国务院令第243号
(Promulgated¹ by Decree No. 243 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on April 18, 1998)
颁布日期：19980418 　实施日期：19980418 　颁布单位：国务院

　　The State Council has decided² to amend³ the Provisions of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Maritime⁴ International Container Transport as follows:

　　1. Article 2 is amended⁵ as: "These Provisions shall be applicable to units and individuals that are engaged in maritime international container transport, and also to units and individuals that are involved in the operations of maritime international container transport.

　　"The "maritime international container transport" refers to the maritime transport of containers between ports of the People's Republic of China and ports of foreign countries, including the sections of transport between ports of the People's Republic of China that belong to a whole voyage agreed upon in a contract for maritime international container transport."

　　2. Two new paragraphs are added to Article 6 separately as its second and third paragraphs: "The regular shipping⁶ services for maritime international container transport is subject to the approval of the department for communications under the State Council.

　　"No foreign enterprise may be permitted to be engaged in the regular shipping services for maritime container transport between ports of the People's Republic of China."

　　3. Article 31 is deleted and a new article added as Article 31: "The competent department for communications at or above the county level should make an investigation⁷ in a thorough, objective and impartial⁸ manner into those acts subject to administrative⁹ sanctions for violation¹⁰ of these Provisions, and should collect relevant evidence. When necessary, they may consult shipping documents, financial statements and other relevant materials of the enterprises under investigation.

　　"Units and individuals concerned should take concerted actions during investigation by the competent department for communications at or above the county level and should truthfully provide relevant materials. The competent department for communications at or above the county level should keep business secrets for investigated enterprises."

　　4. Article 32 is amended as: "With respect to those who have violated these Provisions and the relevant laws and regulations of the State on price control at the same time, they shall be penalized¹¹ by the department for price control in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations."

　　5. Article 33 is amended as: "With respect to those who, in violation of provisions of Articles 14 and 21 in these Provisions, fail to use the prescribed container shipping documents, or fail to submit statistical¹² statements on container transport, or untruthfully submit statistical statements on container transport, the competent department for communications at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections; if they refuse to do so, a fine of not more than RMB 5,000 yuan shall be imposed."

　　6. Article 34 is amended as: "With respect to those who have committed any of the following acts in violation of these Provisions, the competent department for communications at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections. If they refuse to do so, the illegal gains shall be confiscated¹³ and a fine of not less than the amount of the illegal gains and not more than three times of the amount of the illegal gains imposed. If there are no illegal gains, a fine shall be imposed according to the following provisions:

　　(1) In case that they are engaged in the operations of maritime international container transport, or port handling, or services of transshipment stations or freight stations without approval, they shall be fined not less than RMB 30,000 yuan and not more than RMB 300,000 yuan.

　　(2) In case that they are engaged in the regular shipping services for maritime international container transport, if the regular shipping services for container transport occur in the sections of transport between internal ports, they shall be fined not less than RMB 30,000 yuan and not more than RMB 300,000 yuan; if the regular shipping services for offshore¹⁴ international container transport occur, they shall be fined not less than RMB 50,000 yuan and not more than RMB 500,000 yuan; if the regular shipping services for oceangoing international container transport occur, they shall be fined not less than RMB 500,000 yuan and not more than RMB 5,000,000 yuan.

　　"If the provisions of the preceding paragraph have been violated with serious circumstances, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall revoke¹⁵ the business licences of the offenders¹⁶."

　　7. Articles 35 and 36 are deleted.

　　This Decision shall come into force as of the date of promulgation¹⁷.

　　Besides, wording in part of articles and the order of articles shall be correspondingly adjusted and changed.

　　The Provisions of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Maritime International Container Transport shall be republished after being correspondingly revised according to this Decision.

　　APPENDIX: PROVISIONS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF MARITIME INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TRANSPORT (Promulgated by Decree No. 68 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on December 5, 1990, and revised according to the Decision of the State Council Regarding Amending¹⁸ the Provisions of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Maritime International Container Transport, promulgated on April 18, 1998)

　　Chapter I General Provisions

　　Article 1 These Provisions are formulated¹⁹ in order to strengthen the administration of maritime international container transport, to clearly define the responsibilities of the various parties concerned, and to meet the State's needs in handling foreign trade.

　　Article 2 These Provisions shall be applicable to units and individuals that are engaged in maritime international container transport, and also to units and individuals that are involved in the operations of maritime international container transport.

