Q1: When bullets are found in the luggage of a foreign national transiting internationally at a Chinese airport, does China Customs have jurisdiction?
Yes. Pursuant to the List of Articles Prohibited from Importation and Exportation promulgated under GACC Order No. 43, all types of weapons and ammunition are classified as articles prohibited from importation. Under Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Supervision and Administration of Inbound and Outbound Luggage Articles (GACC Order No. 276, effective April 1, 2025), transit passengers who do not leave the customs surveillance zone are exempt from completing declaration forms but shall not carry articles prohibited from importation. Accordingly, regardless of whether a transit passenger leaves the customs surveillance zone, Customs enjoys lawful jurisdiction over any ammunition carried on the passenger's person.
Q2: Are transit passengers and inbound passengers subject to the same penalty standards?
No. The critical distinguishing variable is whether the passenger has "left the customs surveillance zone." Articles 30 and 31 of GACC Order No. 276 establish the legal dividing line: Article 30 provides that transit passengers who have not left the surveillance zone are exempt from completing declaration forms but must not carry prohibited articles; Article 31 explicitly provides that where a transit passenger is permitted to leave the customs surveillance zone, Customs shall supervise and administer such passenger as an inbound passenger. Once a passenger leaves the surveillance zone, their legal status is converted from "transit passenger" to "inbound passenger," and the applicable penalty standards are correspondingly elevated.
Q3: How should the situation be handled if the passenger has not left the customs surveillance zone?
In this scenario, the passenger remains within the international transit area and has not in fact entered the customs territory of China. Article 82 of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China defines the act of smuggling on the prerequisite of "entering or leaving the territory"; since a transit passenger who has not left the surveillance zone does not constitute "entering or leaving the territory" in the legal sense, the prerequisite element for constituting a smuggling act is absent. Such a situation should be characterized as a violation of customs supervision regulations, and administrative penalties may be imposed by reference to Article 20 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties.
Q4: If the passenger has left the customs surveillance zone, are the consequences more severe?
Once a passenger has left the customs surveillance zone, their legal status is equivalent to that of an inbound passenger, and both Article 82 (the smuggling provision) of the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 7 of the Regulations on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties become applicable. Where the passenger has engaged in concealment, disguise, or other acts to evade customs supervision, and the number of bullets carried is fewer than 10, Customs may initiate an administrative case, characterize the act as smuggling, and — pursuant to Article 9 of the Implementation Regulations— confiscate the articles involved and any illegal gains, with the option of imposing a concurrent fine of up to RMB 100,000. Where the number of bullets reaches 10 or more, the case may constitute the crime of smuggling weapons or ammunition under Article 151 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and criminal liability may be pursued.
Q5: What are the sentencing standards for the crime of smuggling ammunition?
Pursuant to Article 1 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Questions Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Smuggling (Fa Shi [2014] No. 10), smuggling 10 or more but fewer than 50 rounds of other gunpowder-propelled bullets constitutes "relatively minor circumstances," punishable by imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than seven years, with a concurrent fine; smuggling 50 or more rounds is punishable by imprisonment of not less than seven years, up to life imprisonment, with a concurrent fine or confiscation of property.
Q6: Apart from customs penalties, are there other legal risks?
Yes. Under Article 4 of the Regulations on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties, where a matter involves a violation of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China, Customs may transfer the relevant materials to the local public security organ for handling. The customs surveillance zone at an airport falls within the category of public places; bringing ammunition into a public place may trigger Article 38, Paragraph 2 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, which provides for detention of not less than five days and not more than ten days, with the option of a concurrent fine of up to RMB 1,000. Such public security administration punishment and customs administrative punishment operate in parallel and do not violate the principle of non bis in idem (prohibition of double jeopardy).