To promote the healthy and orderly development of China's second-hand car export, based on the "Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China," "Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" and its implementation regulations, "Customs Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of the Import and Export of Goods," "Regulations on the Administration of Motor Vehicle Maintenance," and "Regulations on the Registration of Motor Vehicles," the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport, and the General Administration of Customs have jointly formulated the requirements and procedures for the export of second-hand cars, which are now announced.
1.General Provisions
Second-hand cars refer to automobiles (excluding three-wheeled vehicles, low-speed freight vehicles, the same below) and trailers that have been traded and transferred ownership from the completion of registration to the point before reaching the national mandatory scrapping standard.
Second-hand car export enterprises refer to enterprises registered and engaged in second-hand car export business within the territory of the People's Republic of China.
The state implements export license management for second-hand cars. The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for policy formulation, guidance, coordination, and supervision of national second-hand car export. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is responsible for related work on the "Announcement of Road Motor Vehicle Production Enterprises and Products." The Ministry of Public Security guides and supervises the traffic management departments of public security organs at all levels in handling the registration of exported second-hand cars. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for the collection of data on the electronic health records of automobile repairs and the query service for second-hand car repair records. The General Administration of Customs is responsible for guiding, inspecting, and supervising the customs clearance of second-hand cars by directly affiliated customs. This announcement applies to the export of second-hand cars to destinations outside the territory of the People's Republic of China.
2.Conditions for Enterprise Declaration
Second-hand car export enterprises should comply with national laws and regulations, strictly fulfill relevant responsibilities and obligations. Enterprises applying to engage in second-hand car export business must meet the following conditions:
(1) Manufacturing enterprises.
(2) Circulation enterprises.
Registered within the territory of the People's Republic of China, with independent legal personality;
Having fixed business premises and second-hand car display and sales places, with automobile sales or trade experience;
Possessing the ability to appraise and evaluate second-hand cars, employing at least three professional appraisal and evaluation personnel;
The enterprise operates legally and complies with safety production, environmental protection, taxation, customs, and foreign exchange management laws and regulations, without unrectified illegal or irregular behaviors, and no serious dishonest behaviors.
3.Enterprise Declaration Procedures and Materials
(1) The provincial commercial competent authorities of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, municipalities separately planning, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (hereinafter referred to as provincial commercial competent authorities) are responsible for the review of materials submitted by second-hand car export enterprises.
(2) Enterprises can log in to the "Business System Unified Platform of the Ministry of Commerce" enterprise side to fill in the application materials and submit them to the provincial commercial competent authorities for review. Enterprises can conduct second-hand car export business within one year after passing the review, and they need to reapply the following year.
(3) Provincial commercial competent authorities can log in to the "Business System Unified Platform of the Ministry of Commerce" management side to review the application materials of enterprises in their administrative regions. For application materials that meet the requirements of this announcement, they should be reviewed and approved within 15 working days; for materials that do not meet the requirements, the reasons should be notified at one time.
(4) Enterprises applying to engage in second-hand car export business need to submit the following materials:
--Application for engaging in second-hand car export business. The content includes but is not limited to:
(a) Basic information of the enterprise and enterprise investors;
(b) Business operation situation: including domestic automobile transactions, automobile trade, business performance, etc.;
(c) Development plan for the next three years of second-hand car export business; Implementation plan for second-hand car export business: including domestic procurement of second-hand cars, quality assurance, overseas sales, after-sales service, etc.;
(d) Copy of the business license of the enterprise's legal person, customs code, unified social credit code of the enterprise;
(e) A letter of commitment signed by the legal representative of the enterprise and stamped with the official seal of the enterprise, as well as a commitment letter stating that there are no unrectified illegal or irregular behaviors and no serious dishonest behaviors.
--Circulation enterprises need to submit property ownership or use certificate of the operating place, capability certificate of at least three appraisal and evaluation professionals for second-hand cars, proof of social security payment in the enterprise, proof of automobile sales or trade situation, copy of the enterprise's financial audit report issued by the accounting firm in the previous year, and copy of the financial statements for the current period of registration and the financial audit report of the enterprise's investors in the previous year for newly registered enterprises.
