China adopts classified control on the import of used mechanical and electrical products, which are divided into three supervision categories: prohibited import, restricted import and free import. For eligible used mechanical and electrical goods allowed to enter the territory, customs authorities implement tiered supervision rules covering pre-shipment inspection, port inspection and destination inspection. Used mechanical and electrical goods cover a wide range of categories, and their used condition cannot be judged intuitively by naked eyes. Coupled with irregular declaration documents submitted by many enterprises, violations and smuggling related to such commodities keep emerging. Drawing on real law enforcement cases from frontline customs, this paper systematically sorts out high-frequency compliance risks in the import business of used mechanical and electrical products.
Case 1: Imported goods fall within the scope of used mechanical and electrical products prohibited by the state
In August 2024, an enterprise declared the import of 169 brake chambers under the supervision mode of "goods for repair", with a total FOB value of 7,428 US dollars. After on-site customs inspection and verification, 15 brake chambers showed obvious traces of use and were second-hand goods. They fall within the scope of used mechanical and electrical products prohibited for import specified in the *Catalogue of Used Mechanical and Electrical Products Prohibited from Import* (Announcement No. 106 of 2018 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs). In September 2024, the customs ordered the enterprise to ship the involved used mechanical and electrical products out of China, and the enterprise completed all return procedures in November of the same year.
Case Comment: All used mechanical and electrical products included in the *Catalogue of Used Mechanical and Electrical Products Prohibited from Import* (Announcement No. 106 of 2018 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs) are prohibited import goods, and customs will not accept such import declarations. Goods listed in the catalogue shall not be imported under any trade form or supervision mode. Once identified by customs as prohibited goods, the importer commits an offence of importing goods prohibited by the state. In accordance with Article 13 of the *Regulations on Administrative Penalties of the Customs*, where an import or export entity violates national import and export control rules and imports or exports goods prohibited by the state, the competent authority may order the goods to be returned and impose a fine of not more than 1 million RMB. In this case, the party voluntarily arranged the return of goods to mitigate harmful consequences, fully cooperated with the customs investigation and confessed voluntarily. The customs imposed a mitigated penalty of 5,000 RMB considering the proportion of the involved value.
Risk Reminder: Before importing mechanical and electrical products, enterprises must verify the commodity attributes against the prohibited import catalogue item by item. It is not allowed to evade supervision requirements for prohibited goods by declaring as goods for repair, samples or temporary admission.
Case 2: Declared used mechanical and electrical products identified as solid waste after appraisal
In February 2026, the applicant declared a consignment of cameras to customs under general trade. Customs inspection confirmed that the consignment consisted of 230 second-hand digital cameras with a total weight of 40 kg. Appraisal by a professional institution confirmed these second-hand digital cameras are solid waste. The customs legally ordered the party to arrange return shipment. At present, all 230 second-hand digital cameras have been returned out of China. The act of importing solid waste constitutes a violation. Given that the involved solid waste is only 0.04 tons with minor circumstances, and the party fully completed return within the time limit set by customs, mitigated punishment may apply according to law.
Case Comment: Besides the risk of restricted commodity categories, importers of used mechanical and electrical goods frequently face the compliance risk of being identified as solid waste. China has fully banned the entry of overseas solid waste since January 1, 2021. Under the *Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste*, any person who brings overseas solid waste into China shall be ordered by customs to return such solid waste, and a fine ranging from 500,000 RMB to 5 million RMB shall be imposed.
Risk Reminder: Enterprises importing used mechanical and electrical products shall check product quality and performance in advance. Even if certain used equipment is not listed in the *Catalogue of Used Mechanical and Electrical Products Prohibited from Import*, severe aging and poor quality may deprive it of basic usability and lead to identification as solid waste. Once confirmed as solid waste, the goods will be denied entry and the responsible party shall bear legal liabilities.
Case 3: Failure to complete inspection declaration for imported used mechanical and electrical products as required by regulations
In August 2023, an enterprise declared a batch of LCD display panel modules to customs under general trade, without truthfully stating the used status of the goods. After inspection and sampling, customs obtained the appraisal result: the goods are 50% new with obvious use traces, intact structure and basic functions. They are not solid waste but used mechanical and electrical products subject to statutory inspection, with a total value of 53,614.5 RMB. The enterprise imported statutory-inspection used mechanical and electrical products without going through inspection declaration procedures, which constitutes a violation.
Case Comment: Under customs supervision rules, eligible used mechanical and electrical products shall go through port inspection and destination inspection in sequence. For high-risk used mechanical and electrical products with high value and relevance to personal safety, public health and ecological environment, pre-shipment inspection shall be completed in advance and a valid inspection certificate obtained. After arrival at the port, the consignee or its authorized agent shall submit statutory inspection application to customs with contract, invoice, packing list, bill of lading and other documents. The enterprise in this case knew the goods were used mechanical and electrical products but evaded statutory inspection, violating the *Law on Import and Export Commodity Inspection* and the *Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Inspection of Imported Used Mechanical and Electrical Products*. According to relevant provisions, customs may confiscate illegal gains and impose a fine of 5% to 20% of the cargo value.
Risk Reminder: All used mechanical and electrical products within statutory inspection scope shall be truthfully declared regardless of value, and inspection declaration shall be completed in accordance with procedures. Deliberately concealing the used condition and evading inspection supervision are illegal acts.
