The General Administration of Customs ("GAC") has recently issued the Announcement on Regulatory Matters Concerning the "International Through Flight" Business (the "Announcement"), immediately effective from the date of issuance.
The Announcement is organized into seven parts which are the definition of "international through flights", business processing, customs clearance procedures, airport management, management of air transport enterprises, responses to special circumstances, and miscellaneous matters. It states that an air carrier shall submit, together with the airport operator, to the GAC the plan of scheduled flights and the safeguard plan, prior to the operation of international through flights, and that a foreign air carrier shall submit the requested materials together with the domestic air carriers and the airport operator. In addition, the Announcement provides that for air carriers and airport operators that fail to fulfill relevant duties and obligations under the Announcement and are unable to satisfy regulatory requirements of the customs, the customs with jurisdiction may call a halt to their "international through flight" business and order for rectification within the prescribed time limit, adding that the GAC may bring to an end their "international through flight" business if they fail to make effective rectification within the prescribed time limit.