Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-12-08 Origin: Site
Common administrative violations in the field of entry and exit animal and plant quarantine can be divided into three categories: 1. Failure to apply for inspection; 2. Failure to complete quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law; 3. Inspection application does not match the actual situation. The previous issue focused on the first category of illegal acts. In this issue, we further introduce the illegal situations of failing to go through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law and how to deal with them.
PART. 01 Bringing all kinds of fresh fruits into the country without going through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law
On November 15, 2025, Passenger A brought fresh fruit custard apple into the country without going through the quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law. In view of the fact that the illegal behavior was minor and corrected in a timely manner without causing harmful consequences, it complies with the third discretionary provision of the Customs Administrative Punishment 'Exemption from Punishment for Minor Violations' Items List (2) of Appendix 1 of the 'Customs Administrative Punishment Discretionary Standards (2)' and the non-penalty provisions.
According to Item 5 of Article 7 of the 'Discretionary Standards for Customs Administrative Penalties of the People's Republic of China (2)' (General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 21 of 2025), the customs educates the parties involved and does not impose administrative penalties.
What are the quarantine approval procedures? What is the difference between it and inspection?
1. Quarantine approval procedures refer to: According to relevant regulations, units that intend to import relevant animals and plants, animal and plant products or other quarantine objects shall apply to the approval agency and obtain the 'People's Republic of China Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine License' before signing a trade contract or agreement (for transit animals before transit) .
2. Quarantine approval procedures belong to prior administrative licensing and are designed to conduct risk assessment and access management to determine whether to 'approve' the entry of goods. Inspection declaration is an in-process declaration and inspection . After the goods arrive at the port, the information is reported to the customs and applied for inspection to confirm that the goods are 'qualified' for release.
Which commodities require quarantine approval procedures according to law before entering the country?
Article 9 of the 'Regulations on the Implementation of the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China': 'The quarantine approval of imported animals, animal products and prohibited items listed in Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine Law shall be the responsibility of the State Bureau of Animal and Plant Quarantine or its authorized port animal and plant quarantine agencies. The quarantine approval of imported plant seeds, seedlings and other propagating materials shall be the responsibility of the agencies specified in the Plant Quarantine Regulations.'
Will I be fined if I bring in various combinations of fresh cut flowers and fail to go through the quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law?
Handled according to different situations:
1. Exemption from fines for minor violations: According to the 'People's Republic of China Customs Administrative Penalty Discretionary Standards (2)' and the third discretionary provision of Annex 1, if all types of fresh fruits are brought into the country without going through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law, administrative penalties may not be imposed if all of the following conditions are met: (1) Only inbound passengers, except for employees of transportation vehicles and other personnel; (2) Bringing reasonable quantities for personal use; (3) The party concerned returns the goods within a time limit according to customs requirements or cooperates with customs for destruction; (4) No hiding or other methods are used to evade supervision.
2. Judgment criteria for simplified procedures and quick handling of common cases of administrative penalties: According to the 'Discretion Criteria for Administrative Penalties of the Customs of the People's Republic of China (2)' and the provisions of Item 20 of its Annex 4, any person who brings animals, plants, animal and plant products and other quarantine objects into the country without complying with the regulations If the quarantine approval procedures are not in compliance with the exemption of minor violations and meet the conditions for expedited case handling by the customs, the penalties will be a fine of 3,700 yuan, a fine of 2,000 yuan, a fine of 700 yuan, and a warning according to four circumstances: serious, ordinary, light, and mitigated.
3. Customs discretionary standards for common cases of administrative penalties for inspection and quarantine: According to the 'Discretionary Standards for Customs Administrative Penalties of the People's Republic of China (2)' and the 33rd discretionary provisions of Annex 3, importing animals, plants, animal and plant products and other quarantine objects without completing the quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law is inconsistent with the law. If the minor violation is exempted from fines and the customs expedited case handling conditions are met, the punishment range will be a fine of more than 2,500 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan, a fine of more than 1,500 yuan but less than 2,500 yuan, a fine of less than 1,500 yuan, and a warning according to four serious, ordinary, lenient and mitigated circumstances.
