Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on Imported and Exported Commodities Inspection

Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on Imported and Exported Commodities Inspection

Order of the President of the People's Republic of China [2002] No. 67

April 28, 2002

The Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Law of the People's Republic of China on Imported and Exported Commodities Inspection, adopted at the 27th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 28, 2002, is hereby promulgated and shall enter into force as of October 1,2002.

Jiang Zemin President of the People's Republic of China

Appendix: Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Law of the People's Republic of China on Imported and Exported Commodities Inspection

(Adopted at the 27th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 28, 2002)

At its 27th meeting, the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress made the following amendments to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Imported and Exported Commodities Inspection:

I. Article 1 is revised to read: "This Law is enacted with a view to improving the inspection of import and export commodities, regulating inspection of import and export commodity, protecting public interests and the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved in foreign trade, and promoting the smooth development of China's economic and trade relations with other countries."

II. Article 3 is revised to read: "The commodity inspection authorities and the inspection bodies permitted by the State administration for commodity inspection shall, in accordance with law, perform the inspection of import and export commodities."

III. Article 4 is revised to read: "The import and export commodities shall be inspected in adherence to the principles of protecting human health and safety, animal and plant life and health, and the environment; preventing deceptive practices and preserving security of the State. The State administration for commodity inspection shall compile and readjust the catalogue of import and export commodities subject to compulsory inspection (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue, in short) and publish it for implementation."

IV. The first paragraph of Article 5 is revised to read: "The inspection of the import and export commodities which are listed in the Catalogue shall be conducted by the commodity inspection authorities." The third paragraph is revised to read: "Among the import and export commodities specified in the first paragraph of this Article, those that meet the requirements for exemption from inspection, as prescribed by the State, may be exempted from inspection, if the consignee or consignor files an application and the application is approved by the State administration for commodity inspection after examination."

V. Article 6 is divided into two articles, which are Article 6 and 7 and revised to read:
(1)"Article 6 By compulsory inspection of import and export commodities is meant the conformity assessment as to whether the import and export commodities included by decision in the Catalogue meet the compulsory requirements of the technical regulations of the State.
"The procedures for conformity assessment include: sampling, testing and inspection; evaluation, verification and assurance of conformity; and registration, accreditation and approval as well as their combinations."
(2) "Article 7 The import and export commodities which are listed in the Catalogue shall be inspected in accordance with the compulsory requirements of the technical regulations of the State. With regard to those commodities for which compulsory requirements of the technical regulations of the State have not yet been formulated, such requirements shall be formulated in time according to law. Before their formulation, those commodities may be inspected with reference to the relevant foreign standards designated by the State administration for commodity inspection."

VI. Article 25 is changed to be Article 8 and is revised to read: "The inspection bodies permitted by the State administration for commodity inspection may provide inspection and survey services in respect of the import and export commodities as entrusted by parties involved in foreign trade or by foreign inspection bodies."

VII. Article 8 is changed to be Article 10 and is revised to read: "The State administration for commodity inspection and the commodity inspection authorities shall, without delay, collect information on the inspection of import and export commodities and make it available to the relevant quarters." And one paragraph is added as the second paragraph: "The staff members of the State administration for commodity inspection and the commodity inspection authorities shall have the obligation to keep the commercial secrets of which they become aware in the course of fulfilling their duties of inspection of import and export commodities."

VIII. Article 9 is changed to be Article 11 and is revised to read: "For import commodities which are subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities, as provided for by this Law, the consignee or his agent shall apply for inspection to the commodity inspection authorities located at the place he makes Customs declarations. The Customs shall check and release the commodities on the strength of the Documents for Customs Clearance issued by the commodity inspection authorities."

IX. Article 10 is changed to be Article 12 and is revised to read: "For import commodities which are subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities, as provided for by this Law, the consignee or his agent shall, in the places and within the time limit specified by the commodity inspection authorities, accept inspection of the import commodities conducted by the commodity inspection authorities. The commodity inspection authorities shall complete the inspection and issue an inspection certificate within the time limit specified uniformly by the State administration for commodity inspection."

X. Article 13 is changed to be Article 15 and is revised to read: "For export commodities which are subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities, as provided for by this Law, the consigner or his agent shall, in the places and within the time limit specified by the commodity inspection authorities, apply for inspection to the commodity inspection authorities. The commodity inspection authorities shall complete the inspection and issue an inspection certificate within the time limit specified uniformly by the State administration for commodity inspection.
"For the export commodities that are subject to inspection, as provided for by this Law, the Customs shall check and release the commodities on the strength of the Documents for Customs Clearance issued by the commodity inspection authorities."

XI. Article 14 is changed to be Article 16 and is revised to read: "Export commodities which have passed the inspection conducted by the commodity inspection authorities and for which inspection certificates have been issued shall be declared for export within the time limit specified by the commodity inspection authorities. Re-application for inspection is necessary when the specified time limit expires."

XII. Article 17 is changed to be Article 19 and is revised to read: "For the import and export commodities other than those that are subject to inspection by the commodity inspection authorities, as provided by this Law, the commodity inspection authorities may conduct random inspection in accordance with State regulations.
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