[Interpretation of the Special Equipment Safety Law] Article 30

Thread Content

Article 29: Imported special equipment shall meet the requirements of China’s safety technical specifications and pass inspection. Those who need a production license for special equipment in our country must obtain such a license. The technical materials and documents accompanying imported special equipment shall comply with the provisions of Article 21 of this Law. The instructions for installation, use, maintenance, product nameplates, safety warning signs and their explanations shall be in Chinese. The import and export inspection of special equipment shall be carried out in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations regarding the inspection of imported and exported goods. Interpretation of the provisions: This article deals with the requirements for importing special equipment, including safety requirements, inspection and licensing regulations, requirements regarding accompanying materials and documents, as well as special requirements for import and export inspections. 1. Imported special equipment shall meet the requirements of China’s safety technical specifications and pass inspection. Those who need a production license for special equipment in our country must obtain such a license. For import equipment permits, it currently refers to manufacturing permits. To protect the country’s security interests, in line with international practices and the principle of national treatment as embodied in the WTO TBT agreement, the safety technical regulations, inspection, and licensing requirements implemented within our country also apply to imported special equipment; that is, imported equipment must meet the requirements of our country’s safety technical standards and undergo inspection to obtain approval. The basic safety requirements specified in China’s technical regulations for the safety of special equipment were formulated based on advanced experiences from around the world, taking into account the country’s economic, technical, and managerial capabilities. The safety performance of imported special equipment must meet the requirements of these regulations in order to be used properly in China. To verify whether the requirements of China’s special equipment safety regulations are met. Since 1982, China has implemented a licensing system for the design, manufacture, installation, modification, and repair of certain types of special equipment within its territory. Since then, a manufacturing licensing system has also been in place for some imported special equipment; that is, special equipment intended to enter China must obtain a \"Manufacturing License for Special Equipment of the People’s Republic of China\" in order to be allowed to do so. According to statistics from 2012, China has issued over 800 licenses abroad. II. The technical documents and materials accompanying imported special equipment shall comply with the provisions of Article 21 of this Law. The instructions for installation, use, and maintenance, product nameplates, safety warning signs, and their accompanying explanations shall be in Chinese. Technical documents and materials for special equipment are used to verify whether the safety performance of such equipment meets the specified requirements; among these, the instructions for installation, use, and maintenance, product nameplates, safety warning signs, and their explanations are intended for use by those who install and operate the equipment. Therefore, it is required that the accompanying technical documents and materials comply with Article 21 of this Law, that is, they must meet the requirements of safety technical specifications, and it is also required that the instructions for installation, use, and maintenance, product nameplates, safety warning signs, and their explanations be in Chinese. III. The import and export inspection of special equipment shall comply with the laws and administrative regulations regarding the inspection of imported and exported goods. Currently, the law regarding the inspection of imported and exported goods is the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Inspection of Import and Export Goods, while the administrative regulation is the Implementing Regulations of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Inspection of Import and Export Goods. Article 3 of the Law on Inspection of Import and Export Goods stipulates that commodity inspection agencies and inspection agencies approved by the **commodity inspection department shall, in accordance with the law, conduct inspections on import and export goods. Import and export goods are subject to catalog management. Article 6 stipulates that imported and exported goods listed in the catalog shall be inspected in accordance with the mandatory requirements of **technical specifications. Article 9 stipulates that for imported and exported goods or inspection items for which laws or administrative regulations require inspections to be carried out by other inspection agencies, the relevant procedures shall be followed in accordance with those laws and administrative regulations. Article 5 of the Implementing Regulations of the Law on Inspection of Import and Export Goods stipulates that tasks such as quality inspection of imported and exported drugs, verification of the measurement values of measuring instruments, safety supervision inspections of boilers and pressure vessels, standard inspections of ships (including offshore platforms, major marine equipment, and materials) and containers, airworthiness inspections of aircraft (including aircraft engines and onboard equipment), and safety inspections of nuclear pressure equipment shall be carried out by the institutions designated by relevant laws and administrative regulations. In accordance with the relevant laws and administrative regulations governing imported and exported goods, in 1985, the former Ministry of Labor and Personnel and the **Customs Inspection Bureau issued the \"Procedures for the Supervision and Management of Imported and Exported Boilers and Pressure Vessels (Trial)\\" (Labor and Personnel Boiler No. 4), which stipulated the division of responsibilities between the two parties regarding the inspection of such boilers and pressure vessels. In 2006, the **General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued the \"Notice on Adjusting the Inspection and Supervision Procedures for Imported and Exported Boilers, Pressure Vessels, and Pressure Pipelines\" (Guo Jian Zhi No. 107), which adjusted the procedures for supervisory inspection of imported boilers, pressure vessels, and pressure pipeline components.