RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POSTAL LAW OF THE PEOPLE'SREPUBLIC OF CHINA
RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POSTAL LAW OF THE PEOPLE'SREPUBLIC OF CHINA
Important Notice:
This English document is coming from the "LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA GOVERNING FOREIGN-RELATED MATTERS" (1991.7)
which is compiled by the Brueau of Legislative Affairs of the State
Council of the People's Republic of China, and is published by the China
Legal System Publishing House.
In case of discrepancy, the original version in Chinese shall prevail.
Whole Document
RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POSTAL LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S
REPUBLIC OF CHINA
(Promulgated by Decree No. 65 of the State Council of the People's
Republic of China on November 12, 1990, and effective as of the date of
promulgation)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
These Rules are formulated in accordance with the Postal Law of the
People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Postal Law).
Article 2
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the People's Republic of
China (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications) shall be the competent department of postal services
under the State Council and shall administer postal services throughout
the country.
The administrative bureaus of post and telecommunications of various
provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the
Central Government (hereinafter referred to as the administrative bureaus
of post and telecommunications) shall be the regional administrative
organs of postal services, which shall administer postal services of
respective regions.
Article 3
The municipality or county bureaus of post and telecommunications
(including the post offices, - the same below) shall be public enterprises
owned by the whole people that operate postal business (hereinafter
referred to as "Postal enterprises"), and, after being authorized by the
administrative bureaus of post and telecommunications, shall be
responsible for the administration of postal services of the respective
localities. The branch post and telecommunications bureaus, the post and
telecommunications offices, the branch post bureaus, and the postal
offices shall be the branch offices that handle postal business
(hereinafter referred to as "the branch office"); the postal kiosks and
newspaper and periodical stands shall be the service points of postal
enterprises. The post and telecommunications agencies shall be considered
as branch offices postal enterprises.
Article 4
Without the entrustment by the postal enterprises, no unit or individual
may operate posting and delivery of letters, postcards or other articles
with characteristics of mail, except as otherwise provided by the State
Council.
The letters refer to those carriers which transit information by using
sealed envelopes. The other articles with characteristics of mail refer
to those carriers which transmit information by using such forms as
symbols, images, or sounds. The specific contents thereof shall be
stipulated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
Article 5
In case that a postal enterprise entrusts other units or individuals with
the handling of postal business, they shall reach an agreement through
consultation and sign entrustment contracts.
Article 6
All units and individuals that make use of the postal services of China
shall be generally called postal users (hereinafter referred to as users).
Article 7
A postal enterprise shall provide users with fast, accurate, safe and
convenient postal services, and protect the lawful rights and interests of
users in making use of postal services.
Any unit of individual shall have the obligations to protect freedom and
privacy of correspondence, and the safety of postal materials; no unit or
individual may use postal services for activities forbidden by laws,
regulations and policies.
In the course of transportation and delivery of postal materials, no unit
or individual shall inspect or detain the postal materials under any
pretext, except when the inspection of correspondence according to law by
public security organs, state security organs, or procuratorial organs is
necessary for the state security or the investigation of criminal
offences.
Article 8
In the event that a public security organ, a state security organ, or a
procuratorial organ inspects or detains postal materials or freezes
remittances or savings deposits out of the necessity for the state
security or the investigation of a criminal offence, it is imperative for
the aforesaid organs to issue according to law notifications of the
relevant inspection, detention, or freezing to the postal enterprise or
the administrative bureau of post and telecommunications concerned at or
above the county level, and to make out a list of the specific items of
postal materials, remittances, or savings deposits; after going through
the procedures for inspection, detention or freezing, the postal
enterprise shall appoint specially-designated persons to be responsible
for sorting out the items in question, register them one by one, and then
go through the hand-over procedures; with respect to those postal
materials, remittances or savings deposits which need no further
inspection, detention or freezing, or which have been proved through
investigation to have nothing to do with the case concerned, they shall be
returned to the postal enterprise without delay. In case that in the
course of inspection, detention or freezing the postal materials,
remittances or savings deposits are lost or damaged, the relevant public
security, state security, or procuratorial organ shall be responsible for
compensation.
Article 9
In case that a people's court, or a procuratorial organ confiscates
domestic postal materials, remittances or savings deposits, it must
present relevant legal documents, and go through the relevant procedures
with the postal enterprise and administrative bureau of post and
telecommunications at or above the county level. The decision on the
confiscation of incoming or outgoing international postal articles shall
be made by the Customs, which shall also complete the relevant procedures.
Article 10
In case that a unit concerned has the necessity to collect or obtain
evidence or consult the postal business archives, according to law, it
must obtain a written certificate issued by the public security organ, the
state security organ, the procuratorial organ, or the people's court, in
the place where the postal enterprise concerned is located, make a list of
the specific items of postal materials, and then go through the relevant
procedures with the postal enterprise and the administrative bureau of
post and telecommunications at or above the county level.
