In order to continuously standardize the exercise of discretion, GACC organized the revision of Discretionary Standards for Customs Administrative Penalties of the People's Republic of China (II) (Announcement No. 187 [2023] of GACC, hereinafter referred to as Announcement No. 187) in accordance with the revision of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as "Frontier Health and Quarantine Law") and the needs of enforcement practice of procuratorial-related administrative penalties, forming the Announcement of GACC on Amending the Discretionary Standards for Customs Administrative Penalties of the People's Republic of China (II) (Announcement No. 21 [2025] of GACC). It shall apply from 1 March 2025. In order to enable administrative opposite parties and all sectors of society to fully understand and accurately grasp the background and key contents of this revision, the relevant issues are interpreted as follows:
I. Revision Background
First, it is a concrete practice to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed to improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and further promote law-based administration. The Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Further Regulating the Formulation and Management of Administrative Discretionary Standards (GBF [2022] No. 27) requires that a dynamic adjustment mechanism for administrative discretionary standards should be established, and timely adjustments should be made if the laws, regulations and rules on which the administrative discretionary standards are based are modified or there are major changes in objective circumstances. As the national entry and exit supervision and management authority, the Customs continuously pays attention to the vital interests of import and export enterprises and individuals, and timely revises discretionary standards, which is conducive to improving the scientificity and accuracy of administrative penalty discretion and ensuring the effective implementation of relevant laws and regulations on customs inspection and quarantine.
Second, it is necessary to meet the practical needs of the revision of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law. On June 28, 2024, the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law was revised and promulgated, which will be implemented from January 1, 2025. This law introduces significant revisions to the scope of frontier health and quarantine supervision, the classification of illegal acts, and corresponding legal liabilities. As a result, the relevant discretionary standards set forth in Announcement No. 187, which were based on the original law and its implementing regulations, are no longer applicable. It is urgent to revise them to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of import and export enterprises and individuals.
Third, these are pragmatic measures in response to social concerns. Since January 1, 2024, the General Administration of Customs (GACC) has continuously carried out specialized research on the implementation of Announcement No. 187, extensively gathered feedback from various stakeholders, and tracked and assessed its implementation outcomes. Import and export enterprises and individuals anticipate that the customs will further enhance the fault-tolerance mechanism and introduce more lenient or exempted penalties. In view of changes in inspection and quarantine supervision policies and law enforcement practices, it is necessary for customs to optimize and refine the relevant discretionary standards to continuously unleash the dividends of the rule of law.
II. Revised Framework
Based on the framework of the main text and annexes of Announcement No. 187, the paragraph 2 of Article 7, the paragraph 1 of Article 11, Article 12, and Annexes 1–3 of the original text have been revised, and the new List of Items "Exempted from Punishment for First Violation" (II) under Customs Administrative Penalty has been added. The revised Discretionary Standards (II) consist of the main text and four annexes, including:
Annex 1 is the List of Items "Exempted from Punishment for Minor Violation" (II) under Customs Administrative Penalty, hereinafter referred to as the List of Items "Exempted from Punishment for Minor Violation";
Annex 2 is the List of Items "Exempted from Punishment for First Violation" (II) under Customs Administrative Penalty, hereinafter referred to as the List of Items "Exempted from Punishment for First Violation";
Annex 3 is the Discretionary Standards for Common Cases of Customs Inspection and Quarantine Administrative Punishment, hereinafter referred to as the Discretionary Standards for Common Cases;
Annex 4 is the Discretionary Standards for Common Cases under Customs Simplified Procedures and Expedited Handling of Administrative Penalties (II), hereinafter referred to as the Discretionary Standards for Simplified and Expedited Cases.
III. Specific Revisions
(I) Support the implementation of the newly revised Frontier Health and Quarantine Law. 18 items that were inconsistent with the newly revised Frontier Health and Quarantine Law were removed, and 16 new items were added, including item 1 of "minor violations exempted from punishment", item 1 of "first violation exempted from punishment", items 1–8 of common violation scenarios, and items 1–6 of violations subject to simplified procedures and expedited handling.
(II) Introduce a new "first violation exempted from punishment" list. Considering that exemption from punishment for a first violation is a right granted by law to administrative opposite parties, and that inspection and quarantine declarations are highly specialized and prone to unintentional violations, this revision aims to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and individuals and ensure uniformity in customs law enforcement. Guided by the principle of tempering justice with mercy and integrating legal principles, it comprehensively evaluates multiple factors such as inspection and quarantine risks, prompt corrections, and potential harmful consequences. It clarifies 10 items exempted from punishment for a first violation, including failing to declare required health quarantine inspection items, not declaring exit bamboo, wood, or grass products (or declaring them inconsistently with the actual situation), and evading import and export commodity inspection by refusing to declare. A "First Violation Exempted From Punishment" List has been formulated, and applicable rules have been scientifically established. The "first-time" period is set at 24 months, and the scope for determining illegal acts is limited to administrative and criminal violations within the same inspection and quarantine business field. Foster a conducive environment for enterprises through inclusive and prudent regulation and flexible law enforcement.
(III) Revise and improve the existing discretionary matters. To align with national policies and evolving customs inspection and quarantine supervision, and to address public concerns, relevant matters in the annexes to the original announcement have been adjusted and clarified. First, the scope of the minor penalty exemption list is expanded to include five additional situations, such as inbound and outbound travelers failing to declare their health status as required, carrying certain low-risk quarantine articles into the country without declaration, and evading import and export commodity inspection by not submitting items for inspection, with corresponding exemption conditions established. Second, additional common violations related to inbound and outbound grain and imported food commodities have been defined, including 4 new items for inbound/outbound grain and 3 new items for imported food, and the descriptions of aggravating circumstances for 8 frontier health and quarantine violations have been refined. Third, in accordance with the "Discretionary Standards for Common Cases", simultaneous revisions have been made to the "Discretionary Standards for Simplified and Expedited Cases".
Contributed by: Department of Enterprise Management and Inspection, Guangzhou Customs, Nanning Customs, and Ningbo Customs
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of GACC. The GACC version shall prevail.