　　The "maritime international container transport" refers to the maritime transport of containers between ports of the People's Republic of China and ports of foreign countries, including the sections of transport between ports of the People's Republic of China that belong to a whole voyage agreed upon in a contract for maritime international container transport.

　　Article 3 The department for communications under the State Council of the People's Republic of China shall be responsible for the administration of the operations of maritime international container transport throughout the country.

　　Article 4 In conducting maritime international container transport, the principles of safety, accuracy, speed, economy, and civilized²⁰ services must be followed and door-to-door transportation shall be actively²¹ developed.

　　Chapter II Procedures for the Examination and Approval of Applications for the Establishment of Enterprises That Handle Maritime International Container Transport and Their Routes for Regular Services

　　Article 5 "Enterprises for the operations of maritime international container transport" refers to those shipping enterprises that are engaged in maritime international container transport, and also to those enterprises that are engaged in port handling, with their inland transshipment stations and freight stations that undertake maritime international container transport.

　　Article 6 The applications for the establishment of enterprises that are engaged in the operations of maritime international container transport shall be submitted to the competent departments for communications of the provinces, autonomous²² regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government for examination and verification, and then to the department for communications under the State Council for examination and approval.

　　The regular shipping services for maritime international container transport is subject to the approval of the department for communications under the State Council.

　　No foreign enterprise may be permitted to be engaged in the regular shipping services for maritime container transport between ports of the People's Republic of China.

　　Article 7 The applications for the establishment of enterprises that are engaged in port handling of international containers shall be submitted to the competent departments for communications of the provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government for examination and approval, and then to the department for communications under the State Council for the record.

　　After the promulgation of these Provisions, the applications for the establishment of new inland transshipment stations and freight stations that undertake the transport of maritime international containers shall be submitted first to the competent department that has established the said enterprise for examination, verification, and consent; and then to the competent departments for communications of the provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government for examination and approval; and finally to the department for communications under the State Council for the record.

　　The procedures for the examination and approval of the applications from the sector²³ of foreign economic relations and trade for the establishment of new transshipment stations and freight stations that undertake the transport of maritime international containers shall be formulated separately by the department for communications in conjunction with the department for foreign economic relations and trade under the State Council.

　　Article 8 The applications for the establishment of Chinese-foreign equity²⁴ joint²⁵ ventures and Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures that handle maritime international container transport shall be submitted to the department for communications under the State Council for examination, verification, and consent; and shall then, in accordance with the provisions of the pertinent²⁶ laws and regulations, be submitted to the department for foreign economic relations and trade for examination and approval.

　　Article 9 The establishment of enterprises that are engaged in the operations of maritime international container transport must satisfy the following conditions:

　　(1) to have transport vessels²⁸, transport motor vehicles, transport equipment and other relevant facilities that correspond to their scope of business and to the needs of their customers;

　　(2) to have the necessary organizational structure, site for setting up their business office, and specialized²⁹ administrative personnel;

　　(3) to have the registered capital and their own working capital that meets the requirements of their operations for container transport; and

　　(4) to meet other conditions as stipulated³⁰ by State laws and regulations governing the establishment of enterprises.

　　Article 10 The competent department for communications shall examine, verify and approve the scope of business operations of the enterprises that have applied³¹ for the permission to handle maritime international container transport in light of their sources of funds, the conditions of equipment and facilities, the standard of administration, and the sources of cargoes³³.

　　Article 11 The competent department of communications shall issue the approving documents to those enterprises that have obtained the approval to handle maritime international container transport. The units that have received the approving documents shall apply and go through the registration³⁴ procedures by presenting the aforesaid approving documents to the administrative department for industry and commerce, which shall issue the business licences after checking and approving the enterprises' application; and only then shall the enterprises be permitted to start business operations.

　　Cases concerning the establishment of inland transshipment stations and freight stations that undertake the transport of maritime international containers shall also be submitted to the Customs for the completion of the registration procedures.

　　Chapter III Management of Freight Transportation

　　Article 12 The containers used in maritime international container transport shall conform to the provisions and technical standards of the international organization for the standardization³⁵ of containers, and also to the provisions of the pertinent international containers convention.

　　The owners and operators of containers shall do a good job in the management and maintenance of containers and carry out regular inspections³⁷, in order to guarantee the provision of containers that are suitable for the transportation of cargoes.

　　In case that the provisions in the second paragraph of this Article have been violated, and, as a result, goods are damaged or short in number or quantity, the person(s) who is (are) held responsible for this shall bear the liability for compensation in accordance with the pertinent provisions.