Article 11
No unit or individual may commit the following acts that hamper the normal
operations of postal services:
(1) to damage postal installations;
(2) to set up stalls or to stack up things in front of the entrance to, or
in the in-and-out passage ways of postal enterprises or their branch
offices, thereby hampering users to make use of postal services or
blocking the passage of postal vehicles;
(3) to make trouble willfully or disturb the normal order at the sites
where postal business is conducted;
(4) to hamper postal staff from executing their duties according to law,
or to seek a quarrel;
(5) to intercept postal means of transport, to hamper illegally the
transportation and delivery of postal materials, or force their way to get
on postal means of transport;
(6) to inspect or detain postal materials illegally;
(7) to commit other acts that hamper the postal enterprises or their
branch offices or postal staff from performing their normal work.
Chapter II The Establishment of Postal Enterprises and Postal Ins- tallations
Article 12
The standards for the establishment of postal enterprises and their branch
offices shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications; the establishment and abolition of post enterprises
shall be approved by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications; the
establishment and abolition of branch offices shall be approved by the
administrative bureaus of post and telecommunications and be reported to
the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications for the record.
Article 13
The local people's governments at various levels shall incorporate the
establishment of postal enterprises and their branch offices as well as
the construction of various postal installations into their urban and
rural construction plans.
Article 14
While constructing new districts in cities, isolated industrial and mining
areas and residential districts, as well as transforming large expanse of
old urban districts, the planning and establishment of the matching postal
enterprises and their branch offices as well as the various postal
installations shall be carried out simultaneously.
Article 15
When postal enterprises establish postal kiosks, newspaper and periodical
stands, pillar boxes, mail boxes or conduct mobile services according to
law, the units and individuals concerned shall provide conveniences.
Article 16
Letter and newspaper boxes for receiving postal materials are the matching
facilities in residential buildings, and designing units shall include
them in the standard designs of the construction of residential buildings.
Every construction unit of a residential building shall be installed, on
the ground floor, with letter and newspaper boxes corresponding to the
room numbers of the residents; or letter and newspaper boxes shall be
installed in a place or room with easy access in the midst of buildings,
for the residents to receive postal materials. The property right owners
of residential buildings, or the administrative units shall be responsible
for the maintenance and change of letter and newspaper boxes; the
maintenance and change of letter and newspaper boxes may also entrusted to
the local postal enterprises or their branch offices, and the expenses
necessary for labour and materials shall be paid by the entrusting units.
Article 17
Places for handling postal business, conveniently accessible to
passengers, shall be provided in relatively larger railway stations,
airports, ports and hotels; the postal enterprises shall provide various
postal services.
Article 18
Any unit that, for the needs of construction, requisitions, demolishes or
removes a postal enterprise and its branch offices or the postal
installations shall consult with the local postal enterprise; and, under
the condition that the normal operations of postal correspondence are
guaranteed, the said unit shall remove the postal enterprise and its
branch offices as well as the postal installations to a proper place, or
rebuild them, and the expenses thus entailed shall be borne by the unit
that conducts the requisition, demolition and removing.
Chapter III Categories of Postal Business
Article 19
Postal enterprises shall handle the posting and delivery of domestic and
international postal materials as well as the express delivery of postal
materials. Domestic postal materials refer to the postal materials
exchanged within the territory of the People's Republic of China; those
posted to or from the regions of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are called
postal materials of the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan;
international postal materials refer to the postal materials exchanged
between the People's Republic of China and other countries or regions, and
postal materials transmitted by way of the territory of China.
Article 20
Distribution business of domestic newspapers and magazines refers to the
business of distributing newspapers and magazines entrusted by newspaper
and magazine offices to the postal enterprises.
Article 21
When newspaper and magazine offices entrust the postal enterprises with
the distribution of newspapers and magazines, they shall, in accordance
with the scope of the distribution of newspapers and magazines, present to
the appointed postal enterprises or the bureaus for distribution of postal
newspapers and magazines, certifications of having obtained the approval
for publication by the competent department concerned and the registration
certificate for newspapers and periodicals. The postal enterprises, which
have the capacity for handling distribution business, shall sign contracts
for the distribution of newspapers and magazines with the newspaper and
magazine offices concerned in accordance with the pertinent provisions of
the State, and in conformity with the principles of equality and mutual
benefit, of achieving unanimity through consultation, and of equal prices
and non-gratuitousness.
Article 22
Postal savings and postal remittances, which are financial businesses
handled by postal enterprises for the purpose of accumulating funds for
the State and facilitating economic transactions, shall be under the
unified administration of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and
shall, in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the State, accept
the guidance of the People's Bank of China in financial businesses. All
relevant banks shall provide conveniences for the businesses of postal
savings and postal remittances conducted by the postal enterprises.
Article 23
The specific categories of postal businesses and the classification of
postal materials shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications.
Chapter IV Postal Rates of Postal Services and Postage Certi- ficates
Article 24
The basic postal rates of postal services refer to the postal rates for
the domestic ordinary letters and postcards; the non-basic postal rates
refer to the postal rates of postal services other than the basic postal
rates.
The basic postal rates of postal services shall be stipulated by the
competent department for the administration of commodity prices under the
State Council, and then be submitted to the State Council for approval;
the non-basic postal rates shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications.
