On April 11, Shanghai Customs seized excessive articles without declaration carried by an inward Chinese woman taking the Osaka-Shanghai flight HO1336, including 335 pieces of cosmetics and branded bags in two luggage boxes. The passenger suspected of smuggling has already been under investigation by the anti-smuggling department.

When inspecting the passenger’s passport, Customs officers noticed that she almost monthly flied to Japan or South Korea. According to her account, every time returning to China, she brought large amount of goods to hometown for sale, and it was not an individual case. Since this year, when exercising control over the flights, Shanghai Pudong Airport Customs House found out that suspects on some airlines smuggled in transit passages and many of them took excessive articles along. From January to March, Shanghai Customs seized 2700 pieces of undeclared articles like cosmetics and luxuries in 13 cases from transit flights, including 11 cases on Japanese and South Korean air routes. With purchase agent characteristics, individuals involved were frequently incoming and outgoing.

Since March 8, the Pudong Airport Customs has successively seized more than 120 cases of passengers’ carrying excessive articles, 5 cases investigated and over 900 pieces of cosmetics beyond limit seized.

Shanghai Customs warns that, as the Customs exercises control over inward and outward luggage/articles by laws and regulations, passengers must make voluntary declaration of inward articles beyond the range of tax exemption. But a small number of passengers try to bring in excessive articles for commercial profits without customs declaration. If they smuggle and evade tax of RMB100, 000 or more, they will be subject to criminal prosecution.