Provisions of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on the Commodity Classification of Import and Export Goods

Article 1 For the purposes of regulating the commodity classification of import and export goods and ensuring the accuracy and uniformity of commodity classification, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Customs Law), the Tariff Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Tariff Law) and other relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 2 The commodity classification of import and export goods shall be determined in accordance with the table of contents, stipulations, the general rules for the interpretation of the harmonized system, section notes, chapter notes, subheading notes, and domestic subheading annotations and other classification notes as prescribed in the Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China, and shall be classified under the corresponding tariff nomenclature heading numbers.

The national standards and industrial standards, among others,  related to the import and export goods may be used as references for commodity classification.

Article 3 These Provisions apply to the commodity classification of import and export goods by the consignee, consignor of import and export goods or the agent thereof (hereinafter referred to as the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof) as well as determination of commodity classification by the Customs in accordance with the law.

Article 4 The commodity classification of import and export goods shall be subject to the principles of objectivity, accuracy and uniformity.

Article 5 The commodity classification of import and export goods shall be determined in accordance with the actual conditions of the goods when they are declared by the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof. The commodity classification of import and export goods declared in advance before arrival shall be determined in light of their actual conditions upon their arrival at Customs control premises. Where it is otherwise prescribed in the provisions of any law, administrative regulation, or any rule formulated by the General Administration of Customs, those provisions shall prevail.

Article 6 Where multiple import goods that belong to the same consignee and use the same bill of lading are shipped to the same port on the same means of transport at the same time, and the goods should be classified under the same tariff nomenclature heading number  in accordance with the relevant rules governing commodity classification, the consignee or the agent thereof shall classify all those goods under that single tariff nomenclature heading number  in declaring to Customs. Where it is otherwise provided for in the provisions of any law, administrative regulation, or any rule formulated by the General Administration of Customs, those provisions shall prevail.

Article 7 The consignee, consignor or the agent thereof shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations as well as the requirements by Customs, make a faithful and accurate declaration of the commodity name, specification, model, etc. of its import or export goods, conduct the commodity classification of the import and export goods it has declared , and determine the corresponding tariff nomenclature heading numbers.

Article 8 In determining the items related to commodity classifications as declared by the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof in accordance with the law, the Customs may exercise the following powers in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Law and the Tariff Law, and the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof shall accord cooperation:

(1) check and make copies of relevant documents and materials;

(2) ask the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof to provide necessary samples and relevant data of the commodity, including Chinese translations of foreign materials, and be responsible for the content of the translations;

(3) organize the testing and inspection of import and export goods.

Where a consignee, consignor or the agent thereof conceals any relevant information, or delays providing or refuses to provide relevant documents and materials, the Customs may, in accordance with law, determine the commodity classification of the import or export goods.

Article 9 When necessary, the Customs may require the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof to make a supplementary declaration.

Article 10 Where the information provided by a consignee, consignor or the agent thereof to the Customs involves trade secrets, undisclosed information or confidential business information and is required to be kept confidential by the Customs, the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof shall make a written request to the Customs for confidentiality and specify the contents to be kept confidential. The consignee, consignor or its agent shall not refuse to provide relevant information to the Customs under the pretext of trade secrets.

The Customs shall assume the confidentiality obligation according to the provisions of the relevant regulations issued by the state.

Article 11 When necessary, the Customs may, in accordance with the Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China, the Explanatory Notes to the Commodities and Headings of the Customs Import and Export Tariff Schedule and other classification notes and national standards and industrial standards as well as the laboratory test methods of the Customs, among others, conduct laboratory tests and inspections of the attributes, ingredients, content, structures, quality, and specifications, among others, of the import and export goods, and take the results of laboratory tests and inspections as the basis for commodity classification.

Article 12  Where the Customs takes samples of import and export goods for laboratory tests and inspections, consignees and consignors or the agents thereof shall be present at the scene to provide assistance, be responsible for moving the goods and opening and resealing the packages of the goods, and sign for confirmation as required by the Customs.