　　Article 13 Shippers and enterprises that are engaged in port handling shall guarantee that the vessels, motor vehicles, handling machinery³⁸ and tools are kept in a good technical condition, thereby³⁹ ensuring the transportation and safety of containers.

　　In case that shippers and enterprises that are engaged in port handling have violated the provisions in the first paragraph of this Article, and, as a result, goods are damaged or short in number or quantity, they shall bear the liability for compensation in accordance with the pertinent provisions.

　　Article 14 Shippers and enterprises that are engaged in port handling shall use the container shipping documents.

　　Article 15 Shippers may directly organize the contracting of the transportation of container goods, and consignors may directly hold business talks with shippers or commission shipping agents for the consignment⁴⁰ of import and export container goods.

　　Article 16 Consignors shall submit an accurate report on the names of goods, and their property, quantity, weight, and specifications⁴¹. The goods shipped by consignment in containers must conform to the requirements of container transport, and marks on the goods should be obvious and clear.

　　Article 17 Consignors or shippers shall, before vanning, carry out a careful inspection³⁶ of containers, and containers that might cause an adverse⁴² effect on to the transportation and vanning of goods may not be used.

　　Article 18 Containers which are used for shipping such perishables⁴³ as grains, edible⁴⁴ oils, and frozen food, shall be inspected by the department for commodity inspection and found to be up to the standard before they are used for shipping.

　　Article 19 As soon as container goods have reached their destination, the shipper shall promptly⁴⁵ send a cargo³² delivery notice to the consignee⁴⁶; and the consignee shall, upon receiving the notice, take delivery of goods on the strength of the bill of lading.

　　In case that the consignee fails to clear the goods when the prescribed time limit is overdue⁴⁷, or that the consignee fails to return the containers according to the prescribed time limit, the said consignee shall be required to pay in accordance with the pertinent stipulations or with the agreement set forth⁴⁸ in the contract, the surcharge for the storage of goods and containers and the demurrage⁴⁹ charge for the extended use of containers.

　　Article 20 The freight charges for maritime international container transport and other expenses shall be calculated and collected in accordance with the State provisions concerning shipping charges and charge rates. In the absence of State provisions, the freight charges shall be calculated and collected in accordance with the prices agreed upon by both parties. No units shall be permitted to collect charges at random⁵⁰.

　　Article 21 Shippers and enterprises that are engaged in port handling shall submit periodical statistical statements on transportation to the competent department for communications.

　　Article 22 Various parties that are involved in maritime international container transport shall, in good time, provide each other with information concerning container transport.

　　Chapter IV Hand-Over Procedures and Responsibilities

　　Article 23 Shippers and consignors or consignees shall, in accordance with the hand-over method stipulated in the bill of lading, handle the hand-over operations of containers and container goods at marshalling yards, freight stations, or other places agreed upon by the two parties concerned.

　　Article 24 Shippers and enterprises that are engaged in port handling, which take part in maritime international container transport, shall handle the hand-over operations in accordance with the following provisions:

　　(1) Maritime shippers and enterprises that are engaged in port handling shall handle the hand-over operations alongside vessel²⁷ through the tally⁵¹ companies;

　　(2) With respect to containers transported by waterways through nodal points, the enterprises that are engaged in port handling and waterway carriers shall handle the hand-over operations alongside vessel;

　　(3) With respect to containers transported by highways through nodal points, the enterprises that are engaged in port handling and highway carriers shall handle the hand-over operations at the gate of the container terminal;

　　(4) With respect to containers transported by railway through nodal points, the enterprise that are engaged in port handling or highway carriers and railway carriers shall handle the hand-over operations at the site of handing.

　　Article 25 While handling the hand-over operations of containers, the two handling parties shall check the container numbers, the bodies of containers and the containers' marking seals. The loaded containers shall be handed over by their marking seals and by the condition of container body; and the empty containers shall be handed over by condition of container body.

　　After checking the container numbers, the bodies of containers and the marking seals the two handling parties shall make a record and confirm it by appending their signatures to the record.

　　Article 26 With respect to the liabilities of shippers and enterprises that are engaged in port handling for the damage and loss of containers and container goods, before the hand-over operations, the liabilities shall be taken up by the handing-over party; after the hand-over operations, the liabilities shall be taken up by the receiving party. However, if, within 180 days immediately after the hand-over operations, the receiving party is able to produce evidence to testify to the fact that the damage of the containers, or the damage and loss of container goods were caused by the handing-over party, then the handing-over party shall take up the liabilities for compensation, unless otherwise provided by law.

