Law of the People's Republic of China on the Import and Export Quarantine of Animals and Plants (Amended in 2009)
Law of the People's Republic of China on the Import and Export Quarantine of Animals and Plants (Amended in 2009)
Law of the People's Republic of China on the Import and Export Quarantine of Animals and Plants (Amended in 2009)
Order of the President of the People's Republic of China No.18
August 27, 2009
(Adopted at the 22nd session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress and promulgated by the Order of the President No. 53 on October 30, 1991; and amended based on the Decision on Amending Certain Laws which was adopted at the 10th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress on August 27, 2009)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Import Quarantine
Chapter III Export Quarantine
Chapter IV Transit Quarantine
Chapter V Quarantine of Materials Carried by Passengers or by Post
Chapter VI Quarantine of Means of Transport
Chapter VII Legal Responsibility
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is formulated for the purpose of preventing infectious or parasitic diseases of animals, diseases, insect pests and weeds dangerous to plants, and other harmful organisms (hereinafter referred to, for short, as diseases, insect pests and harmful organisms) from spreading into or out of the country, protecting the production of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery as well as human health, and promoting the development of foreign economic relations and trade.
Article 2 Animals and plants, their products and other quarantine objects, containers and packaging materials used for carrying animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects, as well as means of transport from animal or plant epidemic areas shall, upon import or export, be subject to quarantine inspection in accordance with this Law.
Article 3 An animal and plant quarantine department shall be instituted under the State Council (hereinafter referred to, for short, as the State animal and plant quarantine department), which shall conduct a unified administration of the import and export animal and plant quarantine in the whole country. Port animal and plant quarantine offices set up by the State animal and plant quarantine department at ports open to the outside world and at places busy with import and export animal and plant quarantine shall, in accordance with this Law, carry out import and export animal and plant quarantine.
The department in charge of the quarantine of animal products leaving the country for trade purposes shall be designated by the State Council as it deems appropriate.
The department of agriculture administration under the State Council shall be in charge of the import and export animal and plant quarantine in the whole country.
Article 4 A port animal and plant quarantine office may exercise the following functions and powers when performing quarantine inspection:
1. embarking on a ship, a vehicle or an airplane to perform quarantine under this Law;
2. entering a seaport, an airport, a railway or coach station, a post office or a site where quarantine objects are stored, processed, bred or cultivated, to perform quarantine inspection and collect samples according to relevant regulations;
3. entering a site relating to production or storage according to the needs of quarantine, to carry out epidemic monitoring and investigations or quarantine supervision and control;
4. consulting, making copies of or excerpts from operational diaries, bills of lading, contracts, invoices or other documents relating to the quarantine objects.
Article 5 The State shall prohibit the following objects from entering the country:
1. pathogenic micro-organisms (including seed cultures of bacteria and viruses) of animals and plants, insect pests and other harmful organisms;
2. relevant animals and plants, their products and other quarantine objects from countries or regions with prevalent epidemic animal or plant diseases;
3. animal carcasses; and
4. soil.
When a port animal and plant quarantine office discovers any objects prohibited from entering the country as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, such objects shall be returned or destroyed.
Whoever, because of special needs such as scientific research, imports any objects prohibited from entering the country as prescribed in the first paragraph of this Article, must submit an application in advance, which shall be subject to the approval by the State animal and plant quarantine department.
The catalogues of objects prohibited from entering the country as prescribed in (2) of the first paragraph of this Article shall be worked out and announced by the department of agriculture administration under the State Council.
Article 6 In the event that a serious animal or plant epidemic occurs abroad and is liable to spread into the country, the State Council shall adopt emergent preventive measures and may, when necessary, issue orders to prohibit means of transport from animal or plant epidemic areas from entering the country or to blockade the relevant ports; the local people's governments in areas threatened by the animal or plant epidemic as well as the port animal and plant quarantine offices concerned shall immediately take emergency measures, and, at the same time, report to the people's governments at higher levels and the State animal and plant quarantine department.
The departments of posts and telecommunications and departments of transportation shall give priority to transmitting or transporting reports concerning serious animal or plant epidemic or materials to be sent for quarantine inspection.
