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Trade Administration Policy

Circular of the SAFE on Printing and Distributing the Emergency Plan for Online Inspection Systems for the Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds and for Import Declarations

The branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) in all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; SAFE branches in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo; all designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks:

To effectively respond to sudden incidents arising from the Online Inspection Systems for Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds and for Import Declarations, and to ensure that enterprises conduct the relevant business in a smooth and timely manner, the SAFE has worked out the Emergency Plan for Online Inspection Systems for Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds and for Import Declarations (see the attachment) which has now been printed and distributed. Please comply with it.

All the branches and foreign exchange management departments of the SAFE shall forward this Circular promptly to the sub-branches, urban commercial banks, rural commercial banks, rural cooperative banks, and foreign-funded banks within their respective jurisdiction upon receipt of this Circular; all designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks shall forward this Circular to their subordinate branches within their respective jurisdictions. Any problems that are encountered during implementation shall be reported to the Current Account Management Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Attachment: Emergency Plan for Online Inspection Systems for Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds and for Import Declarations. 
July 25, 2008

The Emergency Plan for Online Inspection Systems for Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds and for Import Declarations.

This Emergency Plan has been established for the purpose of effectively responding to sudden incidents arising from the online inspection systems for foreign exchange collection and settlement of export proceeds and for import declarations, and for ensuring that enterprises conduct the relevant business in a smooth and timely manner.

1. This Emergency Plan applies to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, its branches and sub-branches (hereinafter referred to as the foreign exchange departments) and the designated foreign exchange banks (hereinafter referred to as the banks).

2. When a nationwide system default occurs in the online inspection system for foreign exchange collection and settlement of export proceeds or on the online inspection system for import declarations and results in a system breakdown, the SAFE shall release circulars or issue information on the Emergency Information Release Platform, so as to launch this Emergency Plan. When a system default occurs in the online inspection system of foreign exchange collection and settlement of export proceeds or the online inspection system of import declarations and results in a system breakdown in a certain region, the local foreign exchange department shall release a circular or take other measures to launch this Emergency Plan and to report it to the Current Account Management Department, Information Center, and General Affairs Department (offices on duty) of the SAFE for the record.

3. The foreign exchange department and banks shall, upon receipt of this notice on launching the Emergency Plan for the Online Inspection System for Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds, implement the following emergency measures:
(a). During the period of the system default, all banks shall manually handle the procedures for foreign exchange sales or outward transfers in the to-be-checked accounts of the enterprises for foreign exchange collection of export proceeds (hereinafter referred to as foreign exchange sales or outward transfers in the accounts). When handling foreign exchange sales or outward transfers in the accounts, the banks shall check the paper-based originals and the duplicates of the export customs declarations provided by the enterprises, and then carry out the foreign exchange sale or outward transfer in the accounts within the receivable amount of foreign exchange as stipulated in Article 6 of the Measures for the Online Inspection of Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds; when conducting foreign exchange sales or outward transfers of advance receipts, the foreign exchange department can approve it on the form for the Approval of Foreign Exchange Transactions under the Capital Account, and the banks shall carry out the foreign exchange sale or outward transfer after checking the approval documents of the local foreign exchange department. For requests for foreign exchange sales or outward transfers in the accounts under export customs declaration without goods, the banks shall check the foreign-related revenue declarations, the lists of mailing goods, and other certificates, and then carry out the foreign exchange sale or outward transfer. If any suspicious or abnormal business is discovered, the banks shall refuse to carry out the foreign exchange sale or outward transfer.

(b). When carrying out foreign exchange sales or outward transfers in the accounts during the period of a system default, the banks shall make detailed records in the Logbooks of Unchecked Foreign Exchange Sales or Outward Transfers, and shall retain them for six months for future reference. The banks shall, according to the records in the Logbooks of Unchecked Foreign Exchange Sales or Outward Transfers, thereafter make an online inspection with the IC cards of the operators of the banks and enterprises within five working days after the system resumes normal operations, and shall offset the receivable amount of foreign exchange in the online inspection system for foreign exchange collection and settlement of export proceeds. If there is no receivable amount of foreign exchange or any other situation that cannot be inspected and noted online, the banks shall report it to the local foreign exchange department within five working days. After receiving the banks report, the foreign exchange department shall check the situation in a timely manner.  If an abnormal foreign exchange collection is found, the said department shall transfer the case to the foreign exchange investigation department for investigation.

(c). The banks shall keep a close watch on the operations of the system at all times. After the system resumes normal operations, the banks shall immediately carry out the sale or outward transfer of foreign exchange in the accounts through the online inspection system for foreign exchange collection and settlement of export proceeds according to normal business procedures. The foreign exchange department shall supervise and urge the banks within their respective jurisdictions to follow the above requirements in a timely manner.

(d). The banks shall make indications of the sale or outward transfer of foreign exchange on the corresponding original documents after carrying out the foreign exchange sale or outward transfer in the accounts for enterprises during the period of a system default, shall affix the banks official seal, and shall retain the Note on Foreign Exchange Collection and copies of the relevant documents for five years for future reference.

(e). The foreign exchange department shall take proper methods to make special or sample inspection of the banks within their respective jurisdictions in implementing various measures of the Emergency Plan. Any bank which is found to utilize the emergency measures in a disguised form to conduct foreign exchange sales or outward transfers in the account not through the online inspection system for foreign exchange collection and settlement of export proceeds shall be seriously dealt with according to the law.

4. The foreign exchange department and banks shall, when receiving the notice on the launching of the Emergency Plan on the Online Inspection System for Import Declarations, carry out the following emergency measures:
(a). All relevant business shall be carried out manually. For those enterprises that handle the payment of foreign exchange with an import customs declaration for the method of remittance on delivery of the goods at the banks, the foreign exchange department shall handle the Record Form for Import Payments in Foreign Exchange for enterprises under the item of the authenticity verification after carrying out the registration, and shall retain the original customs declarations and other certificates. For those enterprises that handle the verification and writing-off formalities of foreign exchange at the local foreign exchange department, the said department shall carry out the verification and writing-off formalities with the original documents for the customs declarations after carrying out the registration, and shall retain the original customs declarations.

(b). When conducting the aforesaid transactions during the period of a system default, the foreign exchange department shall make a detailed record in Logbook of Unchecked Customs Declarations. The said department shall make notes on the original documents of the customs declarations in China E-Port -- the Online Inspection System for Import Declarations -- and close the cases within five working days after the system resumes normal operations and return the original customs declarations to the banks or the import enterprises according to the stipulations.

5. During the period of a system default in the Online Inspection Systems for Foreign Exchange Collection and Settlement of Export Proceeds and for Import Declarations, the foreign exchange department and banks shall patiently provide explanations to the enterprises and do a good job in handling sudden incidents according to the provisions of this Emergency Plan.

Contact numbers of relevant departments:
Office on duty, SAFE: 010-68402255(for 24 hours) 68402154(fax)
Information center, SAFE: 010-68402499
Current Account Management Department, SAFE: 010-68402450
Capital Account Management Department, SAFE: 010-68402163
China Electronic Port Data Center:010-85193779