| |
Implementing Rules of the Regulations of the People's Republic of
china on International Maritime Transportation
Order of the Ministry of Communication of the People's Republic of
china [2003] No.1
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Rules are formulated in accordance with the
provisions of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on
International Maritime Transportation ( hereinafter referred to as
the Maritime Transportation Regulations).
Article 2 The Ministry of Communications
and the relevant competent
communications department of the people's government in the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government shall, in accordance with the provisions of the
Maritime Transportation Regulations and these Rules administer the
international maritime transportation business operations as well as
the auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime
transportation under the principles of fairness, high efficiency and
facilitation with the purpose of encouraging fair competition and
preventing illegitimate competition.
Article 3 For the purpose of the Maritime Transportation Regulations
and these Rules, the definitions of the terms are as follows:
(1) "International shipping services" shall mean the services
provided by the operators of international shipping services
relating to international maritime cargo and/or passenger
transportation, and/or the activities conducted relating to such
operators'' vessels, passengers or cargo for the purpose of
completing such international maritime cargo and/or passenger
transportation by using their owned or operated vessels or space on
board the vessels. Such services shall include the signing of the
relevant agreements, accepting of space-booking, discussing and
collecting freights, issuing of bill of lading and other related
transportation documents, arranging cargo-handling and the care of
the cargo, taking delivery of cargo or delivering cargo, arranging
the transshipment of cargo and the entry into and departure from
ports by vessels etc.
(2) "Operators of international shipping services" shall include the
Chinese enterprise legal persons who have acquired the Permits for
Operation of International Shipping Services for operating the
international shipping services according to the Maritime
Transportation Regulations, or foreign enterprises established in
accordance with foreign laws who operate the international shipping
services to and from Chinese ports.
(3) "International liner services" shall mean the regular
international maritime cargo/or passenger transportation services
provided between the fixed ports by means of using the owned or
operated vessels or by means of the cases specified in paragraph 3,
Article 16 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations.
(4) "Non-vessel-operating services" shall mean the services provided
in paragraph 2, Article 7 of the Maritime Transportation
Regulations, including the following activities conducted relating
to the cargo transported for the purpose of completing such services
:
a. concluding international cargo transportation contracts with the
shippers in the name of carriers;
b. taking delivery of cargo and delivering cargo in the name of
carriers;
c. issuing bills of lading or other transportation documents;
d. collecting freight and other service charges;
e. booking space from operators of international shipping services
or contracting with operators of other means of transportation for
cargo transportation;
f. paying the freight of port to port transportation or other
transportation charges;
g. unstuffing and/or cargo container consolidation;
h. other related activities.
(5) "A non-vessel-operating common carrier" shall include a Chinese
enterprise legal person who has acquired the license for the
non-vessel-operating services in accordance with the Maritime
Transportation Regulations and these Rules, and a foreign enterprise
established in accordance with foreign laws or regulations who has
acquired the qualification in accordance with the Maritime
Transportation Regulations and these Rules for non-vessel-operating
services for cargo to and from Chinese ports.
(6) "An international shipping agent" shall mean a Chinese
enterprise legal person established in accordance with Chinese laws
who provides the services as specified in Article 29 of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations.
(7) "An international ship management operator" shall mean a Chinese
enterprise legal person established in accordance with Chinese laws
who provides the services as specified in Article 30 of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations.
(8) "An operator of the business relating to storage and warehousing
of international shipments" shall mean a Chinese enterprise legal
person established in accordance with Chinese laws who provides the
services of cargo storage and custody in warehouses, cargo inventory
management, as well as sorting and packing, repacking and
distributing of cargo etc.
(9) "An operator of international maritime container freight station
and container yard services" shall mean a Chinese enterprise legal
person established in accordance with Chinese laws who provides the
storage, custody, cleaning, repairing of containers as well as the
storage, consolidation, distribution of container cargo.
(10) "A foreign-invested enterprise shall mean a Chinese-foreign
equity joint venture, a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture or
a wholly foreign capital enterprise established in accordance with
Chinese laws.
(11) "A foreign-invested representative office" shall mean a
non-commercial organization established according to laws within
Chinese territory by a foreign enterprise or another economic
organization which conducts introduction of business, sales
promotion, business consultation and the liaison services for such a
foreign enterprise or economic organization.
(12) "Business registration documents of an enterprise" shall mean
the business license or the documents certifying the registration of
an enterprise issued by the enterprises registration authority or
the relevant authority of the country where the enterprise was
registered. Where the photocopies of such business registration
documents are submitted, a confirmation on such photo-copies about
the truthfulness of such photocopies by the registration authority
or notary documents certifying the identity between the photocopies
and the originals shall be provided at the same time.
(13) "A special-purpose invoice" shall mean the bills approved and
uniformly printed by the State Administration of Taxation. It is a
receipt which certifies the payment of the freights or other related
charges by the payer to the operator of international shipping
services or its agents, or to the non-vessel-operating carrier or
its agents. Such an invoice shall include the Special Invoice for
International Shipping and the Special Invoice for International
Shipping Agency.
(14) "An agreement of liner conference" shall mean the kind of
agreement concluded between members of a liner conference or between
liner conferences, which is defined in the UN Convention on A Code
of Conduct for Liner Conferences, 1974.
(15) "An operational agreement" shall mean an agreement relating to
the increase or decrease of shipping capacity in one or more
shipping routes concluded between two or more than two international
operators of international liner services for the purpose of
stabilizing or controlling the freight rates, or other agreement
coordination the joint efforts of operators of international liner
ser-vices. Such an agreement includes the agreed minutes with the
natures of the above-mentioned agreement. Such an agreement shall
also mean the agreement relating to the joint operation of the
vessels, joint usage of the port facilities and other cooperative
operation agreement and various kinds of alliance or consortia
agreements concluded between two or more than two operators of
international liner services for the purpose of improving the
operational efficiency.
(16) "A freight rate agreement" shall mean an agreement relating to
the kinds of charges to be collected, the rates thereof, the freight
rates or surcharges etc. which is concluded between two or more than
two operators of international liner services. Such an agreement
shall also include the agreed minutes with the natures of the
above-mentioned agreement.
