署税[1998]745号
颁布日期：19981211 　实施日期：19990101 　颁布单位：海关总署

　　ShuShui[1998]No.745

　　December 11, 1998

　　Guangdong Customs and all customs directly under the General Administration of Customs:

　　Since the Urgent Circular of the General Administration of Customs on Implementing¹ the Circular of the State Council on Adjusting the Tariff² Policy of Equipment Imports (ShuShui [1997] No.1062) came into effect as of January 1, 1998, all customs have implemented³ the regulations, followed the principles of administration through specialized⁴ departments and of tertiary examination and approval, strengthened supervision⁵, and launched, following the instructions from the General Administration of Customs, the administrative⁶ system for tariff reduction and exemption⁷. Consequently, the customs examination and approval procedures have been standardized⁸. In order to streamline⁹ the operational procedures, to improve the work efficiency and to meet the requirements of the institutional reform of the General Administration of Customs and the transfer of its functions, it is decided¹⁰ that the procedures for the customs examination and approval of equipment imports under foreign or domestic invested projects shall be adjusted as follows:

　　I. For projects beyond the norm quota¹¹ applied¹² by various customs as transmitted by the General Administration of Customs and projects under the norm quota and examined and approved by relevant governmental agencies under the State Council and by pilot enterprise groups, their Confirmation¹³ of Status of Foreign or Domestic Invested Projects Encouraged by the Nation (hereinafter referred to as the Project Confirmation) will no longer be transmitted through the General Administration of Customs. Customs directly under the General Administration of Customs in charge of the aforementioned projects shall handle relevant examination and approval procedures of recording¹⁴, examination and approval upon presentation of the Project Confirmation by the project owner, and the approved feasibility study.

　　II. Article 8 of the Urgent Circular of the General Administration of Customs on Implementing the Circular of the State Council on Adjusting the Tariff Policy of Equipment Imports (ShuShui [1997] No. 1062) provides that imported tariff-free construction equipments, non-road auto-unloading cars and all the special vehicles explicitly¹⁵ defined in the note of the tariff regulation that shall be reported to the Department of Tariff of the General Administration of Customs for examination and approval shall not be reported to the General Administration of Customs for examination and approval. The relevant departments of all customs are held responsible for conducting uniformed examination and approval. Imported tariff-free goods shat shall still be reported to the General Administration of Customs for approval and examination include ships, converted vehicles and vehicles not explicitly named. The duty exemption application for these goods shall be submitted for approval through the Administrative System of Tariff Reduction and Exemption. If the structure, specification¹⁶, type, usage or the enterprise information needs to be specified¹⁷, customs directly under the General Administration of Customs shall submit texts, pictures, and other written materials marked with the number of the corresponding Duty Levy/Exemption Application Form to the General Administration of Customs.

　　III. Given the strong policy nature of this adjustment and the wide coverage¹⁸ of companies and agencies affected¹⁹, every customs shall observe strictly²⁰ the relevant documents specified in the Project Confirmation in conducting examination and approval and especially when the coverage of imports with no tariff exemption is concerned. For goods beyond the duty-exemption coverage and goods whose duty exemption standard is hard to define, timely reports shall be made to the General Administration of Customs. No customs is allowed to exceed its power or to expand the range for tariff reduction and exemption in a disguised way. The tertiary examination and approval systems shall be adhered to and administration shall be intensified²¹ through the administrative system of tariff reduction and exemption so as to ensure that tariff collection and tariff exemption are conducted in compliance²² with relevant laws and regulations.

　　IV. This Circular will enter into force as of January 1, 1999. Please make timely contacts with the Department of Tariff Levying²³ and Administration of the General Administration of Customs for any problems that occur during the implementation²⁴ process.