In August 2007, Shui On Company declared to A Customs to import a number of tool magazines for CNC machine tools (Note: The automatic tool change system of the machining center, the tools required for clamping the machining center, and the spindle tools according to the machining program Replace), the tax number 84669300 (tariff rate 0%). After reviewing the company's customs declaration document, A customs inspection department believes that the tax number declared by the company is not correct and should be classified into 84661000 (tariff rate 7%), so the company is required to revise the declared tax number. Shui On believes that the tax number declared by the company is not improper, and applies for pre-categorization of the goods it imports to the Customs office of Customs A. A Customs Classification Office believes that the application for pre-categorization of Shui On Company is not made before the import of goods but after the import of goods, and does not comply with the "Regulations on the Administration of Commodity Classification of Import and Export Goods of the People's Republic of China" (Order No. 158 of the General Administration of Customs) The following is the stipulation of Article 15 of the “Regulations for the Administration of Classifieds”, “Applications 45 days before the actual import and export of goods”, and therefore the application for pre-categorization will not be accepted. In September 2007, Shui On Company imported the batch of tool magazines according to the tax number determined by the examination and approval department. Subsequently, the company applied for pre-categorization of the same goods that it would import after two months. The classification office accepted the company's application and made a pre-categorization decision, and determined that the above-mentioned goods should be classified into the tax number 84663000 (tariff rate 7%), which is inconsistent with the tax number determined by the review department. In November 2007, Shui On Company refused to accept the classification decision made by the A customs appraisal department and the classification department on its imported tool magazine, and applied for administrative reconsideration to the higher level of the customs department, the General Administration of Customs.

        Administrative review

        In the "Administrative Reconsideration Application", Shui On Company claimed that: First, the A customs appraisal department and the classification department make different classification decisions for the same kind of goods imported, and the two departments' self-contradictory classification decisions negate each other. The correctness of the classification of the other party; second, the original tax return of the company to its imported tool magazine is correct. Therefore, Shui On Company requested the reconsideration agency to revoke the classification decision made by Customs A for its imported tool magazine, determine the classification according to the original tax return number of the company and refund the tax paid.

       The review organ has reviewed and concluded that: First, according to the relevant provisions of the Customs Regulations of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Classified Management, the consignee or consignor or his agent is obliged to classify the goods for which the import and export are declared. It is classified into the corresponding tax number; the Customs has the right to review the commodity code declared by it according to law. This responsibility of the Customs is borne by the review department. In addition, according to the “Regulations on Classification Management”, the directly-owned Customs has the right to classify the goods to be imported and exported according to the application of the import and export goods business unit in advance, and the responsibility shall be borne by the department directly under the customs classification department. Second, the legal basis for the classification review and classification department's pre-categorization review before the declaration department is the “Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China”, “Import and Export Tariff Commodities and Item Notes”, “Zhonghua The People's Republic of China Import and Export Tariffs National Subcommittee Notes and the General Administration of Customs issued administrative rulings on commodity classification, commodity classification decisions. Third, according to the statutory basis for the classification of the above commodities, the tool magazine imported by the applicant Shui On Company shall be classified into the tax number 84663000.

       In view of this, in December 2007, the reconsideration agency made a reconsideration decision: A Customs made the pre-categorization decision on the tool bank to be imported by the applicant, according to Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China. The provisions of subparagraph (1) shall be decided to be maintained; Customs A shall not classify the applicant’s classification of the imported tool magazine in August 2007, according to Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People’s Republic of China ( The provisions of item 4) are decided to be revoked and A Customs is ordered to re-do specific administrative actions.

      The applicant Shui On did not file an administrative lawsuit within the statutory time limit.

       Legal tips

       Commodity classification is a very important basic management of customs. It is the basic basis for customs duties such as customs duties, trade control measures and customs import and export statistics. The consignee or consignor of import and export goods or their agents shall truthfully and accurately declare the name, specification and model of the import and export goods in accordance with the provisions of laws, administrative regulations and customs, and carry out the goods for their declared import and export goods. Classify and determine the corresponding product code.

      The Customs shall examine the information on the classification of the goods that it declares in accordance with the law. Customs audits determine the classification of goods for import and export goods, including the review of the reporting process and the review before and after the declaration. The so-called auditing of the reporting link means that the auditing department and the customs clearance site check whether the commodity classification is correct according to the commodity code declared by the consignee or consignor or its agent; the pre-declaration audit refers to the commodity that the classified management department intends to import to the enterprise. Conduct pre-categorization audits; post-declaration audits refer to follow-up classified audits conducted by customs after customs clearance.

