Commodities Inspection Law of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the 6th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 7th NPC on February 21, 1989 and amended in accordance with the Decision of Revising the Commodities Inspection Law of the People's Republic of China made by the 27th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 9th NPC on April 28, 2002.)

Chapter I    General Principles

Article 1 .  This Law is formulated to strengthen the inspection of import and export commodities, standardize the inspection activities of the import and export commodities, safeguard the social public benefits and the lawful interests of the parties to the import and export, and promote the smooth development of the foreign economic and trade relations.

Article 2 .  The State Council shall establish a department in charge of the inspection of import and export commodities (hereinafter referred to as the State Administration of Commodity Inspection or SACI)), delegating it with the inspection of import and export commodities of the country. The SACI shall set up institutions (hereinafter referred to as commodities inspection authorities or CIAs) in various regions to be responsible for the inspection of import and export commodities within their respective regions.

Article 3 .  The commodities inspection institutions and inspection agencies licensed by the SACI shall conduct inspection over import and export commodities according to the law.

Article 4 .  Inspection over the import and export commodities shall observe the principles of protecting the health and safety of people, the life and health of animals or plants, the environment, guarding against deceptive acts, and safeguarding the national security. The SACI shall formulate and adjust the Catalogue of Import and Export Commodities Subject to Inspection, (hereinafter referred to as Catalogue) and publish the Catalogue for implementation.

Article 5 .  Import and export commodities listed in the Catalogue shall be subject to the inspection by commodities' inspection authorities.

Import commodities specified in the previous paragraph shall not be sold or used before being inspected. Likewise, export commodities shall not be exported before passing the inspection. Import and export commodities set out in the first paragraph of this article, shall be exempted from inspection in cases where they conform to the terms and conditions for exemption of inspections, as specified by the State, and the consignee or consigner has applied for inspection exemption to the SACI and obtained approval therefrom.

Article 6 .  Inspection over imported and exported commodities that must be conducted, refers to the qualifying appraisal activities conducted over the import and export commodities listed in the Catalogue, to see whether or not they conform to the compulsory requirements of the country's technical standards.

The procedures for qualifying appraisal activities include sampling, inspection and examination; appraisal and qualifying guarantee; registration, recognition and approval and a combination of the three.

Article 7 .  Inspections over the import and export commodities listed within the Catalogue shall be conducted in line with the compulsory requirements of the country's technical standards. In cases where there are no requirements of the country's technical standards, work should be undertaken, without delay, to formulate the requirements according to the law. Related foreign standards designated by SACI may be referred to before the introduction of the requirements.

Article 8 .  Inspection agencies, authorised by the SACI, may be commissioned by the foreign trade or foreign inspection institutions and handle the inspection appraisal work over import and export commodities.

Article 9 .  Import and export commodities and inspection items subject to inspection by other inspection organisations under the laws and administrative rules/regulations, shall be inspected in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative rules/regulations.

Article 10 .  The State Administration of Commodity Inspection and the commodity inspection authorities shall collect and provide the relevant departments with information about the inspection on import and export commodities.

Staff of the State Administration of Commodity Inspection and the commodity inspection authority shall be held responsible for keeping the business information obtained in the course of performing their roles for inspection of import and export commodities confidential.

Chapter II    Inspection of Import Commodities

Article 11 .  For import commodities subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities in accordance with this Law, the consignors or their agents shall apply to the commodity inspection authorities for inspection. The Customs shall grant access to the commodities on the strength of the customs clearance certificate issued by the commodities inspection authority.

Article 12 .  For import commodities subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities in accordance with this Law, the consignors or their agents shall apply to the commodity inspection authorities for inspection in the place and within the time limit specified by the commodity inspection authorities. The commodity inspection authorities shall complete the procedures for inspection and issue inspection certificates within the time prescribed by SACI.

Article 13 .  For import commodities beyond those subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities in accordance with this Law, which do not meet the required quality standards, or are damaged, or short in weight or quantity, if the inspection certificate issued by the commodity inspection authorities is necessary for making a claim, the receivers shall apply to the commodity inspection authorities for the issuance of the inspection certificate.