Article 7 The State animal and plant quarantine department and port animal and plant quarantine offices shall practice a quarantine supervision system in relation to the procedures in the production, processing and storage of animals and plants and their products for import or export.
Article 8 When a port animal and plant quarantine office is carrying out its tasks of quarantine inspection in seaports, airports, railway or coach stations, or post offices, relevant departments such as the Customs, departments of communications, civil aviation, or railways, and postal services shall coordinate therewith.
Article 9 Any quarantine functionary of an animal and plant quarantine organ must be devoted to his or her duties and enforce the law impartially.
No unit or individual may obstruct a quarantine functionary of an animal and plant quarantine organ from carrying out his or her duties according to law.
Chapter II Import Quarantine
Article 10 Whoever imports animals, animal products, plant seeds, seedlings or other propagating materials must submit an application in advance and go through the formalities for examination and approval of quarantine inspection.
Article 11 Whoever imports animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects through trade, scientific and technological cooperation, exchanges, donations or aid shall specify in the contracts or agreements the requirements for quarantine inspection prescribed by China's law and the necessity of quarantine certificates issued by the animal and plant quarantine department under the government of the exporting country or region being appended therewith.
Article 12 The owner or his or her agent shall apply to the port animal and plant quarantine office at the port of import for quarantine inspection of the animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects, before or on their import, on the strength of documents such as the quarantine certificates issued by the exporting country or region and the trade contracts.
Article 13 On arrival at a port of a means of transport for carrying animals, the port animal and plant quarantine office shall for the prevention of epidemics adopt on-the-spot preventive measures and conduct disinfection of persons embarking on or disembarking from the means of transport or having contacts with the animals, the means of transport for carrying the animals and the contaminated fields.
Article 14 Import animals and plants, their products and other quarantine objects shall be quarantined at the port of import; without consent of the port animal and plant quarantine office, the same shall not be unloaded from the means of transport.
The import animals and plants that need to be placed in isolation for quarantine inspection shall be quarantined in an isolation court designated by the port animal and plant quarantine office.
By reason of limited conditions at the port of import, the State animal and plant quarantine department may decide to have the animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects transported to a designated place for quarantine inspection.
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Order of the President of the People's Republic of China No.18
August 27, 2009
(Adopted at the 22nd session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress and promulgated by the Order of the President No. 53 on October 30, 1991; and amended based on the Decision on Amending Certain Laws which was adopted at the 10th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress on August 27, 2009)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Import Quarantine
Chapter III Export Quarantine
Chapter IV Transit Quarantine
Chapter V Quarantine of Materials Carried by Passengers or by Post
Chapter VI Quarantine of Means of Transport
Chapter VII Legal Responsibility
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is formulated for the purpose of preventing infectious or parasitic diseases of animals, diseases, insect pests and weeds dangerous to plants, and other harmful organisms (hereinafter referred to, for short, as diseases, insect pests and harmful organisms) from spreading into or out of the country, protecting the production of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery as well as human health, and promoting the development of foreign economic relations and trade.
Article 2 Animals and plants, their products and other quarantine objects, containers and packaging materials used for carrying animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects, as well as means of transport from animal or plant epidemic areas shall, upon import or export, be subject to quarantine inspection in accordance with this Law.
Article 3 An animal and plant quarantine department shall be instituted under the State Council (hereinafter referred to, for short, as the State animal and plant quarantine department), which shall conduct a unified administration of the import and export animal and plant quarantine in the whole country. Port animal and plant quarantine offices set up by the State animal and plant quarantine department at ports open to the outside world and at places busy with import and export animal and plant quarantine shall, in accordance with this Law, carry out import and export animal and plant quarantine.
The department in charge of the quarantine of animal products leaving the country for trade purposes shall be designated by the State Council as it deems appropriate.
The department of agriculture administration under the State Council shall be in charge of the import and export animal and plant quarantine in the whole country.
