577-86876030-8214	0577-86875040
	Wenzhou	CHENG Haiou	0577-86876030-8209	0577-86875040
	Yiwu	XU Chong	0579-85292609	0579-85290019
	Yiwu	SHI Qingsong	0579-85250256	0579-85290019
	Zhoushan	LING Long	0580-2080658	0580-2080880
Ningbo Customs		HE Ling	0574-89090683	0574-88268145

Hefei Customs	Hefei	ZHANG Jing	0551-3401892	0551-3401897
Hefei Customs	Huangshan	LIU Zhong	0559-2346327	0559-2516929
Fuzhou Customs	Airport	Yü Yühong	0591-28013109	0591-28013039
	Airport	LIU Xiaoduo	0591-28013109	0591-28013039
	Mawei	WU Zeying	0591-87083237	0591-83987561
	Wuyishan	LIU Sisheng	0599-5137979	0599-5137979
Xiamen Customs	Postal Offices	LIN Lixia	0592-2359287	0592-2359284
	Gaoqi Airport	LI Yanyan	0592-2359616	0592-2359611
		YIN Lengyuan	0592-2359613	0592-2359611
		LIN Lihong	0592-2359631	0592-3216620
	Quanzhou	WANG Shaoying	0595-22909727	0595-86097711
Nanchang Customs		HU Meiliang	0791-3960981-8303	0791-3960140
Qingdao Customs	Yantai	FAN Hongli	0535-6742627	0535-6743071
	Yantai	ZHANG Yan	0535-6985018	0535-6985003
	Ji’nan	WANG Yi	0531-82080630	0531-82080600
	Rizhao	Lü Xianghong	0633-8388862	0633-8772506
	Rongcheng	TANG Aihua	0631-7370811	0631-7370811
	Rongcheng	ZHANG Mingming	0631-7836978	0631-7833288
	Weihai	ZHANG Zhicheng	0631-8646897	0631-8646900
		YU Shiqiang	0631-8646897	0631-8646900
		ZHANG Jingtong	0631-5241031	0631-5241032
	Liuting Airport	Xü Hui	0532-83789436	0532-83789431
		SU Liang	0532-83789436	0532-83789431
		LIU Yuanliang	0532-83789463	0532-83789463
		SANG Zhenhua	0532-83789463	0532-83789463
	Dagang	SONG Yong	0532-82932905	0532-82854837
Zhengzhou Customs	Airport	JIN Le	0371-68510065	0371-68511606
Wuhan Customs		LI Zhiguo	027-85818363	027-85818052
Changsha Customs	Huanghua Airport	HE Yongxia	0731-84797688	0731-84796037
Changsha Customs	Zhangjiajie Airport	ZENG Linghui	0744-8389135	0744-8389337

Guangzhou Customs	Baiyun Airport	YANG Chunhua	020-81101984	020-36066538
	Panyu	DAI Minxian	020-84863828	020-84860238
	Panyu	XIONG Biyi	020-84861755	020-84860238
	Zhaoqing	WU Huixiong	0758-2716470	0758-2716494
	Foshan-Gaoming	GUAN Fuqie	0757-88881850	0757-88825510
		CUI Yunjian	0757-88822071	0757-88825510
		CHEN Guoling	0757-88822071	0757-88635166
	Foshan-Chancheng	ZHOU Fei	0757-82810285	0757-82810285
	Foshan-Shunde	ZHU Xuejing	0757-22822991	0757-22822035
	Tianhe Station	LI Yunhao	020-38774006	020-38774006
	Nansha	FENG Jie	020-84688715	020-84688352
		ZHANG Jie	020-84688715	020-84688352
		LI Chaoxiong	020-84688715	020-84688352
Shenzhen Customs	Huanggang	LIU Jianhang	0755-84396787	0755-83379985
	Huanggang	LI Jingchun	0755-84396523	0755-84396521
	Luohu	GUO Zhuibin	0755-84399117	0755-84399142
	Wenjindu	CHEN Yaqun	0755-84396273	0755-82201381
	Shekou	HUANG Yun	0755-26889664	0755-26889664
	Shekou	ZHOU Shuo	0755-26889664	0755-26889664
	Airport	CAO Haoyun	0755-27770001	0755-27776400
	Airport	CHEN Yini	0755-27776347	0755-27776400
	Shenzhen Bay	CHEN Shanshan	0755-84393125	0755-84393039
	Shatoujiao	CHEN Shan	0755-84397584	0755-84397584
		PEI Lei	0755-84397584	75584397584
		FENG Xia	0755-84398224	0755-84398730
Gongbei Customs	Zhakou	LI Zhigang	0756-8162552	0756-8287236
	Zhuhai	JIANG Wenxia	0756-8918018	0756-8918001
	Zhongshan	HUANG Yaobin	0760-85596389	0760-85596383
	Hengqin	LOU Ying	0756-8688252	0756-8688252
	Jiuzhou	ZENG Yuyan	0756-3332183-5271	0756-3332183-5309
	Jiuzhou	GU Junguo	0756-3332183-5272	0756-3332183-5309
	Doumen	WANG Miaoran	0756-5501500-6122	0756-5511562
	Wanzai	GU Xiaoting	0756-8821110	0756-8823584