　　Article 27 Unless otherwise provided by law, shippers and consignors shall, in accordance with the following provisions, take up the liabilities for the damage or loss of container goods:

　　(1) With respect to those goods, the vanning of which is done by the shippers, if the goods in the containers are damaged or are short in number or quantity during the period of time from the day the shippers receive the goods to the day when the goods reach their destination but before they are handed over to the consignees, the shippers shall take up the liabilities for the damage or shortage.

　　(2) With respect to those goods, the vanning of which is done by the consignors, if the container bodies and the marking seals have remained intact but the goods (in the containers) have been damaged or are short in number or quantity during the period of time from the completion or the vanning and the completion of the procedures for consignment to the day before the containers are handed over to the consignees, the consignors shall take up the liabilities for the damage or shortage; if the container bodies are damaged or the marking seals broken, and the goods in the containers are also damaged or are short in number or quantity, the shippers shall take up the liabilities for the damage or shortage.

　　The time limits for shippers and consignors or consignees to raise claims of compensation shall be limited to no more than 180 days, beginning from the day when container goods are handed over, unless otherwise provided by law.

　　Article 28 In case that the consignors' inaccurate⁵² or false declaration on container goods has resulted in injuries and death of personnel, or in the loss of means of transport or of the goods proper and the containers, or of other goods and containers, the consignors shall bear the liabilities for the consequences arising therefrom.

　　Article 29 In case that the fault of the person in charge of the vanning has resulted in injuries and death of personnel, or in the loss of means of transport, of other goods, or containers, the aforesaid person shall bear the liabilities for the consequences arising therefrom.

　　Article 30 In case that the damage or shortage in number or quantity of container goods involves a claim for compensation from a foreign unit, which necessitates⁵³ an appraisal⁵⁴ and the issue of the relevant certificate by the administrative department for commodity inspection, the case shall be handled in accordance with the provisions in the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Inspection of Import and Export Commodities.

　　In case that the shortage in number or quantity of containers or container goods involves a claim for compensation from a foreign unit, which necessitates the issue of the relevant certificate by the tally department, the case shall be handled in accordance with the pertinent provisions.

　　Chapter V Penalties

　　Article 31 The competent department for communications at or above the county level should make an investigation in a thorough, objective and impartial manner into those acts subject to administrative sanctions for violation of these Provisions, and should collect relevant evidence. When necessary, they may consult shipping documents, financial statements and other relevant materials of the enterprises under investigation.

　　Units and individuals concerned should take concerted actions during investigation by the competent department for communications at or above the county level and should truthfully provide relevant materials. The competent department for communications at or above the county level should keep business secrets for investigated enterprises.

　　Article 32 With respect to those who have violated these Provisions and the relevant laws and regulations of the State on price control at the same time, they shall be penalized by the department for price control in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.

　　Article 33 With respect to those who, in violation of provisions of Articles 14 and 21 in these Provisions, fail to use the prescribed container shipping documents, or fail to submit statistical statements on container transport, or untruthfully submit statistical statements on container transport, the competent department for communications at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections; if they refuse to do so, a fine of not more than RMB 5,000 yuan shall be imposed.

　　Article 34 With respect to those who have committed any of the following acts in violation of these Provisions, the competent department for communications at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections. If they refuse to do so, the illegal gains shall be confiscated and a fine of not less than the amount of the illegal gains and not more than three times of the amount of the illegal gains imposed. If there are no illegal gains, a fine shall be imposed according to the following provisions:

　　(1) In case that they are engaged in the operations of maritime international container transport, or port handling, or services of transshipment stations or freight stations without approval, they shall be fined not less than RMB 30,000 yuan and not more than RMB 300,000 yuan.

　　(2) In case that they are engaged in the regular shipping services for maritime international container transport, if the regular shipping services for container transport occur in the sections of transport between internal ports, they shall be fined not less than RMB 30,000 yuan and not more than RMB 300,000 yuan; if the regular shipping services for offshore international container transport occur, they shall be fined not less than RMB 50,000 yuan and not more than RMB 500,000 yuan; if the regular shipping services for oceangoing international container transport occur, they shall be fined not less than RMB 500,000 yuan and not more than RMB 5,000,000 yuan.

　　If the provisions of the preceding paragraph have been violated with serious circumstances, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall revoke the business licences of the offenders.

　　Chapter VI Supplementary⁵⁵ Provisions

　　Article 35 These Provisions shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.

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