Measures Governing Inspection and Supervision of Importation of Old Machinery and Electronic Products|china guides

Chapter I General Principles

Article 1. This set of rules, formulated in accordance with the Import and Export Commodities Inspection Law of the People's Republic of China and its implementation rules and the related provisions of international treaties and agreements to which the People's Republic of China is a member, aims to strengthen the administration of inspection and supervision of import of old machinery and electronic products, protect human and property safety and environment, and prevent fraudulent acts.

Article 2. This set of rules shall be applicable to the administration over inspection and supervision of old machinery and electronic products allowed to be imported into, sold within, and used within China.

Article 3. Old machinery and electronic products mentioned in this set of rules refer to those meeting any of the following terms and conditions:

1. having being used and having basic functions and certain value of use;

2. having not been used but kept for a long time, exceeding period of quality guarantee;

3. having not been used but kept for a long time, with obvious spoilage of parts and components;

4. assembled with new and old components at the same time;

5. large-scale second-hand complete equipment.

Article 4. Imported old machinery and electronic products should conform to the compulsory requirements of State technical standards concerning safety, sanitation and environmental protection of the country.

Article 5. The State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (hereinafter referred to as SAQI) is responsible for the administration over the inspection and supervision of importation of old machinery and electronic products of the country; and the entry and exit inspection and quarantine institutions (hereinafter referred to as the inspection and quarantine institutions) established by the administration all over the country are responsible for the administration over the inspection and supervision of importation of old machinery and electronic products within their respective administrative regions.

Article 6. The State shall conduct pre-shipment inspection and arrival inspection, with the result of arrival inspection binding over old machinery and electronic products concerning national safety; environmental protection; and human, animal and plant health. Arrival inspection shall be conducted over other types of imported old machinery and electronic products.

Article 7. Imported old machinery and electronic products should not be sold, installed or used in case they fail to pass inspection or fail to meet the compulsory requirements specified in the country's technical standards concerning safety, sanitation and environmental protection.

Chapter II Pre-shipment Inspection

Article 8. Items involved in pre-shipment inspection include:

1. cargoes conforming to the project examined and approved by the State;

2. quantity and specification of cargoes conforming to those specified on the contract and loading list;

3. preliminary evaluation for safety, sanitation, and environmental protection.

Article 9. Whereas the importation of old machinery and electronic products needs proof from departments in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation beforehand according to relevant regulations, the consignee of the imported old machinery and electronic products and its agent should obtain corresponding proof according to related rules and handle record-filing formalities in line with the following situations after the coming into force of the trade agreement or contract and 90 days before the arrival of imported old machinery and electronic products:

1. Whereas the importation of old machinery and electronic products needs to have import proof signed by the Office in Charge of Machinery and Electronic Products of the Ministry of Commerce, the consignee or its agent should go to the SAQI to handle the record-filing formalities on the strength of the proof. If pre-shipment inspection is required, the SAQI should issue a Letter of Record-filing of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products. If no pre-shipment is required, the SAQI should issue a Certificate of Exemption from Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products.

2. Whereas the importation of old machinery and electronic products needs to have import proof signed by local offices in charge of machinery and electronic products, the consignee or its agent should go to the local administration of inspection and quarantine directly subordinate to the SAQI to handle the record-filing formalities on the strength of the proof. If pre-shipment inspection is required, the local administration of inspection and quarantine directly subordinate to the SAQI should issue a Letter of Record-filing of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products. If no pre-shipment is required, the local administration of inspection and quarantine directly subordinate to the SAQI should issue a Certificate of Exemption from Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products.

Article 10. Whereas the importation of old machinery and electronic products does not need proof from the department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation according to the related regulations, the consignee of the imported old machinery and electronic products or its agent should go to the local administration of inspection and quarantine directly subordinate to the SAQI to handle record-filing formalities. In case pre-shipment inspection is requested, the local administration of inspection and quarantine directly subordinate to the SAQI should issue a Letter of Record-filing of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products. Whereas no pre-shipment is required, the local administration of inspection and quarantine directly subordinate to the SAQI should issue a Certificate of Exemption from Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products.

Article 11. Institutions in charge of pre-shipment inspection should conduct pre-shipment inspection over imported old machinery and electronic products according to the compulsory requirements of China's national technical standards.

Article 12. Institutions in charge of pre-shipment inspection should complete their inspection before the loading of cargoes and issue a Report of Pre-shipment Inspection to the SAQI, which will conduct verification and grant Certificate of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products if satisfied.

