On November 13, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) released the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft Revision for Comment) (the "Draft"), which is open for public comments until December 10, 2023.

The Draft incorporates a series of revisions as follows: (1) clearly defining the guiding ideology and implementing the directives of the CPC Central Committee; (2) emphasizing the harmonization of laws to uphold the uniform socialist legal system; (3) introducing the concept of risk management throughout the entire customs supervision process; (4) putting into practice the achievements of institutional reform to embody the new functions of customs; (5) implementing the outcomes of customs business reform to promote trade facilitation; (6) intensifying both in-process and post-event supervision and enhancing the whole chain management mechanism for enterprises; (7) enhancing regulatory collaboration and building a framework for collaborative governance; (8) ensuring that power aligns with responsibilities and integrating customs law enforcement measures with law enforcement supervision; (9) addressing system weakness and improving the legal basis in key areas; (10) fine-tuning regulations for goods supervision to tackle regulatory challenges in practice; (11) improving the legal liability system to ensure proportionate penalties; (12) adjusting legal terminologies to ensure the universality and comprehensiveness of concepts; and (13) demonstrating foresight and preserving flexibility for future reform and development.

(Source: General Administration of Customs of China)