Article 14 .  For some important commodities and complete sets of large equipment, the receivers shall, in accordance with the agreement stipulations of the foreign trade contracts, conduct initial inspection and supervision over manufacturing or loading in the exporting countries before shipment. The relevant competent departments shall strengthen the supervision. The commodity inspection authorities, when it is deemed necessary, may dispatch inspection personnel to take part in the work of inspection and supervision.

Chapter III    Inspection of Export Commodities

Article 15 .  For export commodities subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities in accordance with this Law, the consignors or their agents shall apply to the commodity inspection authorities for inspection in the place and within the time limit specified by the commodity inspection authorities. The commodity inspection authorities shall complete the inspection procedures and issue an inspection certificates within the time prescribed by SACI.

Export commodities, which are included in the Catalogue, shall be inspected and released by the Customs upon presentation of the releasing notice issued by the commodity inspection authorities or the seals of the commodity inspection authorities affixed on the Customs declaration.

Article 16 .  Export commodities, for which the inspection certificates have been issued by the commodity inspection authorities, shall be declared for export within the time limit specified by the commodity inspection authorities. Those failing to meet the time limit shall apply for re-inspection accordingly.

Article 17 .  Enterprises manufacturing packaging for dangerous export goods must apply to the commodity inspection authorities for performance testing. Enterprises producing dangerous export goods must apply to the commodity inspection authorities for inspection of the use of packaging. Dangerous goods with packaging which have not undergone inspection/testing or do not conform to the requirements after testing/inspection are not allowed for export.

Article 18 .  For vessel holding, or containers used for carrying perishable food, the carriers or container filling organisations must, prior to shipment, apply to the commodity inspection authorities for inspection. Those having not undergone inspection or those found not to conform to the technical conditions for shipping, shall not be permitted to carry the food.

Chapter IV    Supervision and Administration

Article 19 .  Commodities' inspection authorities shall conduct selective examination over import and export commodities not subject to inspections by commodities inspection authorities, as specified by this Law according to the relevant regulations of the State.

The State Administration of Commodities Inspection may publish the result of selective examinations or notify the related departments of the results of the selective examinations.

Article 20 .  The commodity inspection authorities may, in view of the need to facilitate foreign trade, conduct supervision over the quality inspection work of export commodities listed within the Catalogue before they leave the factories, according to the State regulations.

Article 21 .  Agents handling formalities for the declaration for inspection on behalf of the consignors and consignees of import and export commodities shall be registered with the commodities inspection authorities, and submit the power of attorney to the commodities inspection authorities when handling the formalities involved in the declaration for inspection.

Article 22 .  The State Administration of Commodity Inspection shall, according to the related provisions of the State, accredit qualified inspection bodies both at home and abroad, through examination, to undertake the assigned inspection and inspection appraisal work of import and export commodities.

Article 23 .  The State Administration of Commodity Inspection and the commodity inspection authorities shall exercise supervision over the import and export commodity inspection and inspection appraisal work of the inspection organisation, authorised by the SACI, according to the law and may conduct selective examination over the commodities inspected by them.

Article 24 .  The State Administration of Commodity Inspection shall exercise certification administration over the import and export of related commodities in accordance with the centralised certification system of the country.

Article 25 .  The commodity inspection authorities may undertake the quality certification work of import and export commodities on the basis of the agreements signed between the State Administration of Commodity Inspection and foreign bodies concerned, or upon the entrustment by the foreign bodies concerned. Import and export commodities qualified, shall be allowed to attach the corresponding quality certification marks.

Article 26 .  Commodities' inspection authorities shall exercise administration of checking the licenses for import and export commodities, subject to the licensing system, according to this Law and check the documents and licenses to see whether or not the commodities are the same as those specified on the licenses.

Article 27 .  Commodities' inspection authorities may, in view of the requirements, impose commodities inspection marks or seals onto the qualified import and export commodities following inspection.

Article 28 .  In cases where an applicant for inspection of import and export commodities disagrees with the inspection results made by the commodity inspection authorities, he may apply to the original commodity inspection authorities, or to the higher commodity inspection authorities, or even to the State Administration of Commodity Inspection for re-inspection. The conclusion of the  re-inspection shall be made by the commodity inspection authorities or by the State Administration of Commodity Inspection, which have accepted the re-inspection.