(17) "Tariff rates" refer to the freight rates provided in the
tariff book of international liner services operators and
non-vessel-operating common carriers. Such rates include the freight
rates, the rules related to the freight rates and the rules which
shall be complied with both by carriers and shippers.
(18) "Negotiated rates" refer to the freight rates agreed upon
between international liner services operators and shippers or
non-vessel-operating common carriers. Such rates shall include the
freight rates and the related elements. Negotiated rates shall be
concluded in the form of written contracts or agreements.
(19) "Documents certifying the business experience" refer to the
curriculum vitae certifying that the person to be certified has more
than three years'' experience in the international shipping services
and the auxiliary businesses thereof. The curriculum vitae shall be
notarized by a notary office.
Chapter II Operators of International Shipping Services and
Auxiliary Businesses thereof
Article 4 The criteria specified in Article 5 in the Maritime
Transportation Regulations shall be satisfied and the policies of
the State for the development of international shipping industry and
the actual competition situations in international shipping market
issued by the Ministry of Communications shall be considered before
an enterprise can be set up within the Chinese territory to operate
the international shipping services or before a Chinese enterprise
legal person can apply to operate the international shipping
services.
The Ministry of Communications shall publish the policies of the
State for the development of international shipping industry and the
actual competition situations in international shipping market at
its official website and the other appropriate media. Where the
above-mentioned policies or situations fail to be published, they
shall not be used as the reasons for the refusal of applications.
Article 5 The applicant shall make an application and submit the
relevant documents to the Ministry of Communications for applying to
set up an enterprise within the Chinese territory to operate
international shipping services, or, for applying to operate
international shipping services when such an applicant is a Chinese
enterprise legal person. A duplicate of the same documents shall be
sent to the competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government where the enterprise is or is
to be registered, as the case may be. The following application
documents shall be included:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report and the agreement of investment;
(3) the business registration document of the applicant (if applying
to set up an enterprise, the main investor''s business registration
document or, as the case may be, the identity document) ;
(4) the duplicate or photocopy of the vessel''s ownership document,
nationality document or inspection document;
(5) the sample of bill of lading, passage ticket or multi-modal
transport documents; and
(6) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior
executives who satisfy the requirements of the Ministry of
Communications.
The competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government shall give its comments
thereon upon the acceptance of the documents and submit its comments
to the Ministry of Communications within 10 working days from the
date of acceptance of the application.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 30 working days from
the date when the application documents are complete and authentic,
complete the examination and verification and make a decision of
granting or not granting permission in accordance with Article 5 and
6 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations. If the permission is
granted, a Permit for Operation of International Shipping Services
shall be issued to the applicant, or, if no permission is granted,
the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons
therefor.
Article 6 If a Chinese operator of international shipping services
applies to set up a branch within Chinese territory, the provisions
relating to the procedures as specified in Article 5 of these Rules
shall apply. The following application documents shall be included:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report;
(3) the business registration document of the parent company;
(4) the photocopy of the Permit for Operation of International
Shipping Services of the parent company;
(5) the letter of confirmation by the parent company of the business
scope of the branch; and
(6) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior
executives who satisfy the requirement of the Ministry of
Communications.
The branches of the Chinese operators of international shipping
services may provide the services to the vessels of the parent
company with regard to port entry and departure, arranging for the
port handling, accepting of space booking, issuing of bill of lading
and collecting of freight etc.
Article 7 If applying to set up of an enterprise legal person within
Chinese territory to operate international shipping agency services
or to operate international shipping agency services, an application
shall be submitted to the Ministry of Communications, and the
relevant documents shall be attached thereto. The same documents
shall be submitted to the competent communications department of the
people''s government of the province, autonomous region or
municipality directly under the Central Government where the
enterprise is or is to be registered, as the case may be. The
application documents shall include the following:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report and the agreement of investment;
(3) the business registration document of the applicant (if applying
to set up an enterprise, the main investor''s business registration
document or, as the case may be, the identity document) ;
(4) the document certifying that there is a fixed place of business;
(5) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior
executives as specified in subparagraph 1 of Article 9 of the
Maritime Transportation Regulations; and
(6) the agreement of having EDI with the ports and customs etc. If
there is no such EDI arrangement, the certifying document issued by
the relevant port or customs shall be provided.
The competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government shall give its comments
thereon upon the acceptance of the documents and submit its comments
to the Ministry of Communications within 7 working days from the
date of acceptance of the application.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 15 working days from
the date when the application documents are complete and authentic,
complete the examination and verification in accordance with Article
9 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations. If the application
documents are examined and verified as qualified, the registration
shall be granted and a Registration for Operation of International
Shipping Agency Services shall be issued to the applicant. If the
application documents are examined and verified as unqualified, the
applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons
therefor. The applicant shall, go through the enterprise
registration procedures at the enterprise registration authority by
holding the Registration for Operation of International Shipping
Agency Services issued by the Ministry of Communications and the
relevant procedures at the customs, taxation and foreign exchange
administration authorities.
Article 8 If a Chinese enterprise legal person applies to operate
international ship management services or to set up an enterprise
within Chinese territory to operate international ship management
services, an application shall be submitted to the competent
communications department of the people''s government of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government. The following application documents shall be
included:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report and the agreement of investment;
(3) the business registration document of the applicant (in case of
applying to set up an enterprise, the main investor''s business
registration document or, as the case may be, the identity document)
;
(4) the document certifying that there is a fixed place of business;
(5) the documents certifying the business experience of the senior
executives as specified in subparagraph 1 of Article 11 of the
Maritime Transportation Regulations; and
(6) the photocopies of the master, the chief engineer''s documents
of competence as specified in subparagraph 2 of Article 11 of the
Maritime Transportation Regulations.
The competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government shall, within 15 working days
from the date when the application documents are complete and
authentic, complete the examination and verification. If the
application documents are examined as authentic and satisfy the
provisions in Article 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations,
the registration shall be granted and a Registration for Operation
of Auxiliary Businesses Relating to International Maritime
Transportation shall be issued to the applicant. If the application
documents are examined and verified as inauthentic or if the
application fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Article 11
of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, no registration shall be
granted and the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the
reasons therefor. The applicant shall, go through the enterprise
registration procedure at the enterprise registration authority, the
relevant procedures at the taxation authority and the banks
designated by the foreign exchange administration authority with the
Registration for Operation of Auxiliary Businesses Relating to
International Maritime Transportation.