PART. 02 Animals and plants, animal and plant products and other quarantine objects have not gone through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law.
On January 8, February 13, and March 5, 2024, WZ Customs seized a total of 10 live beetles in three parcels sent from Japan. The single item columns of the three parcels were all declared as 'toys', and the recipient was declared as 'Wang'. None of them have gone through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law. After investigation, it was found that the actual recipient of the above three parcels was Wang (hereinafter referred to as the party). The party purchased the beetles involved from Japan through an online shopping agent and mailed them into the country. The party's date of birth was December 5, 2006. At the time of the violation, he was a minor who was over 14 years old but under 18 years old.
According to the provisions of Article 59, Paragraph 1, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 8, Paragraph 1, Article 12 of the Customs Administrative Punishment Discretionary Standards of the People's Republic of China (II) (General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 21 of 2025) and Annex 3 of the Customs Inspection and Quarantine Administrative Punishment Discretionary Standards for Common Cases, Item 20, the party concerned shall be fined RMB 1,000.
What are the requirements for quarantine approval procedures?
1. Application time: The applicant shall apply to the approval agency and obtain a 'Quarantine License' before signing a trade contract or agreement;
2. Quarantine requirements: There are no major animal or plant epidemics in the exporting country or region; it complies with China’s relevant animal and plant quarantine laws, regulations, and rules, and it complies with the relevant bilateral quarantine agreements signed between China and the exporting country or region;
3. Applicant unit: The unit applying for quarantine approval procedures shall be a unit with independent legal person status and directly sign trade contracts or agreements with foreign countries.
How should quarantine approval procedures be handled?
1. Check product access status: The products applying for a license should be on China's access list. Relevant information can be checked on the website of the General Administration of Customs. For animals and plants, please go to the 'Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine' (http://dzs.customs.gov.cn/).
For food of animal and plant origin, please enter the 'Import and Export Food Safety Bureau' (http://jckspj.customs.gov.cn/) for inquiries.
2. Imported food importer registration: Before applying for a 'Quarantine License' for the first time, the consignee or importer must complete the imported food importer registration. In ' Customs Government Service Platform-Enterprise Management and Inspection'
(https://online.customs.gov.cn/alllistit ems/), click 'Imported Food Exporter and Agent Registration' to enter, fill in the true information, and submit paper materials to the local customs to complete.
3. Apply for quarantine approval procedures: The applicant unit logs in to the 'Customs Government Service Platform'
If animals, plants, animal and plant products and other quarantine objects fail to go through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law, will they be fined?
Handled according to different situations:
1. Judgment criteria for common cases of simplified procedures and quick handling of administrative penalties: According to the 'Discretion Criteria for Customs Administrative Punishments of the People's Republic of China (2)' and the provisions of Item 7 of Annex 4, if animals, plants, animal and plant products and other quarantine objects fail to go through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law and meet the conditions for simplified case handling by the customs , the punishment range will be a fine of RMB 3,700, a fine of RMB 2,000, a fine of RMB 700 and a warning respectively according to the severe, ordinary, light and mitigated circumstances.
2.Customs discretionary standards for common cases of administrative penalties for inspection and quarantine: According to the 'Discretionary Standards for Customs Administrative Penalties of the People's Republic of China (2)' and the provisions of Item 20 of its Annex 3, if animals and plants, animal and plant products and other quarantine objects have not gone through quarantine approval procedures in accordance with the law, they shall not Those who meet the conditions for simple and expedited case handling by the customs will be punished according to the four serious, ordinary, lenient and mitigated circumstances. The punishment ranges are fines of more than 2,500 yuan and less than 5,000 yuan, fines of more than 1,500 yuan but less than 2,500 yuan, fines less than 1,500 yuan and warnings.
This ends this issue’s introduction to common illegal situations in the field of entry and exit animal and plant quarantine where quarantine approval procedures are not carried out in accordance with the law. Thanks for reading, see you next time!
Source: Fuzhou Customs 12360 | If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete it