(5) Enterprises exporting second-hand cars through engineering contracting do not need to apply in advance, and can directly apply for export license with relevant proof materials such as winning the bid documents, filing table for foreign contracted projects, and contract for contract projects.
4.Export License Application Process
(1) Second-hand car export enterprises that have passed the review can apply for export licenses after completing the transfer registration procedures for second-hand cars in accordance with the law. Second-hand cars that have completed customs clearance for export shall not be returned. Within 2 months after completing the customs clearance procedures for the export of second-hand cars, enterprises should apply for cancellation of registration to the public security traffic management department at the place where the enterprise is located or where the motor vehicle is registered, with the export customs declaration form and relevant certificates as required by laws and regulations.
(2) Enterprises applying for the transfer registration of motor vehicles for export shall, after surrendering the original motor vehicle license plate and vehicle registration certificate and inspecting the motor vehicle, the public security traffic management department shall annotate the "Transfer Pending Export" item on the motor vehicle registration certificate, issue a temporary vehicle license plate, and the validity period of the temporary vehicle license plate shall be consistent with the period of compulsory traffic accident liability insurance for motor vehicles, but shall not exceed 60 days. Vehicles with the item "Transfer Pending Export" annotated on the motor vehicle registration certificate should promptly apply for export license, customs clearance, and cancellation of registration procedures.
(3) Second-hand car export enterprises that have passed the review shall apply for export licenses on the "Business System Unified Platform of the Ministry of Commerce" enterprise side according to the
following principle of "who exports, who applies." Other enterprises or individuals cannot apply on behalf of them.
(4) Provincial commercial competent authorities are the issuing agencies responsible for issuing export licenses. Provincial commercial competent authorities should issue export licenses to enterprises whose materials meet the application requirements within 3 working days. For materials that do not meet the requirements, the reasons should be notified at one time.
(5) The export license is "one batch, one certificate," and export enterprises can apply for up to 20 second-hand cars under the same commodity code item on the export license application form. The quantity applied for should be consistent with the actual declared quantity, and customs clearance should be completed in one go. If the quantity declared for customs clearance is less than the applied quantity, the export license should be reapplied.
(6) When applying for export licenses, enterprises can choose to have paper-based or paperless operations. If choosing the paperless operation mode, the electronic certificate of export license should be applied for according to regulations.
(7) Customs implement online verification of second-hand car export licenses and handle customs procedures according to regulations. When enterprises apply to customs for customs clearance of exported second-hand cars, they should fill in the commodity name as "old + vehicle brand + displacement + model (such as SUV, sedan, etc.)" according to the relevant provisions of customs declaration management.
(8) After the procedures for transferring pending export of second-hand cars are completed, the vehicles cannot be transferred to new owners within the country again. In case of special circumstances where the export contract cannot be executed, enterprises should coordinate with other importers to sign new export contracts.
5.Materials Required for Applying for Export Licenses
Enterprises applying for second-hand car export licenses need to submit application materials.
(1) Application form for export license. The "VIN code" column should be filled with the vehicle identification number (VIN), and the "exporter" and "consignor" columns should be filled with the name of the second-hand car export enterprise. The "commodity status" should be selected as "old," and the "specification, grade" column should be filled with the vehicle brand and model. The relevant content should be consistent with the "Vehicle Registration Certificate."
(2) Valid export contracts (including after-sales service content). If the contract is in a foreign language, a Chinese translation should also be provided, and the Chinese translation shall prevail.
(3) Original or scanned copy of the "Vehicle Registration Certificate." The vehicle owner in the "Vehicle Registration Certificate" should be consistent with the name of the second-hand car export enterprise applying for the license.
(4) Product inspection report issued by a third-party testing agency and a self-declaration from the agency stating that they have no unrectified illegal or irregular behaviors and no serious dishonest behaviors. The testing standards shall comply with the "Requirements for the Quality of Exported Used Passenger Cars" (WM/T8-2022) and the "Requirements for the Quality of Exported Used Commercial Vehicles and Trailers" (WM/T9-2022).
(5) Declaration that the exported vehicles meet the admission standards of the target market, stamped with the company seal.