Article 25
The basis for the formulation and adjustment of postal rates of postal
services shall be as follows:
(1) to meet the social needs, on the condition that the cost expenses of
enterprises of postal correspondence and their capacity for development
are guaranteed;
(2) to adjust postal rates of domestic postal services in
the light of the changes in defrayment;
(3) to adjust postal rates of international postal services in accordance
with the provisions of the Universal Postal Union, the international and
domestic cost expenses, and the changes in exchange rates for Renminbi
(CNY).
Article 26
Postage certificates issued by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications
and used as securities indicating that the charges or fees for postal
materials have already been paid shall include postage stamps, the postage
stamp patterns printed on stamped envelopes, stamped postcards, stamped
aerograms, and the "postage-paid" marking printed with a checking machine.
Article 27
The international reply-coupons issued by the Universal Postak Union may,
in accordance with the international unified provisions, be converted into
postage stamps equal to a specific category of postal rates for a specific
class of weight; however, such international reply-coupons shall not be
converted into cash.
Article 28
Where the making of facsimiles of stamp patterns is necessitated by work,
it must be submitted, in accordance with the pertinent provisions for the
making of facsimiles of postage stamp patterns, to the competent
department for postage stamps under the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications, or to the administrative bureau of post and
telecommunications concerned, for examination and approval.
No printing unit may undertake the printing of unapproved facsimiles of
stamp patterns or matters similar to postage stamps.
Article 29
Envelopes to be printed for use in correspondence must conform to the
standards stipulated by the State, and the printing of such envelopes
shall be supervised by the local administrative bureaus of post and
telecommunications.
Article 30
Postcards to be printed must conform with the specification standards
stipulated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
Postal enterprises at or above the county level may, with the approval of
the administrative bureaus of post and telecommunications, print and
distribute postcards with the inscription: "The People's Postal Service of
China" printed on them; if the printing of postcards is conducted by other
units, the printing operation shall be under the supervision of the local
administrative bureaus of post and telecommunications, but the postcards
shall not carry the inscription "The People's Postal Service of China"
Chapter V The Posting and Delivery of Postal Materials and the Compensation for Losses
Article 31
Ordinary letters to be sent by compulsory service-men from places where
they are stationed shall be posted and delivered free of charge, but other
armymen shall not post letters free of charge. Measures for the
administration of affairs concerning the posting and delivery of ordinary
letters by compulsory servicemen shall be formulated by the Ministry of
Post and Telecommunications in conjunction with the department concerned
of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Article 32
Users shall, in handling in or posting postal materials, comply with the
provisions stipulated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications
concerning the contents of postal materials, the specifications for
packaging and sealing, the writing forms, and the correct writing of
postcodes; especially the envelopes used by users for letters to be posted
must meet the standards stipulated by the State; the surface or cover of
postal materials and also the vouchers of postal services shall not be
printed (written) or stuck with any words or any other objects which have
nothing to do with the postal materials; the facade of postage
certificates shall not be smeared, or covered with any other objects; no
forged, facsimiled, cut and pieced together, or processed for
decontamination postal certificates may be used.
Article 33
It shall be forbidden to post and deliver or to insert in postal materials
the following objects:
(1) articles forbidden by law to be put in circulation or to be posted and
delivered;
(2) reactionary newspapers, magazines, and propaganda materials, or
pornographic articles;
(3)explosive, combustible, corrosive, radioactive, poisonous, or any other
dangerous articles;
(4) articles that are harmful to public sanitation;
(5) perishables;
(6) various species of live animals;
(7) various currencies;
(8) articles that are not fit for delivery by post;
(9) articles that are not properly packed so that they might jeopardize
personal safety, or contaminate or damage other postal materials or
equipment.
The articles mentioned in the preceding paragraph, which meet the
provisions of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications for delivery
with special approval, may be accepted and posted on the condition that
safety is guaranteed.
Article 34
Article to be posted and delivered in the country with restricted
quantities shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications in conjunction with the departments concerned under the
State Council.
Article 35
With respect to articles posted or delivered in violation of the pertinent
provisions for forbidding or restricting their posting and delivery, the
postal enterprises or their branch offices shall, in accordance with their
categories, natures, or quantities, handle them respectively in the
following ways:
(1) to withdraw the articles in question from delivery;
(2) to notify the sender to take back the articles within a prescribed
period of time, and, if the sender fails to do so when the prescribed time
limit expires, the said articles shall be disposed of right on the spot;
(3) to transfer the articles to the department concerned to be disposed of
according to law;
(4) with respect to articles which have jeopardized personal safety, or
have contaminated or damaged other postal materials, the sender shall hold
the liability for compensation. The expenses entailed from the handling of
the cases mentioned in items (2) and (3) in the preceding paragraph shall
be borne by the sender.
