Online Interview
Topic: Crackdown on Smuggling – about Customs Anti-Smuggling Stories of 2013
Time:03:00 PM (Wed) March 12, 2014
Special Guests:Chen Jianxin, Deputy Director General of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau, the GACC
Online Interview Photos
Crackdown on Smuggling – about Customs Anti-Smuggling Stories of 2013
[Chen Jianxin]: First, there are more smuggling problems closely related to vital interests of the people. For example, hot smuggling activities such as smuggling of toxic and harmful solid wastes and agricultural products including grains, sugar and frozen meat are constantly arising, which affects the environmental security and health of the people and endangers national food security and farmers’ interests. Anti-smuggling plays a significant role in ensuring people’s prosperous and contented life. 03/12/2014 15:25:35
[Chen Jianxin]: Second, there is a sharp rise in smuggling activities in the fields involving security and stability. Smuggling of drugs and guns remains active. In 2013, the number of smuggling cases irrelevant to taxes exceeded that of the tax-related cases for the first time, accounting for over half of all the smuggling cases. This is a very important signal. The task to fight against smuggling and safeguard national security, social stability and people's health becomes more arduous. 03/12/2014 15:26:12
[Chen Jianxin]: Third, there is a prominent rise in smuggling via network transactions and overseas purchasing agents. Smugglers smuggle a large number of consumer goods including milk powder, electronic products and luxuries bit by bit through network transactions and overseas purchase. Take electronic products as an example. The smuggling criminal cases cracked by the Customs last year have a value of nearly RMB 600 million. 03/12/2014 15:26:44
[Chen Jianxin]: Fourth, the “drifting” tendency of smuggling is more obvious. As the anti-smuggling efforts are strengthened, the smuggling gangs resort to large-scale cross-region and multi-channel “drifting” and “migration” more often. Fifth, smuggling is mingled with various kinds of crimes. Smuggling crime is not a simplex crime any more. It is harder and harder to fight against smuggling due to collusion between domestic and overseas parties, online and offline mutual covering, and interconnection with illegal activities such as false trade, money laundering, evasion of exchange control and gaining tax refund by cheating. 03/12/2014 15:27:39
[Wang Hua]: As to smuggled goods, issues including smuggling of electronic products and “parallel traders” have always attracted much attention. Is there any relevant case in this joint campaign? 03/12/2014 15:28:16
[Chen Jianxin]: Smuggling activities by “parallel traders” have been a persistent problem in the anti-smuggling efforts at the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Ports and Zhuhai-Macao Ports. “Parallel traders” mainly smuggle commodities of high value like electronic products that are easy to carry and popular among mainland consumers. The anti-smuggling departments of the Customs have always paid attention to the smuggling tendency at the ports and placed stress on the smuggling gangs of “parallel traders” and the organizers behind. 03/12/2014 15:28:50
[Chen Jianxin]: In 2013, the anti-smuggling departments of Customs across the country detected 231 tax-related smuggling cases through the channel of passenger inspection with a value of near RMB 2.3 billion and a tax evasion amount of RMB 370 million, and a substantial growth for two consecutive years. 03/12/2014 15:29:25
[Chen Jianxin]: Here is a typical case. In September 2013, Shenzhen Customs and Ningbo Customs destroyed 2 “parallel trader” networks smuggling electronic products and smashed 6 smuggling gangs with a case value of over RMB 300 million. 03/12/2014 15:29:42
[Wang Hua]: Can you give some details? 03/12/2014 15:30:11
[Chen Jianxin]: This case involved two smuggling networks, which were composed of 6 smuggling gangs including the gang collecting goods overseas, “parallel trader” gang at the port for customs clearance and the gang of domestic consignors and consignees, and cover various links from ordering and delivering goods overseas to “parallel trader” smuggling and customs clearance to receipt and sales of goods in China. 03/12/2014 15:30:29