The following situations prohibit the export of second-hand cars:
(1) Vehicles that have reached the scrapping standards stipulated in the "Regulations on the Mandatory Retirement Standards for Motor Vehicles" and vehicles that have been used for a period of less than one year (including one year);
(2) Vehicles under mortgage or pledge, or under customs supervision;
(3) Vehicles under seizure or attachment by supervisory organs, people's courts, people's procuratorates, or administrative law enforcement departments according to law;
(4) Vehicles obtained through illegal criminal means such as theft, robbery, or fraud;
(5) Motor vehicles whose information does not match that recorded in the "Vehicle Registration Certificate";
(6) Smuggled or illegally assembled vehicles;
(7) Vehicles with incomplete statutory certificates or documents;
(8) Vehicles with unqualified inspection results;
(9) Vehicles with unresolved road traffic safety violations and traffic accidents;
(10) Other vehicles prohibited from trading or exporting by laws and regulations.
7.Responsibilities
In the second-hand car export work, provincial commercial competent authorities, departments of industry and information technology, public security traffic management departments, transportation departments, customs, export enterprises, inspection and testing agencies shall all assume corresponding responsibilities.
(1) Responsibilities of provincial commercial competent authorities.
Provincial commercial competent authorities should establish a special work mechanism, carry out the review of second-hand car export enterprises and the issuance of second-hand car export licenses, strengthen supervision, and effectively prevent and control various risks. Establish a credit record system and record the dishonest behaviors of export enterprises in their credit files. If any enterprise in this administrative region is found to have dishonest behaviors, it shall promptly report to the relevant competent authorities such as the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport, and Customs.
(2) Responsibilities of departments of industry and information technology.
Departments of industry and information technology should perform the functions of access management for road motor vehicle production enterprises and products, and do a good job in access and supervision of road motor vehicle production enterprises and products.
(3) Responsibilities of public security traffic management departments.
Public security traffic management departments should handle transfer and cancellation registration procedures for exported second-hand cars according to law and timely report enterprises found to have illegal or irregular behaviors to the Ministry of Commerce.
(4) Responsibilities of transportation departments.
The transportation department guides relevant technical support units to provide data query services for repair records of exported vehicles to second-hand car export enterprises that have been filed with the commerce department through the automobile repair electronic health record system.
(5) Responsibilities of customs.
Customs shall promptly inform the Ministry of Commerce, public security, and other relevant departments when it finds that enterprises export vehicles prohibited by this announcement.
(6) Responsibilities of export enterprises.
Second-hand car export enterprises are the main body responsible for quality traceability and must strictly comply with the relevant provisions of the "Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of the Import and Export of Goods."
They must truthfully disclose information about the vehicle's mileage, maintenance history, and fulfill obligations such as product testing for export. They should promptly provide maintenance technology and spare parts support and coordinate to resolve significant issues related to overseas quality and after-sales services. It's encouraged for export enterprises to provide maintenance records of exported vehicles in the "National Automobile Repair Electronic Health Record System."
The following actions are prohibited:
Enterprises engaging in the above actions will have their credit records marked by provincial commercial competent authorities. Enterprises suspected of illegal activities will be held accountable according to the law.
(7) Responsibilities of inspection and testing institutions.
Inspection and testing institutions should issue objective, fair, scientific, accurate, and valid inspection reports based on relevant standards.
8.Supplementary Provisions
This announcement shall come into force on March 1, 2024. Relevant provincial commercial competent authorities should guide local entities that have been approved to engage in second-hand car export business before the announcement was issued to reapply and review in accordance with the requirements and procedures of the announcement within six months from the date of implementation. Provisions in the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce on Matters Concerning the Application for Second-hand Car Export Licenses" (Commerce and Trade Office Letter [2019] No. 854), the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Office of the General Administration of Customs on Matters Concerning the Paperless Operation of Application for Second-hand Car Export Licenses" (Commerce Office Letter [2019] No. 297), and the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce, the General Office of the Ministry of Public Security, and the General Office of the General Administration of Customs on Accelerating the Promotion of Second-hand Car Export Work" (Commerce Office Letter [2019] No. 335) that are inconsistent with this announcement shall be subject to this announcement.
Attachment: Catalog of Second-hand Car Products
Ministry of Commerce
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Ministry of Public Security
Ministry of Transport
General Administration of Customs
February 5, 2024