Article 9 If the branches set up by the operators of international
shipping agency services and international ship management services
within Chinese territory to operate the relevant services, the
criteria specified in Article 9 and 11 of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations shall be satisfied and registration shall
be conducted in accordance with the provisions in Article 10 and 12
of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, Article 7 and 8 of these
Rules. The following documents for registration shall be included :
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report;
(3) the business registration document of the parent company;
(4) the photocopies of Registration for Operation of International
Shipping Agency Services or Registration for Operation of Auxiliary
Businesses Relating to International Maritime Transportation of the
parent company;
(5) the letter of confirmation by the parent company of the business
scope of the branch;
(6) the document certifying that there is a fixed place of business;
(7) the documents certifying the business experience of staff as
specified Article 9 and 11 of the Maritime Transportation
Regulations; and
(8) the EDI agreement with the port and the customs authorities in
case of setting up branches by an operator of international shipping
agency services. If there is no EDI capability, the relevant
certifying document issued by the port or the customs authority
shall be submitted.
Article 10 An application and the documents specified in Article 17
of the Maritime Transportation Regulations shall be submitted to the
Ministry of Communications when an operator of international
shipping services applies to engage in the international liner
services to and from Chinese ports. The Ministry of Communications
shall carry out the examination and verification as specified in
Article 17 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations. If a
registration is granted, a Registration of International liner
Services Qualification shall be issued. If no registration is
granted when the application documents are inauthentic and
incomplete, the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the
reasons therefor.
The Ministry of Communications will list the name of the operator
of the international liner services and the bill of lading thereof
at its official website after the operator of international shipping
services has acquired the qualification for engagement of the
international liner services to and from Chinese ports.
Article 11 An application and the relevant documents shall be
submitted to the Ministry of Communications in case of applying for
the registration of a non-vessel-operating common carrier''s bill of
lading. A duplicate of the above-mentioned documents shall be
submitted at the same time to the competent communications
department of the people''s government of the province, autonomous
region, municipality directly under the Central Government where the
non-vessel-operating common carrier is registered, or, in case of
application for registration of a bill of lading by a foreign
non-vessel-operating common carrier, to the competent communications
department of the people''s government of the province, autonomous
region or municipality directly under the Central Government where
the liaison office appointed by such non-vessel-operating common
carrier is registered. The following application documents shall be
included:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report;
(3) the business registration document;
(4) the sample of bill of lading;
(5) the photocopy of the receipt certifying that the surety bond has
been deposited at the bank.
If the applicant is a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier,
the relevant documents specified in Article 25 of these Rules which
relate to its appointed liaison office shall be submitted as well.
The competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government shall complete the
examination, verification and give its comments on the application
documents after the acceptance of the above-mentioned duplicate.
Such communications department shall report its comments to the
Ministry of Communications within 7 working days after the
acceptance of the application documents.
The Ministry of Communications shall complete the examination and
verification specified in Article 7 and 8 in the Maritime
Transportation Regulations within 15 working days after the
acceptance of the complete application documents. If the application
documents are authentic and complete, the registration of the bill
of lading shall be granted and a Registration of
Non-Vessel-Operating Services Qualification shall be issued. If the
application documents are inauthentic and incomplete, the applicant
shall be notified in writing that no registration is granted and the
reasons therefor shall be given.
After acquiring a Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating Services
Qualification, a Chinese applicant shall go through the registration
procedure at the enterprise registration authority where it is
registered before starting the non-vessel-operating services.
Article 12 If a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier has
acquired the qualification for the non-vessel-operating services in
accordance with foreign laws and has obtained a legal financial
liability guaranty, it does not need to deposit the surety bond at
the bank within Chinese territory when it applies to engage in the
non-vessel-operating services to and from Chinese ports in
accordance with the Maritime Transportation Regulations and these
Rules. However, in order to ensure that the debt to be paid which is
incurred from the foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier''s
non-performance or improper performance of the carrier''s
responsibility, or, in order to ensure that the fine to be paid
which is incurred from such non-vessel-operating common carrier''s
non-performance or improper performance satisfy the provisions in
paragraph 3 of Article 8 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations,
the competent authority of such a foreign non-vessel-operating
common carrier shall sign an agreement relating to the ways or means
of realizing the financial liability guaranty with the Chinese
governmental transport authority.
Article 13 When the cargo is solicited, the bill of lading or other
transport document is issued, or the freight is collected within
Chinese territory, although there is no direct international liner
services to and from Chinese ports, the qualification of the
non-vessel-operating services shall be obtained in accordance with
the relevant provisions of these Rules if the international cargo
transportation services to and from Chinese ports is provided by way
of chartering space from vessels of operators of international liner
services, or, if cargo is shipped at Chinese ports for transshipment
at foreign ports by using the feeder service provided by operators
of international liner services, with the exception of the cases
specified in paragraph 3 of Article 16 of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations.
Article 14 If a Chinese non-vessel-operating common carrier applies
to set up a branch within Chinese territory, the surety bond shall
be deposited in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 8 of the
Maritime Transportation Regulations and the registration shall be
obtained in accordance with Article 11 of these Rules by acquiring
the Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating Services Qualification. The
following documents shall be submitted for applying for the
registration:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the business registration document of the parent company;
(3) the photocopy of the Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating
Services Qualification of the parent company;
(4) the document confirming the business scope of the branch by the
parent company;
(5) the photocopy of the receipt certifying that the surety bond has
be deposited at the bank.
Article 15 When the non-vessel-operating common carrier applies for
the registration of the bill of lading, the name listed at the title
of the bill of lading shall be the same as that of the applicant.
If the name listed in the title of the bill of lading is different
from that of the applicant, the applicant shall provide the
documents certifying that such a bill of lading is printed and used
by itself as well as a declaration in writing that it will bear the
carrier''s responsibility of issuing such a bill of lading.
Article 16 If a non-vessel-operating common carrier has two or more
bills of lading, each of the bills of lading shall be registered.