       At present, the Customs further resolves the contradiction between classification review and customs clearance speed, promotes the rapid customs clearance of goods, pushes back the classification work, and strengthens the declaration by strengthening the pre-categorization before the goods are imported and the classification inspection after the goods are cleared. The review pressure of the links. Compared with the application for review and follow-up audit, the implementation of the customs pre-categorization system is not long. In addition, the “Regulation Management Regulations” promulgated and implemented by the General Administration of Customs in May 2007 made some adjustments to the pre-categorization. Exporting companies are not very familiar with the customs system, and their relationship with the other two types of classified audits is not very clear. This article analyzes and explains this in accordance with the “Regulations for Classification Management” and the above-mentioned cases.

       What conditions should be met for applying to the customs for pre-categorization?

       Pre-categorization refers to the fact that before the actual import and export of general trade goods, the applicant submits the application to the customs in the written form prescribed by the customs and provides the materials needed for the classification of the goods. If necessary, the samples are provided, and the goods are legally validated by the customs according to law. Class-determined behavior. If the applicant imports the goods that have been pre-categorized and declares according to the pre-categorization, if the goods are in conformity with the customs inspection and inspection, the classification opinions determined according to the pre-categorization decision will be released. The pre-categorization system is to pre-categorize the work, complete the classification of the goods before the actual import and export of the goods, thereby effectively improving the accuracy and timeliness of customs classification, and facilitating the import and export of goods business units or their agents to handle customs. Procedures to facilitate legal import and export and speed up customs clearance. In 2000, the General Administration of Customs formulated the Interim Measures for the Pre-classification of Customs Import and Export Commodities of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “Interim Measures”), and the Customs began to implement a pre-categorization system that has two-way binding on customs and parties. In May 2007, on the basis of absorbing the contents of the Interim Measures, the General Administration of Customs promulgated and implemented the Regulations on Classification Management, reformed the system of binding pre-classification, and redefines the pre-categorization of customs, pre-categorizing The scope, procedures, and effectiveness of the pre-categorization decision were rebuilt. The above "Interim Measures" will be abolished.

       According to the “Regulations for Classification Management”, the application for pre-classification to the Customs shall meet the following conditions:

        Customs pre-categorized applicants. It shall be an import and export cargo business unit registered with the Customs, that is, only legal persons or other economic organizations entitled to engage in foreign trade operations in accordance with Articles 8 and 9 of the Foreign Trade Law have the right to propose pre-categorization. Application.

        The subject of customs pre-categorization. It should be a direct customs. The application for pre-categorization shall be submitted to the immediate customs office where the actual import and export goods are located.

        Customs pre-categorized objects. It should be the goods to be imported or exported, not the goods that have actually been imported or exported or any hypothetical import and export goods. In this case, the first time that Shui On Company applied to A Customs for pre-classification was not accepted because it did not meet this condition.

        Time limit for customs pre-categorization applications. The pre-categorization application shall be submitted 45 days before the actual import or export of the goods, and the applicant shall provide proof that the goods to be applied will be actually imported and exported after 45 days. Customs pre-classification is pre-determined. The time for the preparation of the pre-categorization application and the pre-categorization decision should be made before the actual import and export of the relevant goods, and not at the same time or after. Therefore, the time limit for filing the pre-categorization application should be considered as The customs review and make a decision to reserve a certain period of time.

       Formal requirements for customs pre-categorization applications. When applying for pre-categorization, it shall submit the “Application Form for Pre-categorization of Customs Commodities of the People's Republic of China” and provide the materials required for the classification of commodities, such as product specifications, technical drawings and other information on the functions, principles and technical parameters of the goods. Customs may request samples from applicants when necessary. The applicant shall be responsible for the authenticity of the information provided by the applicant, and shall not conceal from the customs or provide the customs with propensity information that affects the accuracy of the pre-categorization.

       Compared with the binding pre-classifications implemented in the Interim Measures, the changes in the pre-categorization provisions of the Classification Management Regulations are mainly:

        The legal effect of pre-categorization decisions is different. This is reflected in the range of effectiveness and duration of effectiveness. According to the “Regulations for Classification Management”, the pre-categorization decision is only made by the direct customs, and the General Administration of Customs no longer makes pre-categorization decisions. The pre-categorization decision is only valid for the applicant and the immediate customs that make the decision. Once the Pre-categorization Decision is made, it will remain in effect unless it is found to be in error or the change in the rules under which it is no longer applicable. The original Provisional Measures for the effectiveness of binding pre-categorization decisions are that the Customs and Customs Administration directly has the right to make pre-categorization decisions. The pre-categorization decisions made directly by the Customs are valid within the scope of the Customs and Excise Department. The pre-categorization decisions made by the General Administration are valid nationwide. The "Constrained Pre-categorization Decision" is valid for one year from the date of issuance by the Customs.