Article 36
With respect to newly-established enterprises or institutions, or newly-
built residential buildings, the units concerned or the competent
departments of residential buildings shall go through the registration
procedures for the delivery of postal materials with the local postal
enterprises or their branch offices; in the event that a unit is to change
its name, or a recipient is to change his/her address, it/he/she shall
notify the local postal enterprise or its branch office of the change in
advance, or go through the procedures for the change to a new address of
the recipient. The postal enterprise shall make known to the public the
place for registration and the telephone number.
The postal enterprises concerned or their branch offices shall permit
units or individuals with following the conditions to go through the
procedures for registration, and shall, within 90 days from the date of
registration, make arrangements for delivery:
(1) possessing the conditions for passage of postal vehicles and postal
staff to execute their duties;
(2) having the house numbers arranged in a unified way by the public
security organs;
(3) having installed letter and newspaper boxes or having set up offices
for incoming and outgoing mail; or
(4) having completed due formalities where procedures for registration of
both the Chinese and foreign names are required according to relevant
regulations.
Article 37
Postal materials shall be delivered in the following ways, except as
otherwise provided by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications:
(1) delivery by address:
Postal materials of urban and rural residents shall be delivered in
accordance with the addresses of the recipients to the mailboxes or to the
offices for incoming and outgoing mail installed at the entrances to the
courtyards of single-story houses or on the ground floors of the storeyed
buildings. Postal materials of units, of the affiliated institutions to
the units and individuals of the units, as well as of users living in the
dormitories within the courtyards shall be delivered to the offices for
incoming and outgoing mail of the units. The office for incoming and
outgoing mail shall be set up on the ground floor of storeyed building; if
two or more separate units share a same place, they shall decide through
consultation on a single site for receiving postal materials in a unified
way. If it is necessary to deliver postal materials and newspapers and
magazines upstairs, the users shall consult with the postal enterprise
concerned or its branch office, and, in accordance with pertinent
provisions, pay charges for such special services.
Postal materials of the rural and pastoral areas shall, in the light of
specific conditions of communications and the quantities of postal
materials, be delivered generally to a fixed place at a township or an
administrative village; with respect to postal materials of places under a
township or an administrative village, the people's government of the
township or the villagers committee shall consult with the postal
enterprise concerned or its branch office to find a proper way of
delivering postal materials to the recipients. Postal materials to be
delivered to vessels shall be delivered to the office for incoming and
outgoing mail of a department to which the said vessels are subordinate.
(2) collection by users:
Postal materials that must be collected by going through the procedures
with the postal enterprise or its branch office by presenting the written
notice for receiving them, postal materials addressed to the number of a
post office box (a mailbox used exclusively by a particular user), postal
materials deposited at the post office for collection, postal materials
which have exceeded the prescribed weight for delivery by address and
postal materials in a large quantity shall be collected by users.
Article 38
In case that recipients receive vouchered postal materials, or remittees
receive remittances, they shall present their valid certifying documents
to the postal enterprise concerned or to its branch office, and shall also
affix their seals to, or sign their names on, the relevant vouchers.
In case that an acting recipient is entrusted, by a recipient (or by a
remittee), with the receiving of vouchered postal materials (or
remittances), the said acting recipient shall present the valid certifying
documents of the recipient (or the remittee) and of the acting recipient;
and, after the postal enterprise, or its branch office, has verified and
confirmed the documents, the acting recipient shall receive the postal
materials (or remittances) by affixing his/her seal to, or signing his/her
name on, the relevant voucher.
The valid certifying documents shall include the resident's identification
card, the residence booklet, and the employee's card.
Article 39
In the event that a recipient, on receiving vouchered postal materials,
has discovered that the wrapper (of postal materials) has been torn or
damaged, he/she shall announce this on the spot and check the contents. If
the shortage or damage of the contents has been definitely caused by the
negligence of the postal enterprise or its branch office, or if the
negligence of the postal enterprise or its branch office has caused the
loss or damage of vouchered postal materials, the postal enterprise or its
branch office shall make compensation in accordance with the pertinent
provisions. In the event that the loss, damage of postal matters or
shortage of contents has resulted from the fault of the personnel in
charge of the incoming and outgoing mail in the recipient's work unit,
such personnel shall hold the prescribed liability for compensation. The
specific requirements for the transportation and delivery of postal
materials shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications, and shall be made known to the public. If the
transportation and delivery of postal materials have violated the
provisions formulated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the
postal enterprise or its branch office concerned shall make compensations
to the users; and the specific measures for making the compensation shall
be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
Article 40
In case a user has received postal materials by mistake, he/she shall
return them, in good time, to the postal enterprise or its branch office;
postal materials opened by a user by mistake shall be re-sealed and signed
by the said user and returned to the postal enterprise or its branch
office, and the said user shall keep secret the contents of the postal
materials opened by mistake.
Article 41
When the personnel of a unit, who are in charge of incoming and outgoing
mail, are taking over vouchered postal materials, they shall check the
number or quantity of the postal materials carefully to make sure that no
mistake is made before they affix their seal, for acknowledgment of
receipt, to the detailed list of the postal materials received. The
personnel, who are in charge of incoming and outgoing mail, have the
responsibility to protect and despatch, without delay, various categories
of postal materials; they shall not open without permission, conceal,
destroy or discard, postal materials, or tear off postage stamps from
postal materials.
