Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Supervision of Transit Goods

Article 1 These Measures are developed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the Biosecurity 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 and the regulation on its implementation, the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China and the detailed rules on its implementation, as well as the relevant laws and regulations, for the purposes of strengthening the supervision and administration of transit goods by the Customs, safeguarding national sovereignty, security and interest, and promoting trade facilitation.

Article 2 The term "transit goods" as mentioned in these Measures refers to goods that are shipped from abroad, pass through the Customs territory by land, and then transported to a place outside the Customs territory.

Transit goods from a country or region that has concluded or acceded to an international treaty or agreement containing clauses on the transit of goods with the Customs territory shall be allowed to pass through the Customs territory in accordance with the provisions of the relevant treaty or agreement. Other transit goods shall only be allowed to pass through the Customs territory upon the approval by the commerce, transport, and other competent departments of the state and recordation by the Customs at the place of entry, except as otherwise prescribed by any law or regulation.

Article 3 The following goods shall be prohibited from transit:

(1) Goods shipped from or to a country or region with which China has ceased or prohibited trade；

(2) Weapons, ammunition, explosives and military supplies, except those transported through military means；

(3) Potent poisons, narcotics and opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs；

(4) Hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes；

(5) Special articles such as microorganisms, human tissues, biological products, blood and their products；

(6) Invasive alien species；

(7) Endangered animals and plants and their products thereof such as ivory, except as otherwise prescribed by any law；

(8) Articles prohibited from entering the Customs territory by the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Quarantine of Imported and Exported Animals and Plants, except as otherwise prescribed by any law；

(9) Goods causing harm to China's politics, economy, culture, and morality；

(10) Other goods of which the transit is prohibited by the state.

Article 4 Transit goods shall be subject to customs supervision from their entry into the Customs territory to their exit from the Customs territory.

Without Customs permission, no entity or individual may open, take, deliver, forward, change, repack, mortgage, pledge, hold a lien, transfer the ownership, change the marks, use for other purposes, or dispose in other means.  Without the permission of Customs, Animals, plants, their products, and other quarantine objects shall not be unloaded from the  transport vehicles.

Article 5 The person in charge of the means of transport that undertakes the domestic transport of transit goods (hereinafter referred to as the“person in charge of the means of transport”) shall engage in the transport of transit goods with the approval of the relevant department of the state and undergo recordation at the Customs as required.

Article 6 Transit goods shall be transported through the route specified by the transport department from the time of their entry into the Customs territory to their exit from the Customs territory, and if the route is not specified by the transport department, it shall be specified by the Customs.

The animals transported through the border, shall be followed the route specified by the Customs.

Article 7 Transit animals and other transit goods assessed as posing a high biosecurity risk shall enter the Customs territory from designated ports.

Article 8 The person in charge of the means of transport shall submit a declaration form for the transport of transit goods and make a truthful declaration to the Customs at the place of entry.

If transit goods are animals, plants, their products, and other quarantine objects, the quarantine certificate issued by the animal and plant quarantine authority of the government of the exporting country or region shall be submitted; if transit goods are animals, the animal transit permit issued by the Customs shall also be submitted; or if transit goods are dual-use items or other goods restricted from transit by the state, the relevant licensing certificate shall be submitted.

Article 9 Transit goods arriving at the place of entry can only be allowed for transit transport with the examination and approval of the Customs at the place of entry. If quarantine is required in accordance with the law, transit transport is allowed only after transit goods pass the quarantine inspection. The carcasses, excrements, bedding materials, and other wastes of transit animals must be disposed of in accordance with the law and must not be discarded without authorization.

Transit goods that have arrived at the place of exit can only be transported out of the Customs territory after they have been written off upon approval by the Customs at the place of exit.

Article 10 Transit goods shall not be transported in box trucks or containers together with other goods and articles entering and leaving the Customs territory.

Article 11 The Customs may affix seals to domestic means of transport or containers carrying transit goods, and no one may open or damage the seals without authorization.

Article 12 Where transit goods need to be reloaded into another means of transport or container after they are transported from the place of entry and before they arrive at the place of exit, the person in charge of the means of transport shall undergo reloading formalities for transit transport at the Customs at the place of reloading.

Transit goods shall be reloaded in warehouses or venues designated or approved by the Customs, and hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods shall be reloaded at the places with safe operation conditions as approved by the relevant department.

Article 13 Where the transit goods that have a through bill of lading or waybill need to be reloaded onto another means of transport or container during the domestic transport, the person in charge of the means of transport may undergo transit transport and reloading formalities at the Customs at the place of entry and the Customs at the place of reloading on a one-time basis.

Article 14 As required for work, the Customs may dispatch officers to escort the transport of transit goods. The person in charge of the means of transport shall provide conveniences.

Article 15 The Customs may inspect the transit goods when it deems necessary, and the person in charge of the means of transport shall be present to cooperate in the inspection.

Article 16 Where transit goods are lost or damaged within the Customs territory except for force majeure, the person in charge of the means of transport shall undergo relevant customs formalities at the Customs at the place of entry.

Article 17 Where transit goods have not been declared to the Customs for more than three months from the date of declaration of the means of transport, they shall be regarded as imported goods and be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and other applicable laws and regulations.

Article 18 Transit goods shall be transported out of the Customs territory within six months from the date of declaration of the means of transport for entry; and under special circumstances, an extension of not more than three months may be granted with the approval of the Customs at the place of entry.

If transit goods are not transported out of the Customs territory after the three-month extension specified in the preceding paragraph, they shall be collected by the Customs and sold in accordance with the law, except as otherwise prescribed by any law or regulation.

Article 19 Transit goods shall not be included in the statistics of trade of imported and exported goods and shall be included in the customs statistics under a single item.

Article 20 Whoever fails to declare the transit goods or makes a false declaration may be warned or fined not more than 30,000 yuan by the Customs.

Whoever otherwise violates these Measures shall be punished by the Customs in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations; and if it is criminally punishable, shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.

Article 21 These Measures shall be subject to interpretation by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China.

Article 22 These Measures shall come into force on November 1, 2022, upon which the Measures of Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Supervision of Transit Goods issued by Decree No. 38 of the General Administration of Customs on September 1, 1992 and amended according to Decree No. 198 of the General Administration of Customs on November 26, 2010 and Decree No. 240 of the General Administration of Customs on May 29, 2018 shall be repealed.