Case 4: Unauthorized sale and use of used mechanical and electrical products before customs inspection
In October 2024, the applicant declared the inbound shipment of one used Komori rotary printing machine manufactured in 1997 under the supervision mode of inbound logistics goods in bonded zones (5034). The equipment is approximately 30% new, HS code 8443.1100.00, falling into the category of used mechanical and electrical products subject to statutory inspection. In March 2025, the enterprise formally declared this equipment for import under general trade (0110), with declared value of 2,527,045.1 RMB. Subsequent investigation confirmed that before customs issued the destination inspection conclusion, the party had already sold the printing machine privately. This act violates the *Law on Import and Export Commodity Inspection*, constituting the illegal act of selling imported statutory-inspection commodities without inspection.
Case Comment: Customs implements destination inspection supervision for imported used mechanical and electrical products. If items related to personal safety, health and environmental protection fail inspection, customs will order the consignee to destroy or return the goods. For goods failing other inspection items, technical rectification may be carried out under customs supervision. Sales and use are only permitted after passing re-inspection. If the non-compliant subject is complete sets of equipment and supporting parts, customs will issue a notice prohibiting installation and use. The equipment can only be installed and used after technical treatment and qualified re-inspection. Private sale or use of used mechanical and electrical products without inspection declaration or qualified customs inspection is illegal. According to Article 22 of the *Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Inspection of Imported Used Mechanical and Electrical Products*, customs may confiscate illegal gains and impose a fine of 5% to 20% of cargo value; where circumstances are serious enough to meet criminal standards, criminal liability shall be pursued.
Risk Reminder: Complete sets of used mechanical and electrical equipment can only be put into production, transferred or sold after customs inspection is finished and a qualified result is obtained. Such violations involving high-value complete equipment are likely to incur heavy fines with prominent compliance risks.
Case 5: Smuggling of used mechanical and electrical products by false declaration and concealment
In January 2024, the party declared the re-import of a batch of toy exhibits to customs under an ATA Carnet. Customs inspection found that three declared containers contained a large quantity of undeclared used power adapters and other goods, weighing 6,780.7 kg in total. Appraisal confirmed these used power adapters are solid waste prohibited by the state. Investigation shows that the goods were collected in Hong Kong by the party and deliberately hidden inside exhibit cargo for smuggling into China. By means of concealment and omission to evade customs supervision, the party transported prohibited goods into the territory, which constitutes smuggling.
Case 6
From 2008 to 2020, the defendant Liu continuously purchased second-hand auto parts from Hong Kong and entrusted Kuang to smuggle the goods into China for domestic sales and profit. The total value of involved second-hand auto parts is 38,500 RMB. After smuggling, Kuang arranged transport to deliver goods to Liu, who sold them in domestic markets. Part of the goods have been sold, and the unsold remainder has been seized by investigation authorities in accordance with law. Judicial appraisal confirms the seized second-hand auto parts are used mechanical and electrical products prohibited for import. After court trial, Liu was convicted of the crime of smuggling goods and articles prohibited by the state from import and export. He was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of one year with a two-year probation period and a fine of 50,000 RMB.
Case Comment: In Case 5, the party smuggled prohibited solid waste under the guise of exhibits, a typical smuggling act by concealment and omission. Article 7 of the *Regulations on Administrative Penalties of the Customs of the People's Republic of China* stipulates that anyone passing through customs control zones, evading supervision by concealment, camouflage, omission or false declaration to transport, carry or mail goods prohibited or restricted by the state or dutiable goods across the border, shall be deemed to commit smuggling. For criminal liability criteria, under Article 151 of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations, those smuggling prohibited goods and articles with quantity from 20 tons to less than 100 tons or value from 200,000 RMB to less than 1 million RMB shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also or only be fined; where quantity reaches 100 tons or above, or value reaches 1 million RMB or above, fixed-term imprisonment of more than five years and a fine shall be imposed. The goods in Case 5 weigh 6.78 tons, failing to meet the criminal filing threshold and only subject to administrative penalty. The circumstances and value in Case 6 satisfy criminal prosecution standards, and the defendant was held criminally liable with probation given relatively minor circumstances.
Conclusion
Based on the above typical cases, illegal risks in the import of used mechanical and electrical products can be summarized into four core categories. First, non-compliance on commodity category and quality: blind import of prohibited used mechanical and electrical products or equipment that has lost usability easily leads to return and fines. Second, declaration violations: false declaration, concealing used status or falsifying commodity name for customs clearance constitutes administrative violation. Third, inspection violations: failure to complete inspection declaration for eligible goods and unauthorized sale or operation before customs inspection. Fourth, smuggling and criminal risk: smuggling prohibited used mechanical and electrical products by concealment or secret transport may constitute smuggling and trigger criminal liability once reaching filing standards.
Import and export operators shall establish full-process compliance control for used mechanical and electrical imports. Before import, check against prohibited and restricted catalogs item by item to confirm supervision attributes. At declaration stage, truthfully report used status, category and purpose and refrain from omission or false declaration. After customs clearance, fully comply with pre-shipment, port and destination inspection requirements. Goods shall not be sold or used privately without qualified inspection conclusion. In daily operation, abandon all evasive acts such as concealment and secret transport to prevent administrative violations from escalating into crimes, and build a comprehensive compliance barrier for used mechanical and electrical import business.