Improper commodity classification in customs declaration may
cause different legal liabilities. This article will begin the
analysis with two cases.
Case 1: A large-scale foreign-investment enterprise
("Enterprise A")
imported 72.6 tons of ethylene powder from Germany, and made a
customs declaration in the name of ethylene powder with a commodity
code ("HS code") of 29,012,100. Later,
the customs office extracted samples from the declared goods for
inspection. The laboratory identification report issued by the
customs laboratory center revealed that the materials were actually
a type of polymer with the main ingredient being vinyl acetate, and
the proper corresponding HS code was 39052900. Through further
investigation, the customs office found that Enterprise A had
imported the same materials as "ethylene powder" three
times. The customs office finally determined that Enterprise
A's acts constituted false declarations, and imposed
administrative penalties on