        Customs have the right to make different pre-categorization decisions. The "Regulations on Classification Management" stipulates that the goods directly classified by the Customs and Excise Department shall be deemed to be subject to the "Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China", "Notes on Import and Export Tariff Goods and Items", and "Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China" If the National Subcommittee Notes and the administrative ruling and commodity classification decision issued by the General Administration of Customs have clearly defined the requirements, the Pre-categorization Decision will be issued within 15 working days from the date of accepting the application. And inform the applicant; and if there is no clear stipulation that the commodity categorization subject to the application is pre-classified as belonging to the above-mentioned classification legal basis, the applicant shall be notified within 7 working days from the date of accepting the application. Administrative ruling. However, if the binding pre-categorization implemented in the original Interim Measures does not distinguish whether there is a clear provision, the "Constrained Pre-categorization Decision" may be made.

       How to do if the customs pre-categorization decides the error or fails

       Commodity classification is a technical and professional work. Correctly determining the classification of goods depends on the comprehensive understanding of the goods and the accurate application of the relevant legal basis for import and export tariffs. Customs pre-classification audit, declaration link classification audit, follow-up audit classification audit are respectively responsible for different departments of the customs, law enforcement officers of different departments based on different understanding of the goods and different understanding of import and export tariffs and their notes, for The results of the classification review of the same product may be inconsistent. Since the classification of goods will cause changes in customs tax collection, this situation often leads to objections from import and export companies. For example, in this case, A Customs made different classification decisions for the same toolstore imported by Shui On Company in the examination and pre-categorization links, so that the company filed an administrative reconsideration. In order to avoid the above phenomenon, the Customs adopts a series of measures to improve the uniformity of customs classification and law enforcement, mainly: adjusting the functions of the classified departments, and further strengthening the classification and guidance function of the classified departments on the customs at the lower and lower levels; The application of commodity classification computer management system to ensure the consistency of the classification results of different departments; by issuing a generally binding commodity classification decision and commodity classification administrative ruling, as a legal basis for classification of goods (with regulations It has the same legal effect), and improves the standardization and accuracy of customs classification and classification of goods.

       Since the customs classification department is a professional and authoritative department that determines the classification of goods, if a commodity is pre-categorized by the classification department before import and export, the customs clearance site and the inspection department will generally determine the return according to the pre-categorization decision. A class review confirms the classification of the item. In this case, the A customs inspection department made the classification review first, and the classification department made the pre-categorization decision. After the review and review, the pre-categorization decision was correct. However, in the process of customs enforcement, the pre-categorization decisions made by the classification department may also be wrong or invalid. There are mainly the following cases in which the pre-categorization error occurs: 1. The applicant provides the false material of the goods or conceals the actual situation of the goods, causing the customs to make a wrong pre-categorization decision; 2. The product information provided by the applicant is inaccurate or incomplete. The pre-categorization decision made by the customs is wrong; 3, the pre-classification of the customs officer's intentional or negligent reasons leads to the wrong decision of the pre-categorization. The circumstances leading to the failure of the pre-categorization decision are changes in the laws, administrative regulations and other relevant provisions on which the pre-categorization decision is based.

       In the event that the pre-categorization determines the error or fails, the customs shall revoke it. According to the provisions of Article 19 of the Regulations on Classified Management, the directly-owned Customs that made the "Pre-categorization Decision" shall immediately issue the "Notice of Cancellation of Customs Pre-categorization Decisions" or issue an announcement to notify the applicant to stop using it. Relevant "pre-classification decision book".

       If the applicant has used the wrong Pre-categorization Decision to declare the classification of import and export goods and release them through customs taxation, it may result in less or more taxation. According to the relevant provisions of the Customs Law and the Import and Export Tariff Regulations, if the Customs finds that the tax is less or less taxed, it may reimburse the taxpayer within one year from the date of payment of the tax or the release of the goods; If the taxpayer violates the regulations and causes less tax levy or tax levy, the customs may pursue the tax within 3 years from the date of payment of the tax or the release of the goods, and increase the daily levy from the date of payment of the tax or the release of the goods. Or missed the late payment fee of five tenths of a tax. If the tax is levied more, the customs shall immediately return the taxpayer after discovery, and the taxpayer may also request the customs to return it within one year from the date of payment of the tax, except for taxpayers who violate the regulations and cause excessive taxation. . In the case of failure of the pre-categorization decision due to changes in laws, administrative regulations and other relevant regulations, the tax on imported and exported goods shall not be adjusted according to the principle of non-retroactivity.

       In this case, although the customs inspection department of A has classified the stencils imported by Shui On in August 2007, the tariff rate is the same as that applied after classification according to the correct commodity code - 7%, so it is not involved. The Customs has adjusted the tax collection, and A Customs can re-determine the classified warehouses imported by Shui On.