Certain Violations with Active Disclosure of Violations Is Exempted from Customs Administrative Penalties

On October 9, the General Administration of Customs officially issued the Announcement on Matters Relating to the Handling of Active Disclosure of Violations (“Announcement”), which shall remain valid from October 11, 2023 to October 10, 2025.

The Announcement stipulates that import and export enterprises shall not be subject to administrative penalties if they take the initiative to disclose violations of customs regulations under one of the eight specified circumstances, including active disclosure to the Customs within six months from the date of occurrence of the tax-related violation; active disclosure to the Customs within two years from the date of occurrence of the tax-related violation exceeding six months, but the omission or underpayment of tax is less than 30% of the proportion of the tax due. or the amount of tax omitted or underpaid is less than RMB 1 million yuan. The Announcement also specifies that import and export enterprises that take the initiative to report their tax-related violations to the Customs in writing and correct them in a timely manner, and are recognized by the Customs as having taken the initiative to disclose such violations, may apply to the Customs for reduction or exemption of late payment of taxes in accordance with the law. If they meet the requirements, the Customs will reduce or waive them.