Where any consignee or consignor or the agent thereof refuses to be present at the scene or when the Customs deems it necessary, the Customs may directly take samples, and notify the business entities of the place where goods are stored or the person in charge of the means of transport to sign for confirmation.

Article 13 The consignee, consignor or the agent thereof shall provide relevant documents and technical data of the test and inspection samples in a timely manner, and be responsible for their authenticity and validity.

Article 14 Except for special circumstances, a Customs technical institution shall, within 15 days from the date of receiving the samples submitted for inspection, issue test and inspection results.

Article 15 Except for special circumstances, the Customs shall, within 1 working day after the test and inspection results are issued, notify the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof of the relevant information. Where the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof requests for the test and inspection results in paper form, the Customs shall provide them.

Article 16 Where the laboratory test or inspection results provided by other laboratory test or inspection institutions are inconsistent with those of the Customs technical institutions or the laboratory test or inspection institutions entrusted by the Customs, the laboratory test or inspection results determined by the Customs shall prevail.

Article 17 If the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof has any objection to the laboratory test or inspection results, it may, within 15 days from the date of receiving the test or inspection results, submit a written application for re-inspection to the Customs. The Customs shall organize a re-inspection.

Where a re-inspection has been conducted, the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof shall not apply for re-inspection of the same sample again.

Article 18 If the Customs finds that the commodity classification declared by the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof is inaccurate, it shall re-determine the classification in accordance with the relevant commodity classification provisions, and handle the matter in accordance with the relevant provisions on the modification and cancellation of the customs declaration forms.

Where the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof finds that the commodity classification declared by it needs to be modified, it shall apply to the Customs in accordance with the relevant provisions on the modification and cancellation of the customs declaration forms.

Article 19 Where the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof requests the release of the goods prior to the commodity classification determination of the goods in accordance with the law by the Customs, a guarantee shall be provided in accordance with the relevant provisions on guarantee for customs affairs.

The Customs shall not release the goods based on guarantee, if a license is required but  unable to be provided because the State has restrictive provisions on the entry and exit goods, or there is any other circumstance where the stipulations in the laws and administrative regulations prohibit such a guarantee.

Article 20 Where the consignee, consignor or the agent thereof makes an application for an administrative ruling or advance ruling on the commodity classification of its import and export goods, relevant matters shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions on the administrative ruling or advance ruling.

Article 21 The General Administration of Customs may, in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations, make a commodity classification decision that has a universal binding force on the import and export goods, which shall be announced to the public.

The import or export of identical goods shall be governed by the same commodity classification decision.

Article 22 Where any changes have been made to any law or administrative regulation or any other relevant provision based on which a commodity classification decision is made, the commodity classification decision shall be invalidated at the same time.

In case a commodity classification decision is invalidated, it shall be announced to the public by the General Administration of Customs.

Article 23 Where the General Administration of Customs finds that a decision on commodity classification needs to be amended, it shall amend the decision  in a timely manner and make an announcement to the public.

Article 24 If the General Administration of Customs finds that there is any error in the decision on commodity classification, it shall revoke it in a timely manner and make an announcement to the public.

Article 25 Where duty refund or recovery of duties owed or collection of late fees is caused by commodity classification, it shall be handled in accordance with the relevant laws, administrative regulations and the rules of the General Administration of Customs.

Article 26 Whoever, in violation of these Provisions, commits smuggling, violates any Customs supervision provisions, or  violates the Customs Law shall be handled by the Customs in accordance with the Customs Law, the Regulation of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Administrative Penalty and other relevant provisions. Where such an act constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be imposed accordingly.

Article 27 The determination of other commodity serial numbers under the same tariff nomenclature heading number shall be handled in accordance with relevant provisions.

Article 28 These Provisions shall be subject to interpretation by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China.

Article 29 These Provisions shall come into force on November 1, 2021. The Provisions of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of the Commodity Classification of Import and Export Goods promulgated by Decree No. 158 of the General Administration of Customs on March 2, 2007 and amended by Decree No. 218 of the General Administration of Customs on March 13, 2014, and the Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Laboratory Tests promulgated by Decree No. 176 of the General Administration of Customs on October 13, 2008 shall be abolished simultaneously.