Risk Management Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China

Article 1 These Measures are developed in accordance with the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the Tariff Law of the People's Republic of China, the Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China, the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Quarantine of Imported and Exported Animals and Plants, the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection, and other applicable laws and administrative regulations, as well as the provisions of the international treaties concluded or acceded to by the People's Republic of China, for the purposes of regulating the risk management work of the Customs, implementing the overall concept of national security, and promoting foreign trade facilitation.

Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the collection of risk information, risk assessment, risk disposal, and other risk management activities carried out by the Customs for the purpose of preventing the risks related to the prohibitions, restrictions, and controls on inbound or outbound means of transport, transport equipment, persons, goods, and articles, public health safety at ports, biosecurity at national borders, food safety, quality and safety of goods and tax security, the risk of infringement upon intellectual property rights, as well as other entry and exit security risks.

Article 3 Customs risk management shall adhere to the overall concept of national security, adhere to the people-centered approach, and follow the principles of putting equal emphasis on both prevention and control, graded and classified management, and coordinated co-governance.

Article 4 The Customs shall strengthen the application of big data, artificial intelligence, and other modern science and technology in risk management, promote the sharing of risk information, and rely on information technology systems to carry out risk disposal and issue unified instructions, so as to improve the level of risk management intelligence.

Article 5 The Customs and its staff members shall have the obligation to keep confidential the state secrets, trade secrets, work secrets, individual privacy, and personal information to which they have access in the risk management process and to enforce the responsibility for data security protection in accordance with the law.

Article 6 The Customs shall, as needed for the risk management work, collect risk information through the following channels:

(1) Implementing risk monitoring.

(2) Sharing information with government departments.

(3) Being provided by relevant entities and individuals.

(4) Being obtained through open channels.

(5) Purchasing third-party information services.

(6) Sharing information among countries (regions) and international organizations.

(7) Other means provided for by laws and regulations.

Article 7 The Customs may implement risk monitoring by such means as developing risk monitoring plans and establishing risk monitoring sites to collect risk information on a continuous and systematic basis.

Article 8 To collect risk information, the Customs may consult or copy the documents relating to inbound or outbound means of transport, transport equipment, personnel, goods, and articles or require the relevant entities and individuals to provide such documents, and may interview the relevant entities and individuals, who shall cooperate with the relevant work.

Article 9 If a relevant entity or individual finds that the inbound or outbound means of transport, transport equipment, goods or articles operated, represented, or owned by it or him pose entry or exit security risks, the relevant entity or individual shall promptly report the relevant risk information to the Customs, and proactively take appropriate measures to control, reduce or eliminate the risks.

If a person entering or leaving China finds that he or she poses entry and exit security risks himself or herself, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply.

Article 10 Based on the information collected and other information obtained during the supervision and administration of inbound and outbound activities, the Customs shall establish a risk assessment indicator system, use scientific methods, identify hazards and the causes of their occurrence, assess the degree of risks, the possibility of their occurrence and their development trends, and make conclusions on the assessment of risk levels.

Article 11 To conduct a risk assessment, the Customs may arrange for internal experts to conduct such assessment, or may also authorize external experts or professional organizations with relevant qualifications or capabilities to conduct such assessment.

Authorized external experts or professional organizations shall assume responsibility for keeping confidential the relevant information to which they have access in the risk assessment process in accordance with the law.

Article12 The Customs shall, according to the conclusions of the risk assessment and based on factors such as the credit status, industries, and inbound or outbound activities of entities and individuals, make management decisions on the disposal of risks, and take risk disposal measures commensurate with the level of risks to dispose of risks in a graded and classified manner.

Article 13 The Customs may take one or more risk disposal measures that are commensurate with the level of risks based on the conclusions of the risk assessment in accordance with the law:

(1) Adjusting the items and frequency of regulatory measures such as document verifications, checks, inspections, audits, and verifications.

(2) Adjusting the conformity assessment procedures, quarantine measures, and guarantee standards.

(3) Approving, suspending, or canceling the relevant qualifications to import or export specific goods to and from China.

(4) Permitting, restricting, or prohibiting the entry and exit of inbound or outbound means of transport, transport equipment, personnel, goods, or articles.

(5) Suspending, withholding, or resuming customs procedures.

(6) Issuing or lifting risk warnings or notifying relevant authorities.

(7) Other measures specified by laws and regulations.

Article 14 The Customs may, based on the conclusions of the risk assessment, issue risk warning notices within the Customs system, issue risk warning notices or announcements to relevant entities or the public, or circulate notices to other Chinese government agencies, government agencies of overseas countries (regions) or relevant international organizations.

Article 15 When taking risk disposal measures, the Customs may, in accordance with the law, require the entities or individuals involved in the inbound or outbound activities to provide evidence for the specific risks to prove that the specific risks do not exist or the risks are low. The Customs may adjust the risk disposal measures if, upon examination, it believes that the relevant evidence can prove that the risks do not exist or the risks are low.

Article 16 Where the conclusions of the assessment do not accurately reflect the hazards and the reasons for their occurrence, or do not fully reflect the level of risks due to the limitations of scientific understanding, assessment methods, and information, the Customs may take appropriate disposal measures based on the conclusions of the current assessment.

Where the Customs takes disposal measures in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Customs shall actively collect risk information, improve the assessment methods, reduce the uncertainty of the conclusions of the risk assessment, and adjust the risk disposal measures.

Article 17 The Customs shall develop contingency plans for major security risks as needed for the risk management work.

When a major security risk event occurs outside China or at a border port that may have an impact on the territory of China, and the cause of the event, the degree of harm, and the scope of the impact cannot be temporarily determined, the Customs may activate contingency plans, and take necessary emergency response measures in accordance with the law.

Article 18 Where there is evidence indicating any significant change in the risk level, the Customs may conduct a reassessment as needed and promptly adjust the corresponding risk disposal measures in accordance with the conclusions of the assessment.

The Customs shall evaluate the effectiveness of risk management activities, and continuously improve the risk management system based on the evaluation results.

Article 19 The Customs and relevant authorities shall establish a joint risk prevention and control mechanism, carry out the collection of relevant risk information, risk assessment, and risk disposal, and jointly maintain entry and exit security.

Article 20 These Measures shall be subject to the interpretation of the General Administration of Customs.

Article 21 These Measures shall come into force on December 1, 2024, upon which the Provisions on the Administration of Risk Warning and Rapid Response in Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine issued by Order No. 1 of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on September 25, 2001 and amended by Order No. 238 of the General Administration of Customs on April 28, 2018 shall be repealed.