Shantou Customs	Meizhou	LIANG Hui	0753-2242810	0753-2242744
Shantou Customs	Airport	CHEN Bin	0754-88627641	0754-88627641
Huangpu Customs	Taiping	JIANG Langtao	0769-22006891	0769-85511608
Huangpu Customs	Changping	ZHANG Shumao	0769-83811627	0769-83811627
Jiangmen Customs	Jiangmen	WU Hong	0750-3773236	0750-3773258
Jiangmen Customs	Heshan	LU Qixun	0750-8820981	0750-8821001
Zhanjiang Customs		BAI Yongge	0759-3255323	0759-2311309

Nanning Customs	Airport	WEI Xianke	0771-2095500	0771-2095683
	Airport	WU Huajun	0771-2095500	0771-2095683
	Beihai	CHEN Meirong	0779-2020511-5025	0779-2038559
	Guilin	QIAO Dong	0773-2844029	0773-2844010
	Guilin	LI Feng	0773-2844030	0773-2844010
	Fangcheng	LI Qingmin	0770-2823748	0770-2822329
	Dongxing	HUANG Fei	0770-7681065	0770-7682527
	Pingxiang	WU Jianjun	15977183519	0771-8537150
	Shuikou	LI Tianheng	0771-8870253	0771-8811300
	Longbang	LI Fang	0776-6486066	0776-6486240
	Longbang	HUANG Dejun	0776-6701072	0776-6701317
Haikou Customs	Haikou	CHEN Zhen	0898-65751940	0898-65751946
	Haikou	Lü Xiaolei	0898-65751940	0898-65751946
	Sanya	YIN Lixia	0898-88289563	0898-88289643
	Sanya	WU Huihua	0898-88289563	0898-88289643
Chongqing Customs	Airport	ZOU Xuhong	023-67153210	023-67152645
Chengdu Customs		GUO Yiqiao	028-85205781	028-85205593
Guiyang Customs		BAI Ning	0851-5786369	0851-5499653
Kunming Customs	Airport	HAN Bin	0871-7113705	0871-7113705
		ZHAO Yü	0871-7113705	0871-7113705
		Lü Donghua	0871-7113705	0871-7113705
	Wanding	LI Hongjiang	0692-5153053	0692-5153053
	Ruili	YANG Zenghou	0692-4109242	0692-4109242
	Mengding	TAN Shaomu	0883-6570099	0883-6570099
	Daluo	HUANG Haiming	0691-5561006	0691-5561006
	Mengla	LEI Liangzhi	0691-8811006	0691-8811006
	Hekou	BAI Huaiqing	0873-3428936	0873-3428936
	Jinshuihe	CHEN Jiaxing	0873-8340094	0873-5340094
	Tianbao	ZHAO Yue	0876-6550095	0876-6550095
	Xishuangbanna	WEI Deda	0691-2197771	0691-2197771
Lhasa Customs		Cidanluobu	0891-6283131	0891-6283131

Xi’an Customs	Xian’yang Airport	WANG Ting	029-83196459	029-88797011
Lanzhou Customs		HUANG Zhiheng	0931-7705171	0931-7705272
Xi’ning Customs		LIU Lei	0971-8866350	0971-8800686
Yinchuan Customs		ZHANG Wei	0951-5679057	0951-6912396
Urumqi Customs	Urumqi	Tuerxun	0991-3627531	0991-3627531
	Urumqi	Saimaiti	0991-3627531	0991-3627531
	Airport	Dilixia	0991-3807139	0991-3807136
	Alashankou	XIE Hao	0909-6992771	0909-6992098
	Kashi	WANG Zhifang	0909-2905035	0909-2905034
	Altay	LI Yage	0906-8588050	0906-8588050
	Altay	LIU Jianghua	0906-6491668	0906-6491666
	Tacheng	XING Fu	0901-6225120	0901-6225050
	Horgos	Yilibao	0999-8791150-7618	0999-8790900

Annex 5:

Duty Rates of Relevant Cameras (Video Cameras), Recorders, Editing Equipment and Accessories

No.	Equipment	Import Duty (MFN rate)
1	Television cameras
	—— For special purposes	10%
	—— Broadcast quality, not for special purposes	35% for dutiable price of no more than US$5,000; 3% + RMB 12960 for dutiable price of over US$5,000
2	Digital cameras	0%
3	Video camera recorders	0%
4	Other cameras
	——Film width less than 35mm	25%
	——Film width is 35mm	20%
5	Lens for single lens reflex cameras	15%
6	Cameras	14%
7	Sound recording or reproducing equipment
	——Cassette-type recorders, incorporating sound reproducing apparatus	30%
	—— Others	20%
	——Flash memory type recorders, incorporating sound reproducing apparatus	20%
8	Discs, tapes and solid-state non-volatile storage devices for recording sound or other information
	——Cards incorporating a magnetic stripe
	——Unrecorded	17.5%
	——Recorded	15%
	——Magnetic discs	0%
	——Magnetic tapes	0%
	For reproducing sound or image phenomena）	10%
	——Solid-state non-volatile storage devices	0%
	——Smart cards	0%

Note: For the importation of the above equipment, value added tax and consumption tax may also be leviable in addition to the tariff. Therefore, when calculating the amount of the security as may be required, the Customs must also take into consideration other related taxes, charges and fees.

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