Article 4 A port animal and plant quarantine office may exercise the following functions and powers when performing quarantine inspection:
1. embarking on a ship, a vehicle or an airplane to perform quarantine under this Law;
2. entering a seaport, an airport, a railway or coach station, a post office or a site where quarantine objects are stored, processed, bred or cultivated, to perform quarantine inspection and collect samples according to relevant regulations;
3. entering a site relating to production or storage according to the needs of quarantine, to carry out epidemic monitoring and investigations or quarantine supervision and control;
4. consulting, making copies of or excerpts from operational diaries, bills of lading, contracts, invoices or other documents relating to the quarantine objects.
Article 5 The State shall prohibit the following objects from entering the country:
1. pathogenic micro-organisms (including seed cultures of bacteria and viruses) of animals and plants, insect pests and other harmful organisms;
2. relevant animals and plants, their products and other quarantine objects from countries or regions with prevalent epidemic animal or plant diseases;
3. animal carcasses; and
4. soil.
When a port animal and plant quarantine office discovers any objects prohibited from entering the country as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, such objects shall be returned or destroyed.
Whoever, because of special needs such as scientific research, imports any objects prohibited from entering the country as prescribed in the first paragraph of this Article, must submit an application in advance, which shall be subject to the approval by the State animal and plant quarantine department.
The catalogues of objects prohibited from entering the country as prescribed in (2) of the first paragraph of this Article shall be worked out and announced by the department of agriculture administration under the State Council.
Article 6 In the event that a serious animal or plant epidemic occurs abroad and is liable to spread into the country, the State Council shall adopt emergent preventive measures and may, when necessary, issue orders to prohibit means of transport from animal or plant epidemic areas from entering the country or to blockade the relevant ports; the local people's governments in areas threatened by the animal or plant epidemic as well as the port animal and plant quarantine offices concerned shall immediately take emergency measures, and, at the same time, report to the people's governments at higher levels and the State animal and plant quarantine department.
The departments of posts and telecommunications and departments of transportation shall give priority to transmitting or transporting reports concerning serious animal or plant epidemic or materials to be sent for quarantine inspection.
Article 7 The State animal and plant quarantine department and port animal and plant quarantine offices shall practice a quarantine supervision system in relation to the procedures in the production, processing and storage of animals and plants and their products for import or export.
Article 8 When a port animal and plant quarantine office is carrying out its tasks of quarantine inspection in seaports, airports, railway or coach stations, or post offices, relevant departments such as the Customs, departments of communications, civil aviation, or railways, and postal services shall coordinate therewith.
Article 9 Any quarantine functionary of an animal and plant quarantine organ must be devoted to his or her duties and enforce the law impartially.
No unit or individual may obstruct a quarantine functionary of an animal and plant quarantine organ from carrying out his or her duties according to law.
Chapter II Import Quarantine
Article 10 Whoever imports animals, animal products, plant seeds, seedlings or other propagating materials must submit an application in advance and go through the formalities for examination and approval of quarantine inspection.
Article 11 Whoever imports animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects through trade, scientific and technological cooperation, exchanges, donations or aid shall specify in the contracts or agreements the requirements for quarantine inspection prescribed by China's law and the necessity of quarantine certificates issued by the animal and plant quarantine department under the government of the exporting country or region being appended therewith.
Article 12 The owner or his or her agent shall apply to the port animal and plant quarantine office at the port of import for quarantine inspection of the animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects, before or on their import, on the strength of documents such as the quarantine certificates issued by the exporting country or region and the trade contracts.
Article 13 On arrival at a port of a means of transport for carrying animals, the port animal and plant quarantine office shall for the prevention of epidemics adopt on-the-spot preventive measures and conduct disinfection of persons embarking on or disembarking from the means of transport or having contacts with the animals, the means of transport for carrying the animals and the contaminated fields.
Article 14 Import animals and plants, their products and other quarantine objects shall be quarantined at the port of import; without consent of the port animal and plant quarantine office, the same shall not be unloaded from the means of transport.
The import animals and plants that need to be placed in isolation for quarantine inspection shall be quarantined in an isolation court designated by the port animal and plant quarantine office.
By reason of limited conditions at the port of import, the State animal and plant quarantine department may decide to have the animals and plants, their products or other quarantine objects transported to a designated place for quarantine inspection.
......