How are import and export commodities classified in China and what are the relevant laws to be complied with during the inspection?
Under the Commodities Inspection Law, commodities are classified into those that are subject to compulsory inspection and those that are subject to random inspection. For this purpose, a Catalogue of Import and Export Commodities that Must be Subject to Inspection is issued and adjusted by the AQSIQ. Inspection is conducted according to the mandatory requirements of the national technical standards. If there are no such mandatory requirements in China yet, they must be formulated promptly and, before this, the State authority for commodity inspection may designate certain foreign standards to be used as reference for inspection.
The present measures deal with random inspection of import and export commodities that are not listed in the Catalogue of Import and Export Commodities that Must be Subject to Inspection, with its emphasis on safety, hygiene or environmental protection. For this purpose, the AQSIQ is required to publish the types of commodities that would be subject to random inspection.
Additionally, the AQSIQ may issue ad hoc notices to subject a particular commodity to random inspection. Although random inspection is not part of compulsory inspection, commodities once being selected for such inspection effectively become commodities for compulsory inspection, as relevant enterprises have no power to refuse such inspection unless the inspection is conducted outside the law or administrative directives from AQSIQ.
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