If the bill of lading registered by an operator of international
liner services or non-vessel-operating common carrier is changed,
the sample of the new bill of lading shall be filed with the
Ministry of Communications 15 days before the date of usage of such
a new bill of lading.
Article 17 After the non-vessel-operating common carrier acquires
according to law the qualification for the non-vessel-operating
services by depositing the surety bond and registering the bill of
lading, the Ministry of Communications shall list the name of the
non-vessel-operating common carrier and the sample of its bill of
lading at its official website.
Article 18 A non-vessel-operating common carrier shall deposit
according to law the surety bond at the non-vessel-operating common
carrier''s bank account at the commercial bank designated by the
Ministry of Communications. The interest of the surety bond shall be
calculated on the basis of the interest rate of the current deposit
published by the People''s Bank of China.
Article 19 The surety bond deposited by the non-vessel-operating
common carrier is protected by the State laws. The surety bond shall
not be used unless for the following cases:
(1) bearing the liability for compensation due to the
non-vessel-operating common carrier''s non-performance or improper
performance of carrier''s responsibility according to a judgement in
force by a judicial organ or an arbitration institution''s
arbitration award ruled by a judicial organ to be enforced;
(2) being fined by the communications authorities.
If the surety bond shall be transferred due to the cases referred
to in subparagraph 1 and 2 of the previous paragraph, it shall be
carried out according to laws.
If the amount of surety bond of the non-vessel-operating common
carrier falls short of the amount specified in the Maritime
Transportation Regulations, the Ministry of Communication shall
inform the non-vessel-operating common carrier to make up the amount
in short. If the non-vessel-operating common carrier fails to make
up the amount in short within 30 days from the date of service of
the notice in writing from the Ministry of Communications, the
Ministry of Communication shall revoke its qualification of the
non-vessel-operating services in accordance with Article 15 of the
Maritime Transportation Regulations.
Article 20 The non-vessel-operating common carrier may apply for the
refund of the surety bond from the Ministry of Communications if its
qualification for the non-vessel-operating services is revoked,
applies for the termination of the services or terminates the
services for other reasons. The Ministry of Communications shall
publish such a matter of application in a notice at its official
website for 30 days.
Within the notice period, if the interested party considers it as
necessary to take a measure for legal custody of the surety bond
under the circumstances specified in subparagraph 1 of Article 19 of
these Rules which are related to the non-vessel-operating common
carrier, the judgment of exercising the legal custody shall be
obtained within the above-mentioned period. From the date of legal
custody, the supervision over the account of surety bond of such a
non-vessel-operating common carrier by the Ministry of
Communications in accordance with the Maritime Transportation
Regulations shall be terminated. The relevant dispute shall be
settled by the interested parties through judiciary procedures.
If there are cases specified in the previous paragraph within the
notice period, the Ministry of Communications shall inform the bank
where the account of surety bond is opened to return the surety bond
as well as the interest thereof of the non-vessel-operating common
carrier and withdraw the Registration of Non-Vessel-Operating
Services Qualification of such carrier.
Article 21 If the Chinese operators of international shipping
services, the Chinese non-vessel-operating common carrier, the
Chinese operators of international shipping agency services, the
Chinese operators of international ship management services have the
following case(s), they shall have them filed with the authority who
issued the permission or registration:
(1) the change of the enterprise''s name;
(2) the change of the place of registration;
(3) the change of the investors;
(4) the suspension or termination of operation.
If there is a change of the enterprise''s name, a new permission
or registration shall be issued by the authority who issued the
permission or registration. If the operation is terminated, the
relevant permission or registration shall be returned to the
original authority for permission or registration.
Article 22 Except the foreign-invested enterprises specified in the
Maritime Transportation Regulations and Chapter IV of these Rules,
the operators of the business relating to storage and warehousing of
international shipments international, the operators of
international maritime container freight station and container yard
services shall, within 30 days of from the time of starting the
above-mentioned services file the case with the competent
communications department of the people''s government of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government where the enterprises are registered.
Chapter III Business Operations of International Maritime
Transportation and Auxiliary Business Thereof
Article 23 If operators of international liner services start new
liner services, suspend liner services, change the carrying vessels
or schedule for international liner services, such issues shall be
made known to public at the mess media designated by the Ministry of
Communications in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of
the Maritime Transportation Regulations and such issues shall be
filed as provided.
Article 24 If a Chinese international shipping service operator
increases shipping capacity including increasing shipping capacity
through bare boat chartering, such issue shall be filed with the
Ministry of Communications 15 days prior to the operation of such
vessel(s) and the document certifying the filing shall be acquired.
The filing documents shall include the name of the company, the
place of registration, the name(s) of the vessel(s), the
nationality(ies) of the vessel(s), type(s) of vessel(s),
vessel(s)''s tonnage and the shipping route(s) planned.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 3 working days after
acceptance of the filing documents, issue the document certifying
the filing.
Article 25 A foreign international shipping service operator who
operates international liner services to and from Chinese ports and
a foreign non-vessel-operating common carrier who provides
international cargo transportation services to and from Chinese
ports by entrusting their agents to provide the services on behalf
of them in China shall appoint their points of contact within
Chinese territory. Such points of contact are responsible for the
contact between such foreign enterprises and the relevant competent
authorities of the Chinese government on administration and legal
issues as specified in the Maritime Transportation Regulations and
these Rules. The points of contact can be the foreign-invested
enterprises or the foreign-invested representative offices set up
within Chinese territory as well as other Chinese enterprise legal
persons or other economic organizations who have fixed places of
business. The appointment of the points of contact shall be filed
with the Ministry of Communications and the following documents
shall be submitted for filing:
(1) the introduction of such points of contact with the information
of the names, the places of business, the means of contact and the
persons of contact of such points of contact;
(2) the duplicate or photocopy of the letter of entrustment;
(3) the duplicate of the agreements concluded between the entrusting
parties and the points of contact;
(4) the photocopies of the business registration documents of the
points of contact.
If the points of contact are foreign-invested enterprises or
foreign-invested representative offices of within Chinese territory,
the documents referred to in subparagraph 2 and 3 can be exempted.
If the points of contact or the information listed in the
introduction of the points of contact, such changes shall be filed
with the Ministry of Communications within 15 days from the date of
such changes.
