(Adopted at the 32nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on February 28, 2003 and promulgated by Order No.85 of the President of the People’s Republic of China on February 28, 2003)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Classification of Customs Ranks

Chapter III Conferment of Customs Ranks

Chapter IV Promotion of Customs Ranks

Chapter V Retention, Demotion and Deprivation of Customs Ranks

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Regulations are enacted in accordance with the Constitution, with a view to strengthening the contingent of the Customs personnel, enhancing their sense of responsibility, their sense of honor, and their sense of organization and discipline, and facilitating their performance of duties according to law.

Article 2 A system of customs ranks shall be practised for the customs. Customs ranks may be conferred on the State public servants of the General Administration of Customs, sub-administrations of customs, Commissioner's Office, regional customs, subordinate customs and offices.

The system of the police ranks shall be practised for the anti-smuggling police of the customs.

Article 3 A customs rank is embodied in the title and insignia identifying the grade and status of a customs officer and is an honor granted to him by the State.

Article 4 The customs ranks of the customs personnel shall follow a scheme of Customs ranks graded in correspondence with post levels.

Article 5 Customs officers holding higher customs ranks shall be the superiors of those holding lower ranks. Where a customs officer holding a higher rank is a subordinate, in terms of post, to a customs officer holding a lower rank, the latter shall be the superior.

Article 6 The General Administration of Customs shall be in charge of the work concerning customs ranks.

Chapter II Classification of Customs Ranks

Article 7 The customs ranks are classified into the following thirteen grades under five categories:

(1) Customs Commissioner-General and Deputy Customs Commissioner-General;

(2) Customs Commissioner: First Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade;

(3) Customs Supervisor: First Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade;

(4) Customs Superintendent: First Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade; and

(5) Customs Inspector: First Grade and Second Grade.

Article 8 The customs ranks corresponding to the different levels of posts held by the customs officers shall follow the scheme below:

(1) Chief post at the level of General Administration: Customs Commissioner-General;

(2) Deputy post at the level of General Administration: Deputy Customs Commissioner-General;

(3) Chief post at the level of department: Customs Commissioner First Grade and Customs Commissioner Second Grade;

(4) Deputy post at the level of department: Customs Commissioner Second Grade and Customs Commissioner Third Grade;

(5) Chief post at the level of division: from Customs Commissioner Third Grade down to and including Customs Supervisor Second Grade;

(6) Deputy post at the level of division: from Customs Supervisor First Grade down to and including Customs Supervisor Third Grade;

(7) Chief post at the level of section: from Customs Supervisor Second Grade down to and including Customs Superintendent Second Grade;

(8) Deputy post at the level of section: from Customs Supervisor Third Grade down to and including Customs Superintendent Third Grade;

(9) Post at the level of section member : from Customs Superintendent First Grade down to and including Customs Inspector First Grade; and

(10) Post at the level of office worker: from Customs Superintendent Second Grade down to and including Customs Inspector Second Grade.

Chapter III Conferment of Customs Ranks

Article 9 Customs ranks shall be conferred on the customs officers on the basis of their current posts, their political integrity and professional competence, the length of time in which they hold the posts as well as their seniority.

Article 10 The customs authority shall confer on customs officers who are recruited through examinations or transferred from other departments the customs ranks that are commensurate with the posts they are assigned to respectively.

Article 11 The conferment of customs ranks on customs officers shall be approved according to the limits of authority prescribed as follows:

(1) The ranks of the Customs Commissioner-General, Deputy Customs Commissioner-General, Customs Commissioner First Grade and Customs Commissioner Second Grade shall be subject to the approval of and be conferred by the Premier of the State Council;

(2) The ranks of the Customs Commissioner Third Grade down to and including the Customs Supervisor Third Grade shall be subject to the approval of and be conferred by the Minister of the General Administration of Customs;

(3) The ranks at or below the Customs Superintendent First Grade for customs officers working in the headquarters and affiliated offices of the General Administration of Customs shall be subject to the approval of and be conferred by the Director of the Department of Political Affairs of the General Administration of Customs; and

(4) The ranks at or below the Customs Superintendent First Grade for customs officers working in the regional and subordinate customs offices shall be subject to the approval of and be conferred by the Director General of the regional customs.

Chapter IV Promotion of Customs Ranks

Article 12 Customs officers holding the ranks at or below the Customs Supervisor Second Grade shall be promoted within the range of the customs ranks corresponding to their post levels and at the following intervals:

Each promotion to the next higher grade requires three years for the Customs Inspector Second Grade up to and including the Customs Superintendent First Grade; and

Each promotion to the next higher grade requires four years for the Customs Superintendent First Grade up to and including the Customs Supervisor First Grade.

Article 13 At the end of the interval for promotion, the customs officers holding the rank at or below the Customs Supervisor Second Grade, who are qualified for promotion after appraisal, shall be promoted to the next higher grade; such promotion shall be deferred for those who are not qualified for it. Those who make outstanding achievements in work may be promoted in advance upon approval.

Article 14 Selective promotion shall be conducted among the customs officers holding the rank at or above the Customs Supervisor First Grade, within the range of the customs ranks corresponding to their post levels and on the basis of their political integrity, professional competence and their actual achievements.

Article 15 Where, a customs officer is promoted to a higher post but the customs rank he is holding is lower than the lowest rank prescribed in the scheme for the new post, he shall be promoted to that lowest rank correspondingly.

Article 16 A customs inspector may be promoted to customs superintendent, a customs superintendent to customs supervisor, and a customs supervisor to customs commissioner only when they have received training and proved qualified.

Article 17 The provisions in Article 11 of the Regulations shall be applicable to the limits of authority for approval of the promotion of customs ranks.

Chapter V Retention, Demotion and Deprivation of Customs Ranks

Article 18 When a customs officer retires, he may retain his customs rank but shall not wear the insignias thereof.

When a customs officer is transferred from the customs, resigns or is dismissed, he shall not retain his customs rank.

Article 19 Where a customs officer is demoted to a lower post for incompetence at the current post, if the customs rank he is holding is higher than the highest rank of the customs rank prescribed in the scheme for the new post, he shall be demoted to that highest rank. The limits of authority for approval of such demotion shall be the same as those for approval of the original customs rank.

Article 20 Where a customs officer is given the administrative sanction of demotion or removal from the post, his customs rank shall be demoted accordingly. The limits of authority for approval of such demotion shall be the same as those for approval of the original customs rank. After demotion of the customs rank, the interval for promotion shall be calculated anew on the basis of the customs rank he is holding after demotion.

Demotion in the customs rank shall not be applied to Customs Inspector Second Grade.

Article 21 Where a customs officer is discharged as an administrative sanction, or commits crimes and is sentenced to deprivation of political rights or to fixed-term imprisonment or more serious criminal punishment, he shall be deprived of his customs rank accordingly, and there is no need to go through the approval formalities.

The provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the retired customs officers who commit crimes.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 22 The patterns of the insignias for the customs ranks and the way of wearing them shall be drawn up by the State Council.

Article 23 These Regulations shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.