Expert answers:

Customs declaration refers to the declaration of goods, baggage, postal articles and means of transport to the Customs by the owner or his agent when entering or leaving the Customs, the submission of the required documents and certificates, and the request of the Customs to go through the relevant formalities of import and export. The Customs of our country stipulates that documents and certificates should be submitted at the time of customs declaration.

There are: import and export cargo declaration, import and export cargo license, commodity inspection certificate, animal and plant quarantine certificate, food hygiene inspection certificate and bill of lading, loading bill, freight bill, invoice, packing list, etc.

Customs clearance means that imported goods, export goods and transshipped goods entering a country's Customs territory must declare to the Customs, go through all formalities prescribed by the Customs and fulfill the obligations stipulated by various laws and regulations; only after fulfilling various obligations, go through customs declaration, inspection, taxation, release and other formalities, can the goods be released and the cargo owner or declarer be able to deliver the goods. Similarly, all kinds of means of transport carrying import and export goods are required to declare to the Customs, go through customs formalities and obtain the permission of the Customs. During the customs clearance period, goods, whether imported, exported or transshipped, are under the supervision of the customs and are not allowed to circulate freely.

Customs clearance means customs clearance, which is customarily called customs clearance. As for how to declare, close and clear customs, please refer to "How to declare, inspect and release import and export goods". What documents should importers and exporters submit for customs declaration?

1. Customs declaration for import and export goods. Generally imported goods should be filled in two copies; goods that need to be written off by the customs, such as processed trade goods and bonded goods, should be filled in three copies of the special declaration form; goods that need domestic tax refund after export, should be filled in another special declaration form for tax refund.

2. Invoice of goods. Requirements are less than one copy of the customs declaration form. The export of goods is entrusted to foreign sales. The settlement method is to settle the settlement with the exporter according to the actual sales amount after the sale of the goods. Export declaration may be exempted. [page]

3. Land waybill, air waybill and bill of lading for import and export by sea. After examining and inspecting the documents, the Customs shall sign and return the customs tribute on the original cargo manifest to pick up or ship the goods accordingly.

4. Packing list of goods. The number of copies is the same as the invoice. However, bulk cargo or single-item cargo with the same packaging content can be exempted from delivery.

5. Verification and cancellation of export receipts. When declaring all export goods, the written-off form of export receipts with the stamp "Supervised Collection of Foreign Exchange" should be submitted to the foreign exchange management department, and the written-off number should be filled in the upper right corner of each export declaration form.

6. When the Customs considers it necessary, it shall also submit a trade contract and a certificate of origin of the goods.

7. Other relevant documents. Including: (1) Goods approved by the Customs for tax reduction and exemption shall be submitted with the certificate of tax reduction and exemption signed by the Customs; foreign-funded enterprises in Beijing shall also submit the list of imported equipment approved by the Customs; (2) Goods imported and exported under processing trade contracts that have been filed with the Customs shall be submitted to the "Registration Manual" issued by the Customs for inspection.

The stipulated time limit for customs declaration refers to the time when the consignee or his agent declares to the Customs after the goods have arrived at the port. According to the provisions of the Customs Law of China, the customs declaration period for imported goods is within 14 days from the date of declaration of entry by means of transport, and the consignee or his agent shall declare the goods to the Customs. If the declaration period exceeds, the Customs shall levy a late declaration fee.

The date of collection of delayed declaration of imported goods is the 15th day of declaration of entry by means of transport, and the day of receipt of notification by post office is the 15th day of delayed declaration of imported goods. In addition, there are two starting and recovering periods for delayed declaration of imported goods in tele-transit transportation: one is the 15th day from the date of declaration of entry by means of transport, and the other is the 15th day from the date when the goods are transported to the destination. [page] The object of collection of late returns is the consignee or his agent of imported goods. The amount of daily levy is 0.5% of the CIF price of imported goods. The starting point of levy is RMB 10 yuan. If the levy is insufficient, it will not be levied. It should be noted that the CIF price of imported goods referred to here is the normal CIF price approved by the Customs, which is denominated in foreign currency. Customs shall convert the mid-sale price of the state foreign exchange licence price at the date on which the late declaration fee shall be levied into Renminbi. Deferred declaration fee is a kind of expense caused by the consignee or his agent of imported goods declaring to the Customs in excess of the statutory time limit. It is not a fine. The receipt of delayed declaration fee issued by the Customs is not a notice of penalty.

Customs stipulates the time limit for customs declaration and imposes late declaration fee in order to use administrative and economic means to prompt customs declaration of imported goods, speed up port transportation, and make imported goods put into production and use at an early date.

How to carry out the inspection of import and export goods refers to the actual proofreading and inspection of import and export goods by the Customs on the basis of accepting declaration and examining declaration documents. The purpose of inspection is to verify whether the actual import and export goods are in conformity with the contents reported in the customs declaration documents, whether there are false reports, omissions, concealments and false reports, to examine whether the import and export of goods are legitimate, and to determine the physical and chemical properties of goods. All imports and exports, except those exempted from inspection by the General Administration of Customs, shall be subject to Customs inspection. Customs inspection of goods shall generally be carried out at the time and place specified by the Customs. If there are reasons for requiring Customs to inspect goods outside the place of supervision, Customs approval shall be reported in advance.