Chapter VI The Transportation, Customs Examination and Quarantine Inspection of Postal Materials
Article 42
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and the administrative bureaus
of post and telecommunications shall timely inform the transport
departments concerned of the changing conditions of the direction of flow
and rate of flow of postal materials to be transported. Various transport
departments shall, in accordance with the needs of postal correspondence,
give priority to the provision of valid train numbers, flight numbers and
shipping space.
The transport departments concerned shall, at railway stations, airports,
ports and wharves, make proper arrangements for sites, in-and-out passage
ways, premises for leading, unloading and storing postal materials as well
as information installations for circulating information about the
conditions of driving and navigation. With respect to newly-built,
rebuilt, and expanded railway stations, airports, ports and wharves, it
shall be necessary to work out a unified plan of making arrangements for
sites and passageways for storing and transshipment of postal materials,
and the expenses thus entailed for the capital construction shall be borne
by the postal enterprises.
Article 43
When a postal enterprise entrusts a transport department with the
transportation of postal materials, an agreement for the transportation of
postal materials shall be concluded.
Article 44
Postal materials, which have been contracted for transportation by a
transport unit, shall have the priority over the transportation of
ordinary goods. In the event that, for one reason or another, the shipment
has to be suspended temporarily, or the shipping time or berthing place
has been changed, the transport unit shall inform the postal enterprise or
its branch office of the situation without delay.
Article 45
Vessels carrying postal materials shall fly the post flag; and various
ports concerned shall give priority of clearance to vessels that fly the
post flag.
Article 46
When a transport unit has contracted for the transportation of postal
materials, except for where the postal enterprise or its branch office
sends personnel to escort the transportation, it shall go through the
formalities with the postal enterprise or its branch office for handing
over, and signing for the receipt of, relevant postal materials.
With the exception of the cause of force majeure, if any loss, shortage or
damage has happened to postal materials under the safe-keeping of a
transport unit or on the way of transportation, the transport unit
concerned shall compensate therefor in accordance with the provisions in
the agreement for the transportation of postal materials. In the event
that a vessel carrying postal materials has met with perils of the sea and
must jettison the goods it carries, it must not jettison the postal
materials it carries until the last minute.
Article 47
When vehicles, vessels and postal staff, which/who are carrying out the
task of transporting and delivering postal materials, are passing bridges,
ferry crossings, tunnels or inspection stations, the departments concerned
shall give them priority in clearance. When postal vehicles bearing the
special postal marks are transporting and delivering postal materials,
they may, on the strength of the pass verified and issued by the public
security organs, take the routes close to traffic and park in the no-
parking sectors without restriction. In the event that postal vehicles or
postal staff have violated traffic rules and regulations in the course of
transporting or delivering postal materials, the competent departments
shall give them clearance after recording the cases, and deal with them
afterwards, when they have carried out their tasks of transportation or
delivery.
Article 48
The postal enterprise shall, in accordance with the operational timetable
formulated on the basis of the transporting vehicles' time of arrival at a
station (a port) and time of departure from a station (a port), and also
with time limit for transportation or delivery, inform the Customs of any
change in such timetable 3 days in advance. The Customs shall, in
accordance with the operational timetable notified by the postal
enterprise, send personnel to the site to supervise and handle
international postbags, and to inspect incoming and outgoing international
postal articles; if the personnel sent by the Customs fail to arrive at
the site when the time limit expires, the Customs shall be held
responsible for the consequences caused by the delay of the operational
time limit.
When the Customs inspects international postbags according to law, the
inspection shall be carried out in the presence of the users at the place
where the Customs establishment is located. In the event that the
recipient or sender of postal materials is unable to be present at the
site, the Customs shall open the postbags for inspection, with the
cooperation of postal staff on the scene. The postbags, which have been
opened for inspection, shall be sealed up again jointly by the Customs and
the postal enterprise with sealing marks or stamps of both. The printed
matters opened for inspection according to law by the Customs shall be
sealed up again with a Customs sealing mark or stamp.
Article 49
In case that a user sends postal materials which are subject to health and
quarantine inspection or animal and plant quarantine inspection, the
postal materials must be attached with a quarantine certificate. The
quarantine offices shall inspect and give clearance to the postal
materials without delay, in order to guarantee the time limit for
transportation or delivery of the postal materials.
Article 50
When the Customs and the quarantine office are inspecting international
postal articles or conducting quarantine inspection or postal materials
according to law, they shall take proper care of them; if it is necessary
to seal them up for safekeeping, in addition to sending a notice to the
sender or the recipient, the Customs and the quarantine office shall go
through the hand-over procedures with the postal enterprises or its branch
office, and be responsible for the safekeeping; the period of sealing up
for safekeeping shall not exceed 45 days. If, under special circumstances,
the period of sealing up for safekeeping needs to be extended, the consent
from the postal enterprise or its branch office and from the sender or the
recipient shall be obtained, and this shall be done on the condition that
the said international postal articles or postal materials being sealed up
shall not suffer any losses. When the seal-up international postal
articles or postal materials are returned to the postal enterprise or its
branch office, the postal staff shall check carefully to see if they are
all in good condition before they sign to acknowledge the hand-over.