Article 26 No enterprise or individual may, without authorisation,
uses the bill of lading which has been registered by an operator of
international liner services or a non-vessel-operating common
carrier.
Article 27 If a non-vessel-operating common carrier needs to entrust
an agent with issuance of the bill of lading or the related document
on its behalf, it shall entrust a qualified operator of
international shipping services, a qualified non-vessel-operating
common carrier or a qualified operator of auxiliary business
operations relating to international maritime transportation to
provide the above-mentioned services on its behalf.
The qualified operator referred to in the previous paragraph shall
not accept the entrustment to issue the bill of lading of a
non-vessel-operating common carrier who fails to register its bill
(s) of lading and deposit the surety bond.
Article 28 If an operator of international liner services has an
agreement of negotiated rates with a shipper or a
non-vessel-operating common carrier, such an agreement shall be in
writing. The series number of such an agreement shall be listed in
the bill of lading or the related document.
Article 29 An operator of international shipping services shall not
accept cargo or containers from a non-vessel-operating common
carrier who fails to register its bill(s) of lading and deposit the
surety bond.
Article 30 If an operator of international liner services entrusts
an agent with the businesses including accepting space-booking,
issuing bill of lading and collecting freight on its behalf, the
agent entrusted shall be an qualified operator of international
shipping agency services.
Article 31 The operators of international liner services and the
non-vessel-operating common carriers shall publish the information
relating to their shipping agencies, agents for issuing bill of
lading on their behalf within Chinese territory at the mass media
designated by the Ministry of Communications. The information to be
published includes the name, the place of registration, the place of
business and the means of contact of such agents. If there is a
change of agents, the new information shall be published 7 days
prior to the coming into effect of the agency agreement.
The operator of international liner services and the
non-vessel-operating common carriers shall file timely the name
lists of the media where they publish the information relating to
their agents with the Ministry of Communications.
Article 32 The liner conference agreements, service operation
agreements and freight rate agreements which involve the services to
and from Chinese ports and are concluded between operators of
international shipping services shall be filed with the Ministry of
Communications within 15 days after the date of concluding the
agreements in accordance with the following provisions :
(1) the liner conference agreements shall be filed by the liner
conference representing all its members who operate the maritime
transportation to and from Chinese ports. When the liner conference
files the agreement, the name list of the members of the conference
shall be attached thereto.
(2) the service operation agreements and freight rate agreements
shall be filed by the operators of international shipping services
who are contracting parties to such agreements.
Article 33 If there is a merger or acquisition among Chinese
operators of international shipping services, or a merger or
acquisition between Chinese operators of international shipping
services and foreign operators of international shipping services,
such agreements shall be submitted by the merging or acquiring party
in accordance with the provisions in Article 24 of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations to the Ministry of Communications for
examination and approval.
Article 34 The following operators shall issue special-purpose
invoices to the payers when they collect freight and other related
charges for themselves or on behalf of others:
(1) the Chinese operators of international shipping services and
their branches;
(2) the Chinese non-vessel-operating common carriers;
(3) the operators of international shipping agency and their
branches;
(4) the enterprises specified in Article 33 of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations.
After the operators referred to in the preceding paragraph obtain
the document certifying the usage of special-purpose invoices which
are issued from the competent communications department of the
people''s government of the people''s government of the province,
the autonomous region and the municipality directly under the
Central Government, they shall apply for the special-purpose
invoices from the taxation authority where the company are
registered, unless it is provided by the State Administration of
Taxation otherwise.
Article 35 The operators of international ship management services
shall fulfill the obligations of safety of vessels and
anti-pollution in accordance with the provisions of the contracts
and the relevant provisions of the State.
Article 36 The international liner services operators who operate
the international liner services to and from Chinese ports shall
fill out the Form on International Maritime Transportation
Information of the People''s Republic of China ( Basic Information
of Shipping Companies), the Form on International Maritime
Transportation Information of the People''s Republic of China
(Export Full-loaded Container Volume of Shipping Companies), the
Form on International Maritime Transportation Information of the
People''s Republic of China (Import Full-loaded Container Volume of
Shipping Companies) and send the forms to the Ministry of
Communications before March 31 every year.
Foreign operators of international shipping services shall have
the above-mentioned forms sent by their entrusted liaison office.
Article 37 Chinese operators of international shipping services,
Chinese operators of international shipping agency service and
operators of international container ports shall fill out
respectively the Form on International Maritime Transportation
Information of the People''s Republic of China ( Basic Information
of Shipping Companies), the Form on International Maritime
Transportation of the People''s Republic of China (International
Shipping Agencies), the Form on International Maritime
Transportation of the People''s Republic of China (Container
Throughput of Ports) before March 15 every year to the competent
communications department of the people''s government of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government where the companies are registered.
The relevant competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, the autonomous region and the
municipality directly under the Central Government shall file the
above-mentioned forms and the summary of the forms before March 31
every year with the Ministry of Communications.
Article 38 The operators of international shipping agency services,
operators of international ship management services, operators of
the business relating to storage and warehousing of international
shipments and operators of international maritime container freight
station and container yard services shall not have following acts:
(1) providing services at an abnormal and unreasonable charge level,
thereby prejudicing fair competition;
(2) offering secret rebates to customers, not being reflected in the
account books, for the purpose of soliciting cargoes;
(3) arbitrarily taking advantage of its dominant position to
restrict the other transacting party to choose freely operators of
auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime
transportation, or to attract the other transaction party by using
the monopoly position in the industry for the purpose of repelling
other competitors in the same industry;
(4) other unfair competition acts.
Article 39 The representative offices of foreign operators of
international shipping services and foreign operators of auxiliary
business operations relating to international maritime
transportation shall not engage in commercial operations, including
but not limited to the following:
(1) accepting space-booking on behalf of their parent companies
overseas, issuing bills of lading or the related documents of the
parent companies;
(2) settling the payment, collecting freight and other related
charges for their parent companies;
(3) issuing bills of their parent companies overseas or the
enterprises set up by their parent companies within Chinese
territory as specified in Article 33 of the Maritime Transportation
Regulations ;
(4) shipping cargoes to international liner services operators in
the name of shippers; or
(5) concluding service contracts with customers in the name of
foreign-invested representative offices.
