On 1 July 2013, the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT) published a draft proposal concerning open-case inspection of dangerous goods (DG) containers at local Customs ports. In order to reinforce the entry-exit management of dangerous goods at Customs, the ministry has intended the proposal to prevent DG importers/exporters from hiding or smuggling dangerous goods in common cargos shipments, or falsely claiming dangerous goods to be ordinary cargos. The draft measures are currently subject to a half month period of professional comments due by 19 July.
The open-case inspection will generally be performed on port operators engaged in the cross-border transport of bulk containers if any of the following conditions are met:
There is a tip-off made by a source providing a verified name.
There is an anonymous tip-off reporting on the cargo and the port authority recognizes the need to conduct open-case inspection;
There is an official reporting on the cargo from administrative authorities other than the entry-exit inspection agency;
Dangerous leakage is detected from a claimed ordinary cargo;
The container loading list indicates some dangerous goods but there’s been no declaration of DG with the Customs.
The following chart displays how the inspection will be conducted and what will be focused in the port inspection against DG related misconducts.
Outline of the open-case inspection for DG containers at Port
Notes:
IMD Code refers to International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code
WTDG refers to the Rules on the Waterway Transport of Dangerous Goods (MOT Order 10 of 1996)《水路危险货物运输规则（第一部分）水路包装危险货物运输规则》
RSMDGP refers to the Rules on the Safety Management of Dangerous Goods at Port Areas《港口危险货物安全管理规定》
Illegal acts refer to any conduct of hiding or smuggling dangerous goods in common cargos shipments, or falsely claiming dangerous goods to be ordinary cargos.
Inconformity refers to any conduct related to missing, insufficient or inconsistent information on the package of the product in the container.