With respect to international postal articles that are to be confiscated
according to law, or postal materials that, after health and quarantine
inspection and animal and plant quarantine inspection, must be destroyed,
the Customs or the quarantine office shall issue a written notice
concerning the confiscation or quarantine disposal, and also notify
without delay, the sender or the recipient and the postal enterprise or
its branch office.
In the event that the international postal articles, which are placed
under inspection and sealed up for safe-keeping according to law, are
found to have been lost, short of number or quantity, or damaged, the
Customs or the quarantine office shall be held responsible for
compensation or for handling the case.
Article 51
If the inspection of postal articles or the health and quarantine
inspection on postal materials carried out according to law, calls for the
use of sites or premises of the postal enterprise or its branch office,
the case shall be handled, through consultation, by the postal enterprise
jointly with the departments concerned in accordance with the needs of
work and objective possibilities.
Article 52
The Customs shall, when handling according to law ownerless international
postbages, pay the relevant postal expenses.
Article 53
The ways for the transmission of Customs documents for outgoing
international postal materials shall be decided on by the General Customs
Administration jointly with the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications
through consultation.
Chapter VII Penalty Provisions
Article 54
Those who have violated the provisions in Article 11 of these Rules shall
be penalized by the department concerned according to the pertinent
provisions of the State and in the light of the seriousness of the cases;
those who have violated the pertinent provisions concerning public
security shall be penalized by the public security organs in accordance
with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration
Penalties for Public Security.
Article 55
Those who have violated the provisions of Item 3 in Article 33 of these
Rules but have not caused serious consequences shall be dealt with by the
public security organs in accordance with the Regulations of the People's
Republic of China on Administration Penalties for Public Security.
Article 56
Those who have forged, or falsely used the special postal mark and the
postal uniform, or the postal date-stamp, postal tongs, and postbags and
other special postal articles, shall be penalized with a fine of 1,500
yuan or less by the administrative bureau of post and telecommunications
or by a unit authorized by it; in addition, the relevant articles
mentioned above shall be confiscated.
Article 57
Those who, for the purpose of making profits, have forged postage
certificates, facsimiled postage stamp patterns without permission, or
printed postcards with the inscription "The People's Postal Service of
China", shall be penalized with a fine of 5,000 yuan or less by the
administrative bureau of post and Telecommunications or by a unit
authorized by it; in addition, their illegal gains and the illegal
articles shall be confiscated. In case that a user has purposefully used
postage certificates, which are not in conformity with the pertinent
provisions, on postal materials he/she posts, the postal enterprise or its
branch office shall refuse to dispatch them, notify the sender to withdraw
them within a fixed period of time, and, in addition, impose on the sender
a fine equal to 10 times the postage the said user ought to pay; if it is
impossible to notify the sender, or the sender fails to go through the
formalities for withdrawing the aforesaid postal materials when the time
limit expires, the postal materials shall be disposed of as ownerless
ones.
Article 58
In case that postal staff have concealed, destroyed, discarded, opened
without permission, or stolen postal materials, or have embezzled or
falsely claimed a user's remittance, the postal enterprise shall recover
the illicit money and the stolen goods, may concurrently impose a fine on
the offenders, and may even, in accordance with the seriousness of the
circumstances, impose disciplinary sanctions on them. The specific
measures shall be formulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications.
Article 59
Those who have violated the provisions in the second paragraph of Article
41 of these Rules shall have their responsibilities investigated in
accordance with the provisions in Article 36 of The Postal Law.
Article 60
For any violation of the provisions of these Rules that constitutes a
crime, the criminal responsibilities shall be investigated by the judicial
organs according to law.
Article 61
Those who have received or opened other person's letters or mail by
mistake but refused to return the letters or mail to the recipient, or who
have already returned the letters or mail but have disclosed the contents
of the letters or mail, thereby having encroached upon other person's
right of freedom of correspondence, shall have their responsibilities
investigated in accordance with the provisions in Article 36 of The Postal
Law.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 62
The public security organs, the state security organs, and the
procuratorial organs, as mentioned in these Rules, refer to the public
security organs, the state security organs, and the procuratorial organs
at or above the county level.
Article 63
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications may, in accordance with these
Rules, formulate pertinent rules and regulations.
Article 64
The right to interpret these Rules shall reside in the Ministry of Post
and Telecommunications.
Article 65
These Rules shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.
requirements for the transportation and delivery of postal
materials shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications, and shall be made known to the public. If the
transportation and delivery of postal materials have violated the
provisions formulated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the
postal enterprise or its branch office concerned shall make compensations
to the users; and the specific measures for making the compensation shall
be stipulated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
Article 40
In case a user has received postal materials by mistake, he/she shall
return them, in good time, to the postal enterprise or its branch office;
postal materials opened by a user by mistake shall be re-sealed and signed
by the said user and returned to the postal enterprise or its branch
office, and the said user shall keep secret the contents of the postal
materials opened by mistake.