Chapter IV Investment in and Operation of International Maritime
Transportation and Auxiliary Businesses Relating Thereto by foreign
Investors
Article 40 To set up a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture or a
Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture to engage in international
shipping services, an application shall be submitted to the Ministry
of Communications via the competent communications department of the
people''s government of the province, autonomous region or
municipality directly under the Central Government where the
enterprise is registered, and the following documents shall be
attaches thereto:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report;
(3) the agreement of setting up a Chinese-foreign equity joint
venture or a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture;
(4) the business registration documents of the investors, in case of
investment by natural persons, the identity documents; and
(5) documents certifying the business experience of senior
executives which satisfy the requirements of the Ministry of
Communications.
The competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government shall, within 10 working days
after its acceptance of the complete application documents, submit
the documents to the Ministry of Communications together with its
comments.
The Ministry of Communications shall complete the examination,
verification on the above-mentioned documents and comments and give
a decision of granting an approval or not granting an approval
within 30 working days after the acceptance of the documents and
comments in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2, 3 and 4
of Article 32 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations and the
actual competition situations in international shipping market and
the policies of the State for the development of international
shipping industry. If an approval is granted, a document of approval
shall be issued to the applicant. If no approval is granted, the
applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons
therefor.
The applicant who is granted the approval shall go through the
approval procedures for setting up a foreign-invested enterprise at
relevant authorities in accordance with the laws and regulations on
the setting up of a foreign-invested enterprise of the State with
the approval document issued by the Ministry of Communications.
After the acquiring the relevant approvals from the authorities, the
applicant shall, in accordance with the procedures in Article 5 of
these Rules, apply for the Permit for Operation of International
Shipping Services to the Ministry of Communications with the
approval documents from the relevant authorities and the documents
specified in subparagraphs 4 to 6 of paragraph 1, Article 5 of these
Rules.
Article 41 If one sets up a foreign-invested enterprise referred to
in Article 33 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, the
regulations issued jointly by the Ministry of Communications and the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation shall be complied
with.
Article 42 If one sets up a foreign-invested enterprise to engage in
international shipping agency services, the application documents
provided in Article 7 of these Rules shall be submitted to the
Ministry of Communications via the competent communications
department of the people''s government of the province, autonomous
region or municipality directly under the Central Government where
the enterprise is to be registered. The competent communications
department of the people''s government of the province, autonomous
region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall,
within 10 working days after the acceptance of the above-mentioned
complete documents, submit the documents together with its comments
to the Ministry of Communications.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 30 working days after
the acceptance of the above-mentioned documents and comments,
complete the examination, verification in accordance with the
provisions in Article 9 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations
and give a decision of granting or not granting an approval. If an
approval is granted, an approval document shall be issued. If no
approval is granted, the applicant shall be notified in writing and
given the reason therefor.
The applicant who is granted the approval shall go through the
approval procedures for setting up a foreign-invested enterprise at
relevant authorities in accordance with the laws and regulations on
the setting up of a foreign-invested enterprise of the State with
the approval document issued by the Ministry of Communications. The
applicant shall, after the acquiring the relevant approvals from the
authorities, apply for the registration of the services with the
Registration for Operation of International Shipping Agency Services
to the Ministry of Communications with the approval documents from
the relevant authorities in accordance with the provisions of
Article 7 of these Rules.
Article 43 If one sets up a foreign-invested enterprise to engage in
international ship management services, the application documents
provided in Article 8 of these Rules shall be submitted to the
Ministry of Communications via the competent communications
department of the people''s government of the province, autonomous
region or municipality directly under the Central Government where
the enterprise is registered. The competent communications
department of the people''s government of the province, autonomous
region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall,
within 10 working days after the acceptance of the above-mentioned
complete documents, submit the documents together with the comments
to the Ministry of Communications.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 30 working days after
the acceptance of the above-mentioned documents and comments,
complete the examination, verification in accordance with the
provisions in Article 11 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations
and give a decision of granting or not granting an approval. If an
approval is granted, an approval document shall be issued. If no
approval is granted, the applicant shall be notified in writing and
given the reason therefor.
The applicant who is granted the approval shall go through the
approval procedures for setting up a foreign-invested enterprise at
relevant authorities in accordance with the laws and regulations on
the setting up of a foreign-invested enterprise of the State with
the approval document issued by the Ministry of Communications. The
applicant shall, after the acquiring the relevant approvals from the
authorities, apply for the registration of the services with the
Registration for Operation of Auxiliary Businesses Relating to
International Maritime Transportation to the competent
communications department of the people''s government of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government with the approval documents from the relevant
authorities in accordance with the procedures provided in Article 8
of these Rules.
Article 44 If one engages in the business relating to storage and
warehousing of international shipments, the following conditions
shall be met:
(1) having a fixed place of business;
(2) having the warehouse facilities compatible to the scope of
business;
(3) having at least two senior executives with no less than three
years'' experience in the relevant business; and
(4) other conditions provided for in the laws and regulations.
Article 45 If one engages in international maritime container
freight station and container yard services, the following
conditions shall be met:
(1) having a fixed place of business;
(2) having the vehicles, handling facilities, container yards and
container checking equipment or facilities compatible to the scope
of business;
(3) having at least two senior executives with no less than three
years'' experience in the relevant business; and
(4) other conditions provided in the laws and regulations.
Article 46 If one sets up a foreign-invested enterprise to engage in
the business relating to storage and warehousing of international
shipments, or sets up a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture or a
Chinese foreign contractual joint venture to engage in international
maritime container freight station and container yard services, an
application shall be submitted to the Ministry of Communications via
the competent communications department of the people''s government
of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under
the Central Government, and the following documents shall be
attached thereto:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the feasibility study report;
(3) the agreement of setting up a Chinese-foreign equity joint
venture or a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture; and
(4) the business registration documents of the investors, in case of
investment by natural persons, the identity documents.
The competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government shall, within 10 working days
after the acceptance of the above-mentioned complete documents,
submit the documents together with the comments to the Ministry of
Communications.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 30 working days after
the acceptance of the above-mentioned documents and comments,
complete the examination, verification in accordance with the
provisions in Article 44 and 45 of the these Rules and give a
decision of granting or not granting an approval. If an approval is
granted, an approval document shall be issued. If no approval is
granted, the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the
reason therefor.