Article 29 .  In cases where the party concerned disagrees with the conclusion of the re-inspection made by the CIAs or SACI or with the punishment decision made by the CIAs, it may apply for administrative reconsideration according to the law or file a lawsuit with the People's court according to the law.

Article 30 .  SACI and CIAs shall abide by the law and protect the national benefits in the course of performing their duties, be strict in the implementation of their duties according to their designated powers and procedures, and accept supervision.

SACI and CIAs shall, in line with their need to perform their duties according to the law, strengthen their ranks and ensure that their staff has sound political and business quality. Staff in the commodities inspection sector shall receive professional training and examination regularly and only those passing the examination shall be allowed to assume their duties.

Staff in the commodities inspection sector shall be loyal to their duties, provide services in a civilised manner, abide by professional ethics, and not abuse their powers, nor seek personal gain.

Article 31 .  SACI and CIAs shall establish and improve their internal supervising system and exercise supervision and inspection over the law-enforcement of their staff.

The job responsibilities of the major posts responsible for processing the declaration for inspection, inspection, certificate and access granting within the CIAs, shall be clear-cut and separated from one another, but interacting with one another.

Article 32 .  Any unit and individual is entitled to the right to make an accusation about, and report the illegal and rule-breaking activities of SACI and CIAs and the working staff. Departments involved shall, upon receiving the report or accusation, investigate into the matters according to their respective division of work and related laws without delay, and keep the details of the accuser and reporter confidential.

Chapter V    Legal Responsibilities

Article 33 .  Anyone, who in violation of the provisions of this Law, purposely markets or uses import commodities which are subject to inspection by CIAs without applying for inspection, or purposely exports export commodities which are subject to inspection by CIAs without applying for inspection, shall have the illegal incomes confiscated by the CIAs and a fine of between 5% to 20% of the value of the commodities involved shall be imposed. In cases where the acts have constituted crimes, the criminal responsibilities shall be investigated according to the law.

Article 34 .  In cases where a party is found to be in violation of the provisions of this Law, and is engaging in the appraisal of inspection of import and export commodities without permission from SACI, it shall be ordered to stop its illegal operations by the CIA, have its illegal incomes confiscated, and a fine between one to three times of the incomes obtained illegally shall be imposed.

Article 35 .  In cases where a party is found to import or export commodities of inferior quality, or forged commodities, or falsified commodities, or commodities not up to the standard of the name of the goods, and qualified and authentic commodities, it shall be ordered by the CIAs to stop importing or exporting, have its illegal incomes confiscated, and a fine between 50% to 3 times of the value of commodities involved shall be imposed. The criminal responsibilities shall be investigated in cases where the violation has constituted a crime.

Article 36 .  In cases where falsifying, remaking, selling or buying, or stealing of the commodity inspection certificates/documents, seals/stamps, marks, sealing and quality certification marks has constituted a crime, the legal responsibility of the personnel directly responsible shall be investigated.

In cases where the acts have not constituted a crime, the CIAs shall be responsible for ordering them to correct and confiscating their illegal incomes and imposing a fine of up to the amount of the value of the commodities involved.

Article 37 .  In cases where the staff of the SACI or commodities inspection authorities violate the provisions of this Law, disclose confidential business information, known to them, they shall be subject to administrative punishment according to the law and have their illegal incomes thus earned, if any, confiscated. In cases where their acts have constituted a crime, their criminal liabilities shall be investigated according to the law.

Article 38 .  In cases where staff of the SACI or commodities inspection authorities abuse their power, create difficulties intentionally, practice favouritism, forge inspection results, or neglect their duties or delay the granting of certificates after inspection, they shall be subject to administrative punishment according to the law. In cases where their acts have constituted crimes, their criminal liabilities shall be investigated according to the law.

Chapter VI     Supplementary Articles

Article 39 .  Commodities inspection institutions and other inspection agencies may charge fees as specified by the State if they have conducted inspection and handled inspection appraisal according to the provisions of this Law.

Article 40 .  The State Council shall formulated implementation rules in line with this Law.

Article 41 .  This Law shall become effective as of October 1, 2002.