Article 41
When the personnel of a unit, who are in charge of incoming and outgoing
mail, are taking over vouchered postal materials, they shall check the
number or quantity of the postal materials carefully to make sure that no
mistake is made before they affix their seal, for acknowledgment of
receipt, to the detailed list of the postal materials received. The
personnel, who are in charge of incoming and outgoing mail, have the
responsibility to protect and despatch, without delay, various categories
of postal materials; they shall not open without permission, conceal,
destroy or discard, postal materials, or tear off postage stamps from
postal materials.
Chapter VI The Transportation, Customs Examination and Quarantine Inspection of Postal Materials
Article 42
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and the administrative bureaus
of post and telecommunications shall timely inform the transport
departments concerned of the changing conditions of the direction of flow
and rate of flow of postal materials to be transported. Various transport
departments shall, in accordance with the needs of postal correspondence,
give priority to the provision of valid train numbers, flight numbers and
shipping space.
The transport departments concerned shall, at railway stations, airports,
ports and wharves, make proper arrangements for sites, in-and-out passage
ways, premises for leading, unloading and storing postal materials as well
as information installations for circulating information about the
conditions of driving and navigation. With respect to newly-built,
rebuilt, and expanded railway stations, airports, ports and wharves, it
shall be necessary to work out a unified plan of making arrangements for
sites and passageways for storing and transshipment of postal materials,
and the expenses thus entailed for the capital construction shall be borne
by the postal enterprises.
Article 43
When a postal enterprise entrusts a transport department with the
transportation of postal materials, an agreement for the transportation of
postal materials shall be concluded.
Article 44
Postal materials, which have been contracted for transportation by a
transport unit, shall have the priority over the transportation of
ordinary goods. In the event that, for one reason or another, the shipment
has to be suspended temporarily, or the shipping time or berthing place
has been changed, the transport unit shall inform the postal enterprise or
its branch office of the situation without delay.
Article 45
Vessels carrying postal materials shall fly the post flag; and various
ports concerned shall give priority of clearance to vessels that fly the
post flag.
Article 46
When a transport unit has contracted for the transportation of postal
materials, except for where the postal enterprise or its branch office
sends personnel to escort the transportation, it shall go through the
formalities with the postal enterprise or its branch office for handing
over, and signing for the receipt of, relevant postal materials.
With the exception of the cause of force majeure, if any loss, shortage or
damage has happened to postal materials under the safe-keeping of a
transport unit or on the way of transportation, the transport unit
concerned shall compensate therefor in accordance with the provisions in
the agreement for the transportation of postal materials. In the event
that a vessel carrying postal materials has met with perils of the sea and
must jettison the goods it carries, it must not jettison the postal
materials it carries until the last minute.
Article 47
When vehicles, vessels and postal staff, which/who are carrying out the
task of transporting and delivering postal materials, are passing bridges,
ferry crossings, tunnels or inspection stations, the departments concerned
shall give them priority in clearance. When postal vehicles bearing the
special postal marks are transporting and delivering postal materials,
they may, on the strength of the pass verified and issued by the public
security organs, take the routes close to traffic and park in the no-
parking sectors without restriction. In the event that postal vehicles or
postal staff have violated traffic rules and regulations in the course of
transporting or delivering postal materials, the competent departments
shall give them clearance after recording the cases, and deal with them
afterwards, when they have carried out their tasks of transportation or
delivery.
Article 48
The postal enterprise shall, in accordance with the operational timetable
formulated on the basis of the transporting vehicles' time of arrival at a
station (a port) and time of departure from a station (a port), and also
with time limit for transportation or delivery, inform the Customs of any
change in such timetable 3 days in advance. The Customs shall, in
accordance with the operational timetable notified by the postal
enterprise, send personnel to the site to supervise and handle
international postbags, and to inspect incoming and outgoing international
postal articles; if the personnel sent by the Customs fail to arrive at
the site when the time limit expires, the Customs shall be held
responsible for the consequences caused by the delay of the operational
time limit.
When the Customs inspects international postbags according to law, the
inspection shall be carried out in the presence of the users at the place
where the Customs establishment is located. In the event that the
recipient or sender of postal materials is unable to be present at the
site, the Customs shall open the postbags for inspection, with the
cooperation of postal staff on the scene. The postbags, which have been
opened for inspection, shall be sealed up again jointly by the Customs and
the postal enterprise with sealing marks or stamps of both. The printed
matters opened for inspection according to law by the Customs shall be
sealed up again with a Customs sealing mark or stamp.
Article 49
In case that a user sends postal materials which are subject to health and
quarantine inspection or animal and plant quarantine inspection, the
postal materials must be attached with a quarantine certificate. The
quarantine offices shall inspect and give clearance to the postal
materials without delay, in order to guarantee the time limit for
transportation or delivery of the postal materials.
