China FAQs Address Classification of Controlled Dual-Use Items
China’s Ministry of Commerce this month issued new FAQs about its dual-use export controls, including guidance on how exporters should determine whether an item is subject to China’s controls.
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The ministry said it generally will “assist” exporters in determining whether an item needs a license “based on the written materials submitted by the exporter,” one FAQ said, according to an unofficial translation. But the ministry also stressed that its reply would be “only based on the written materials provided by the exporter, and is not a determination that the actual items to be exported” don’t need a license. “When actually exporting, the exporter should determine whether to apply for an export license based on the actual export situation.”
It added that exporters “need to fulfill the obligation of identification before actually exporting the goods and ensure the authenticity, validity and completeness of the declaration when declaring to the customs.” If the exporter intentionally replaces a license with a “reply letter for customs clearance, it is considered unauthorized export and will be severely punished in accordance with laws and regulations.”
The FAQs also address how China treats late export license applications submitted after a customs declaration is made, and what information exporters can glean from customs commodity numbers to determine whether an item is subject to China’s controls. The ministry said China hasn’t yet assigned customs commodity numbers to all goods in its dual-use export control list.
“For example, milling machines with control codes of 2B201.b and grinding machines with control codes of 2B201.c are not assigned customs commodity numbers, but both should apply for dual-use item export licenses in accordance with the law; items with control codes of 9A012.a.1 and 9A012.a.2 are two types of controlled drones that meet different technical indicators, but the corresponding customs commodity numbers are exactly the same,” it said.