Why are you detaining your goods?

Because the detained goods are suspected of being illegal or smuggling.

According to Article 38 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties, the customs may detain the following goods, articles, means of transportation, and relevant account books, documents, and other information according to law:

（1） Goods, articles, and means of transport suspected of smuggling;

（2） Goods, articles, and means of transportation that violate the Customs Law or other relevant laws and administrative regulations;

（3） Goods, articles, means of transportation, and relevant account books, documents, and other information that violate customs laws or other relevant laws and administrative regulations.

02 How long will the goods be detained?

Generally, it will not exceed one year, but at most two years.

According to Article 40 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Punishments", the time limit for the customs to detain goods, articles, means of transportation, account books, documents, and other information shall not exceed one year. Due to the need of case investigation, the extension period may be extended with the approval of the director of the directly subordinate customs or the director of the subordinate customs authorized by him. The extension period shall not exceed one year. However, the period of reconsideration and litigation shall not be counted.

(Note: Article 25 of the Administrative Compulsory Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the time limit for sealing up and detaining shall not exceed 30 days. If the circumstances are complex, it may be extended with the approval of the person in charge of the administrative organ, but the extended time limit shall not exceed 30 days. Unless otherwise stipulated by laws and administrative regulations, the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties" is an administrative regulation that is otherwise stipulated in the above, so the later period of detention shall prevail.)

03 Where are the goods detained by the customs?

(1) Release of detention

If the suspected violation of the law has been eliminated or the customs administrative penalty decision has been fulfilled, the goods will be promptly released from detention and returned.

According to Article 41 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties, the customs shall promptly release the detention in any of the following circumstances:

（1） Excluding suspicion of violating the law;

（2） The period of detention or extension has expired;

（3） Having fulfilled the decision of customs administrative penalty;

（4） Other circumstances under which the detention should be lifted according to laws and administrative regulations.

(2) Sell first

If the detained goods are dangerous goods or goods that are not suitable for long-term storage, such as fresh, perishable, or perishable goods, the decision on whether to sell them first will be made depending on the situation. The proceeds from the sale will be kept by the customs and the owner will be notified. The price is equivalent to the goods, and if the suspicion of illegality is eliminated, the price will be returned to the owner.

According to Article 47 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties", goods, articles, and means of transport detained by the customs according to law shall not be disposed of before the judgment of the people's court or the decision of the customs on punishment is made. However, dangerous goods or goods, articles that are not suitable for long-term storage, such as fresh, perishable, or perishable goods, as well as goods, articles, and means of transportation that the owner applies for prior sale, may be sold off in accordance with the law after being approved by the director of the customs directly under the jurisdiction of the customs or the authorized director of the customs directly under the jurisdiction of the customs. The proceeds from the sale shall be kept by the customs and notified to the owner.

(3) Offset

"If a party fails to comply with the penalty decision of the customs within the time limit and does not apply for reconsideration or file a lawsuit with the people's court, the detained goods may be converted into value to offset the payment according to law.".

According to Article 93 of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, if the party concerned fails to comply with the penalty decision of the customs within the time limit and does not apply for reconsideration or file a lawsuit with the people's court, the customs that has made the penalty decision may offset the deposit or the value of the detained goods, articles, and means of transportation according to law, or may apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement.

(4) Collection

The seizure is a disposal measure, and the seized items are not returned to the parties.

According to Article 62 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties, in any of the following circumstances, the relevant goods, articles, illegal income, means of transportation, and specially made equipment shall be confiscated by the customs:

（1） A party who is not subject to administrative penalty in accordance with Articles 25 and 26 of the "Administrative Penalty Law of the People's Republic of China" carries or mails the party whose entry or exit is prohibited by the state;

（2） Distributive mailing of articles prohibited or restricted by the state for entry or exit into or out of China, or carrying sporadic quantities of articles prohibited by the state for entry or exit into or out of China, may not be subject to administrative punishment according to law;

（3） "Goods, articles, illegal income, means of transportation, or specially made equipment that should be confiscated according to law, die as a natural person or terminate as a legal person or other organization of the party, and have no rights and obligations to bear before the customs makes a decision on administrative penalty;";

（4） "The facts of smuggling violations are basically clear, but the parties concerned are unable to investigate them, and three months have elapsed since the date of the customs announcement;";

（5） There are other circumstances that violate laws and administrative regulations and should be confiscated.

(5) Confiscation

Confiscation is a disciplinary measure. If the confiscated goods are not returned to the party concerned, all the proceeds from the disposal will be turned over to the central treasury.

According to Article 63 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties", smuggled goods, articles, illegal income, smuggled means of transport, and specially made equipment that have been confiscated by a people's court or decided by the customs shall be uniformly disposed of by the customs according to law. All the proceeds and fines imposed by the customs decision shall be turned over to the central treasury.

However, there is one thing that needs attention!

The customs will release the detention of goods and articles, and it is likely that the quantity of goods and articles released will differ from the original quantity. Because if a case investigation requires commodity identification, there will be a loss of sampling.

According to Article 45 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties, the customs may conduct sampling, testing, and identification of relevant goods and articles according to the needs of case investigation. When the customs takes samples, the party concerned or its agent shall be present; "If the party concerned or its agent is not present, the customs shall invite witnesses to be present.". The extracted samples shall be sealed by the customs, and shall be signed or sealed by the customs staff and the parties concerned or their agents or witnesses after confirmation. "The testing and appraisal shall be conducted by the customs testing and appraisal institution or other institutions authorized by the state.". After conducting laboratory testing and appraisal, the laboratory technician and appraiser shall issue a laboratory report and appraisal conclusion, and sign or seal them.