Article 50
When the Customs and the quarantine office are inspecting international
postal articles or conducting quarantine inspection or postal materials
according to law, they shall take proper care of them; if it is necessary
to seal them up for safekeeping, in addition to sending a notice to the
sender or the recipient, the Customs and the quarantine office shall go
through the hand-over procedures with the postal enterprises or its branch
office, and be responsible for the safekeeping; the period of sealing up
for safekeeping shall not exceed 45 days. If, under special circumstances,
the period of sealing up for safekeeping needs to be extended, the consent
from the postal enterprise or its branch office and from the sender or the
recipient shall be obtained, and this shall be done on the condition that
the said international postal articles or postal materials being sealed up
shall not suffer any losses. When the seal-up international postal
articles or postal materials are returned to the postal enterprise or its
branch office, the postal staff shall check carefully to see if they are
all in good condition before they sign to acknowledge the hand-over.
With respect to international postal articles that are to be confiscated
according to law, or postal materials that, after health and quarantine
inspection and animal and plant quarantine inspection, must be destroyed,
the Customs or the quarantine office shall issue a written notice
concerning the confiscation or quarantine disposal, and also notify
without delay, the sender or the recipient and the postal enterprise or
its branch office.
In the event that the international postal articles, which are placed
under inspection and sealed up for safe-keeping according to law, are
found to have been lost, short of number or quantity, or damaged, the
Customs or the quarantine office shall be held responsible for
compensation or for handling the case.
Article 51
If the inspection of postal articles or the health and quarantine
inspection on postal materials carried out according to law, calls for the
use of sites or premises of the postal enterprise or its branch office,
the case shall be handled, through consultation, by the postal enterprise
jointly with the departments concerned in accordance with the needs of
work and objective possibilities.
Article 52
The Customs shall, when handling according to law ownerless international
postbages, pay the relevant postal expenses.
Article 53
The ways for the transmission of Customs documents for outgoing
international postal materials shall be decided on by the General Customs
Administration jointly with the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications
through consultation.
Chapter VII Penalty Provisions
Article 54
Those who have violated the provisions in Article 11 of these Rules shall
be penalized by the department concerned according to the pertinent
provisions of the State and in the light of the seriousness of the cases;
those who have violated the pertinent provisions concerning public
security shall be penalized by the public security organs in accordance
with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration
Penalties for Public Security.
Article 55
Those who have violated the provisions of Item 3 in Article 33 of these
Rules but have not caused serious consequences shall be dealt with by the
public security organs in accordance with the Regulations of the People's
Republic of China on Administration Penalties for Public Security.
Article 56
Those who have forged, or falsely used the special postal mark and the
postal uniform, or the postal date-stamp, postal tongs, and postbags and
other special postal articles, shall be penalized with a fine of 1,500
yuan or less by the administrative bureau of post and telecommunications
or by a unit authorized by it; in addition, the relevant articles
mentioned above shall be confiscated.
Article 57
Those who, for the purpose of making profits, have forged postage
certificates, facsimiled postage stamp patterns without permission, or
printed postcards with the inscription "The People's Postal Service of
China", shall be penalized with a fine of 5,000 yuan or less by the
administrative bureau of post and Telecommunications or by a unit
authorized by it; in addition, their illegal gains and the illegal
articles shall be confiscated. In case that a user has purposefully used
postage certificates, which are not in conformity with the pertinent
provisions, on postal materials he/she posts, the postal enterprise or its
branch office shall refuse to dispatch them, notify the sender to withdraw
them within a fixed period of time, and, in addition, impose on the sender
a fine equal to 10 times the postage the said user ought to pay; if it is
impossible to notify the sender, or the sender fails to go through the
formalities for withdrawing the aforesaid postal materials when the time
limit expires, the postal materials shall be disposed of as ownerless
ones.
Article 58
In case that postal staff have concealed, destroyed, discarded, opened
without permission, or stolen postal materials, or have embezzled or
falsely claimed a user's remittance, the postal enterprise shall recover
the illicit money and the stolen goods, may concurrently impose a fine on
the offenders, and may even, in accordance with the seriousness of the
circumstances, impose disciplinary sanctions on them. The specific
measures shall be formulated by the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications.
Article 59
Those who have violated the provisions in the second paragraph of Article
41 of these Rules shall have their responsibilities investigated in
accordance with the provisions in Article 36 of The Postal Law.
Article 60
For any violation of the provisions of these Rules that constitutes a
crime, the criminal responsibilities shall be investigated by the judicial
organs according to law.
Article 61
Those who have received or opened other person's letters or mail by
mistake but refused to return the letters or mail to the recipient, or who
have already returned the letters or mail but have disclosed the contents
of the letters or mail, thereby having encroached upon other person's
right of freedom of correspondence, shall have their responsibilities
investigated in accordance with the provisions in Article 36 of The Postal
Law.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 62
The public security organs, the state security organs, and the
procuratorial organs, as mentioned in these Rules, refer to the public
security organs, the state security organs, and the procuratorial organs
at or above the county level.
Article 63
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications may, in accordance with these
Rules, formulate pertinent rules and regulations.
Article 64
The right to interpret these Rules shall reside in the Ministry of Post
and Telecommunications.
Article 65
These Rules shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.
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