The applicant who is granted the approval shall go through the
approval procedures for setting up a foreign-invested enterprise at
relevant authorities in accordance with the laws and regulations on
the setting up of a foreign-invested enterprise of the State with
the approval document issued by the Ministry of Communications. The
applicant shall, after the acquiring the relevant approvals, apply
for the registration of the services with the Registration for
Operation of Auxiliary Businesses Relating to International Maritime
Transportation to Ministry of Communications.
Article 47 The relevant registration procedures shall be gone
through with the registration document issued by the Ministry of
Communications at the customs authority at the place where the
cargoes or containers stored are to be supervised before the cargoes
or containers to be supervised by the customs can be stored.
Article 48 In case of setting up a representative office within the
Chinese territory by a foreign operator of international shipping
services or a operator of the auxiliary business operations relating
to international maritime transportation, the following documents
shall be submitted to the Ministry of Communications via the
competent communications department of the people''s government of
the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government where the representative office is to be
registered:
(1) the letter of application, in which the name, the place of
registration, the duration of service and the main scope of business
of the representative office to be set up shall be specified;
(2) the business registration document of such operator;
(3) the introduction of the business of such operator including the
time of registration, the main scope of business, the business
achievement of recent years, the number of employees, the
introduction of overseas branches of such operator;
(4) the letter of authorization for the chief representative signed
by the director of board or the general manager of the operator;
(5) the name, the nationality and curriculum vitae and the identity
document of the chief representative.
The competent communications department of the people''s
government of the province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government shall, within 7 working days
after the acceptance of the above-mentioned complete documents,
submit the documents together with the comments to the Ministry of
Communications.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 15 working days after
the acceptance of the above-mentioned documents and comments, give a
decision of granting or not granting an approval. If an approval is
granted, a Approval for the Setting up of A Representative Office by
a Foreign (Overseas) Enterprise for Waterborne Transportation within
Chinese Territory (hereinafter referred to as the Approval) shall be
issued by the Ministry of Communications. If the application
documents are incomplete and inauthentic, no approval shall be
granted and the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the
reasons therefor.
The applicant who is granted an approval shall, within 30 days
after the date of granting the approval, go through the procedures
for registration at the enterprise registration authority. If the
applicant fails to go through the registration procedures within the
above-mentioned time limit, the Approval expires automatically.
The approved duration of service of the representative office
shall be three years.
Article 49 If there is a change in the name of the representative
office or a change of the chief representative, such a change shall
be filed with the Ministry of Communications within 15 days after
the date of such a change.
If there is a change in the chief representative, the curriculum
vitae, the photocopy of the new chief representative and the letter
of authorization for the chief representative signed by the director
of the board or the general manager of foreign (overseas) enterprise
shall be attached at the time of filing.
If there is a change in the name of the representative office, an
explanation on the relationship between the old name and the new
name of the representative office shall be attached at the time of
filing. If the change of name of the representative office arises
from the merging, acquisition or separation of enterprises, the
relevant legal certifying document shall be attached as well.
The Ministry of Communications shall complete the filing
procedures timely after the acceptance of the filing documents.
Article 50 If the duration of service of the representative office
needs to be extended, an application shall be submitted to the
Ministry of Communications 60 days before the date of expiration of
the duration. The following application documents shall be included:
(1) the letter of application;
(2) the photocopy of the Approval issued by the Ministry of
Communications; and
(3) the photocopy of the business registration document of the
representative office.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 15 working days after
the acceptance of the complete and authentic documents from the
applicant, complete the procedures relating to the registration of
the change and issue the certifying document.
Article 51 If a representative office terminates its operation, such
an issue shall be reported to the Ministry of Communications within
10 days after the date of termination. The Ministry of
Communications shall cancel the qualification of service of the
representative office at the request.
If a representative office fails to apply for the extension of
duration of service when the duration expires, the qualification of
the service of the representative office expires automatically at
the time of expiration of the duration.
If a representative office terminates its operation, loses its
qualification of service or is cancelled with its qualification of
service, the Ministry of Communications shall issue a Notice on
Cancellation of the Qualification of Service of the Representative
Office by a Foreign (Overseas) Enterprise for Waterborne
Transportation within Chinese Territory and notify the competent
communications department of the people''s government of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government and the enterprise registration authority
concerned.
Chapter V Investigations and Settlement
Article 52 If any interested party considers that an operator of
international maritime transportation or auxiliary businesses
thereof is involved in the circumstances specified in Article 35 of
the Maritime Transportation Regulations or Article 38 of these
Rules, it can request the Ministry of Communications to conduct
investigations in accordance with the provisions of Article 35 of
the Maritime Transportation Regulations. When a request for
investigations is lodged, an application in writing with the reason
for the investigations and necessary evidence shall be submitted.
The Ministry of Communications shall, within 60 working days after
the date of acceptance of the application, conduct an appraisal of
the application for investigations and give a decision of conducting
or not conducting the investigations.
(1) if the Ministry of Communications considers the reason for the
investigations is not enough or the evidence in the application is
not sufficient, it shall decide not to conduct investigations and
notify the applicant thereof. The applicant can make a request for
investigations again after adding new reasons or new evidence;
(2) if the Ministry of Communications considers it necessary to
conduct investigations after taking into consideration of the
appraisal conclusion or at its own discretion in accordance with
Article 35 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, the
administrative department of commerce and industry of the State
Council and the pricing department of the State Council shall be
informed of the relevant documents and appraisal conclusion.
Article 53 The investigations shall be conducted by an investigation
group jointly composed by the Ministry of Communications, the
administrative department of commerce and industry of the State
Council and the pricing department of the State Council (hereinafter
referred to as the investigatory authority).
The investigatory authority shall notify the person under
investigation of the composition of the investigation group, the
reason for investigation and the time limit for the investigation
etc. The person under investigation shall, within 30 days after the
service of the notice of investigation, reply to the investigations.
If the person under investigation considers that the members of
the investigation group have related interests with the
investigation applicant, the person under investigation or the
issues under investigations, he can request a refusal of such
member(s). If the investigatory authority considers the application
for refusal tenable, it shall adjust the composition of the
investigation group.
