The General Administration of Customs ("GAC") has recently issued the Announcement [2018] No.130 to release the Standard for the Arrangement of Sites for Intensive Customs Inspections of Closed Containers (for Trial Implementation) (the "Standard"), immediately effective from the date of issuance.
According to the Standard, an inspection site shall comprise the inspection area for ordinary goods and the operation area for machine inspections, and some other supporting areas and buildings, including the sanitization area, the public health isolation area, the warehouse (area) for temporary storage, houses involving the adoption of specialized technologies, the auxiliary operation area, and houses for logistics and office space; other areas for particular purposes, such as the inspection area for epidemic prevention, the inspection area for cold chains, and the inspection area for foods, may be established within the inspection site, depending on environmental requirements and operating requirements for goods under inspection. As to the main building, the Standard expressly states that, an inspection site shall be designed and built in consideration of the local climate, characteristics of the port area, inspection requirements for goods, and other relevant factors. With respect to the inspection area for epidemic prevention, the Standard notes that, the inspection area for epidemic prevention shall be physically isolated from other areas and kept separate and closed, and is thus able to fulfill requirements for preventing the escape of vectors of diseases and harmful organisms and the spread of other quarantine risks.