Article 13. The SAQI is responsible for the recognition and training of institutions capable of conducting pre-shipment inspection and of qualifications of staff doing pre-shipment inspection. Institutions or individuals not recognized are not allowed to conduct pre-shipment inspection over the imported old machinery and electronic products.

Measures governing pre-shipment inspections and staff doing this will be worked out separately.

Chapter III Arrival Inspection

Article 14. When the imported old machinery and electronic products arrive at the destination port, the consignee or its agent should handle the related customs clearing formalities on the strength of Proof of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products (original) or Letter of Record-filing of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products and Certificate of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products (original) issued by the SAQI and other necessary documents and certificates. Whereas the importation of machinery and electronic products needs a proof document issued by department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation beforehand, the proof document allowing importation should also be provided at the time of customs clearing.

Article 15. Inspection and quarantine institutions should, upon acceptance of the report for inspection, check the documents and certificates, issue a Customs Clearing Note of Entry Cargoes, specify on the Customs Clearing Note of Entry Cargoes that they are old cargoes, and conduct inspection if necessary.

Article 16. The inspection and quarantine institutions at the place where the imported old machinery and electronic products are to be used are responsible for the arrival inspection of the importation. In case there is no specification of the location of use of imported old machinery and electronic products, the inspection and quarantine institutions at the entry ports are responsible for arrival inspection and supervision.

Article 17. In case of long-distance inspection, the inspection and quarantine institutions at the entry ports will issue a Customs Clearing Note of Imported Cargoes and deliver the Proof of Exemption from Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products (original) or Certificate of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported old Machinery and Electronic Products (original), other documents for customs clearing, and the third section of the Customs Clearing Note of Imported Cargoes without undue delay to the inspection and quarantine institutions at the destination. The inspection and quarantine institutions at the entry ports should keep a copy of the Proof of Exemption from Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported Old Machinery and Electronic Products (original) or Certificate of Pre-shipment Inspection of Imported old Machinery and Electronic Products (original) and other documents for customs clearing for future reference.

Article 18. The consignee or its agent should, within 6 working days upon the arrival of the imported old machinery and electronic products at the destination, declare to the inspection and quarantine institutions at the place of use on the strength of the related customs clearing documents and the said inspection and quarantine institutions should arrange the inspection without undue delay.

Article 19. Items of inspection involved in the arrival inspection of imported old machinery and electronic products include: box-opening inspection and inspections of safety, sanitation, environmental protection.

1. Box-opening inspection includes verification of the name, brand, specifications, quantity, condition, and packaging of the old machinery and electronic products;

2. Safety inspection refers to inspection according to the compulsory standards of the State on electric safety and mechanical safety of the machinery and electronic products, including items such as whether the works of the machinery and electronic products are in good safety status or not, operational functions are normal or not, electric system sensitive and reliable or not, protection devices safety and reliable or not.

3. Environmental protection inspection refers to inspection conducted according to the compulsory standards of the State on environmental protection, including radiation inspection, whether the machinery and electronic products have water leakage, oil leakage, or have filth or dirt with them, whether exhausts or noises produced exceeds the standard.

Article 20. Proof of Inspection and Quarantine of Entry Cargoes should be issued to those passing the inspection and Certificate of Inspection and Quarantine of Entry Cargoes be issued to those failing the inspection.

Article 21. Whereas imported old machinery and electronic products do not conform to, upon inspection, the compulsory requirements imposed by the national technical standards with regard to safety, sanitation, and environmental protection, the inspection and quarantine institutions are responsible for ordering the consignee to return or destroy them.

Chapter IV Supplementary Articles

Article 22. Acts of not declaring the importation of old machinery and electronic products according shall be punished according to the commodities inspection law and its implementation rules and related regulations.

Article 23. Related rules shall be implemented in case of inspection issue of freedom from customs supervision of imported equipment provided by foreign businesses not evaluated under the processing trade and treatment of using importation providing documents of new machinery and electronic products to cover the importation of old machinery and electronic products.

Article 24. The SAQI shall be entitled to the interpretation right of this set of rules.

Article 25. This set of rules shall enter into force as of May 1, 2003. This set of rules shall prevail in case of discrepancies between this set of rules and related rules promulgated by the former State Import and Export Commodities Inspection Bureau and the former State Entry and Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.