Article 54 When the person under investigation is investigated, he
shall provide the relevant statistics, documents or papers at the
request of the investigation group. If such statistics, documents or
papers are commercial secrets, the investigation group shall be made
known. The investigation group shall record in writing the
confidentiality of such statistics, documents or papers.
The investigatory authority and the members of the investigation
group shall keep the commercial secrets of the person under
investigation confidential.
If the person under investigation finds the members of the
investigation group disclose such commercial secrets and has
sufficient evidence to support his assertion, he has the right to
make a complaint to the investigatory authority.
Article 55 The following elements shall be considered before the
investigatory authority decides that the person under investigation
provides service at lower freight rates than normal and reasonable
ones:
(1) the freight rates level of most of the operators within the
industry who have the same scale of business as the person under
investigation;
(2) the reason of the freight rate level fixed by the person under
investigation, including the composition of costs, the level of
management and the level of profit and loss etc. ; or
(3) whether there is a focus on certain competitors for the purpose
of repelling the competitors in the same industry.
Article 56 The following elements shall be considered before the
investigatory authority decides that there is any act detrimental to
fair competition or any act detrimental to the other party of the
transaction:
(1) to constitute obstacles to the free choice of carriers by the
shippers;
(2) to affect the normal shipment of cargo; or
(3) to solicit cargo by offering secret rebate not being reflected
by the bookkeeping, which seriously distorts the market competition
rules.
Article 57 Before the investigatory authority makes a conclusion on
the investigation, a meeting for consulting the experts shall be
held to evaluate the degree of detriment to fair competition or
detriment to the other party of the transaction.
The experts invited in the consultative meeting shall not have
related interests with the investigation applicant or the person
under investigation.
Article 58 When the investigations are completed, the investigatory
authority shall make a conclusion on the investigations and notify
the investigation applicant and the person under investigation in
writing:
(1) if the basic facts are not tenable, the investigatory authority
shall decide to terminate the investigations;
(2) if the basic facts are tenable but not in substance detrimental
to fair market competition, the investigatory authority shall decide
not to take prohibitive or restrictive measures against the person
under investigation;
(3) if the basic facts are clear and in substance detrimental to
fair market competition, the investigatory authority shall, in
accordance with the provisions in the Maritime Transportation
Regulations, take prohibitive and restrictive measures against the
person under investigation.
Article 59 The party shall be informed
of its right to have a
hearing before the investigatory authority make a decision to take
prohibitive and restrictive measures. If the party asks for the
hearing, it shall apply in writing to the investigatory authority
within 10 days after the service of the notice of the investigatory
authority. If the party fails to make an application within the time
limit, it is considered to have waived its right to have a hearing.
Article 60 If an investigation is
conducted on the cases specified
in Article 38 of these Rules, the persons from the competent
communications department of the people''s government of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government where the person under investigation registers
his qualification of services shall be included in the investigation
group.
If there are unlawful practices as specified in subparagraph 3 of
Article 38 of these Rules which are in substance detrimental to the
other party of the transaction or the competitors in the industry,
the investigatory authority can take the restrictive measures of
restricting the person under investigation to develop his business
within a certain period of time.
Chapter VI Legal Liabilities
Article 61 If there is a violation of the provisions of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations or these Rules which shall be penalized,
the Ministry of Communications or its authorized competent
communications department of the people''s government of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government shall impose the penalty in accordance with the
provisions in Chapter VI of the Maritime Transportation Regulations
and this Chapter.
Article 62 If a foreign-invested representative office has one of
the cases specified in Article 39 of these Rules, the Ministry of
Communications or the competent communications department of the
province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the
Central Government shall inform the relevant administrative
department of the commerce and industry to impose the penalty in
accordance with the provisions in paragraph 2, Article 52 of the
Maritime Transportation Regulations.
Article 63 If a liner conference agreement, a service operation
agreement or a freight rate agreement fails to be filed with the
Ministry of Communications as provided, the Ministry of
Communications shall, in accordance with the provisions in Article
48 of the Maritime Transportation Regulations, impose penalty on the
party who shall file in accordance with Article 32 of these Rules.
If the liner conference fails to file as provided, a penalty can be
imposed on its members.
Article 64 If the members in the investigation group violate the
provisions by disclosing the secret information of the person under
investigation, an administrative penalty shall be imposed. If the
consequences are so severe as to violate the criminal law, a
criminal penalty shall be pursued.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 65 The applicant can entrust its agent with handling the
issues relating to permission or registration as provided in the
Maritime Transportation Regulations or these Rules. If the agent is
entrusted to handle the issues, a letter of entrustment shall be
produced. A notary letter provided by a foreign applicant or
investor shall be issued by the notary office or the attorney at the
country where the applicant or investor is registered.
The documents in writing specified in these Rules shall be in
Chinese. If they are in any of other languages, a Chinese
translation shall be attached thereto.
Article 66 The requirements of the filing, the means and ways of
filing which are provided in the Maritime Transportation Regulations
and these Rules shall be fulfilled in accordance with the rules
provided by the Ministry of Communications.
Article 67 The provisions in Chapter IV of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations and Chapter IV of these Rules are mutatis
mutandis applicable to the investment into and operation of
international shipping business and auxiliary businesses relating to
international maritime transport in Chinese mainland by investors
from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special
Administrative Region or Taiwan region.
Article 68 The detailed rules relating to the tariff rate and
negotiated rate filing provided in Article 20 of the Maritime
Transportation Regulations shall be formulated by the Ministry of
Communications.
Article 69 If one engages in loading and
unloading, storage and
warehousing of international shipments and international maritime
container freight station and container yard services within port
area, the relevant laws and regulations of the State on port
management shall be complied with.
Article 70 These Rules shall enter into
force as of March 1, 2003.
The Measures for Administration of International Shipping Service on
April 11, 1985, the Provisions on International Shipping Agency
Services on March 2, 1990, the Provisions on International Liner
Services on June 20, 1990, the Provisions on Administration of
International Container Transportation at Sea of the People''s
Republic of China on July 1, 1992, the Measures for Administration
of Representative Offices Established by Foreign Waterborne
Transportation Enterprises on October 16, 1997 by the Ministry of
Communications shall be repealed simultaneously.
|
|