From 'Punishment' to 'Co governance', Jiangmen Customs deepens legal education and guides enterprises to actively comply with regulations

Recently, Heshan Customs, a subsidiary of Jiangmen Customs, discovered during port inspections that a certain paper company's imported wooden packaging was suspected of violating the law by failing to declare truthfully. After in-depth investigation, it was determined that the company's omission in reporting was due to insufficient understanding of the requirements for wooden packaging declaration, which was a non subjective intentional procedural negligence. Moreover, the company had no record of illegal activities or violations in the past 24 months, meeting the criteria for "first-time violation". Therefore, based on the "Administrative Penalty Discretionary Standards of the People's Republic of China Customs (II)" and the list of "first-time illegal exemption" items specified in the attachment, the customs has made a decision not to impose administrative penalties on the enterprise in accordance with the law.

'Exemption from punishment' does not mean 'exemption from liability', let alone 'letting it go', "said Chen Zhihong, head of the Heshan Customs Supervision Department." While not imposing punishment, we adhere to the principle of 'whoever enforces the law will popularize the law', actively interpreting the declaration requirements for wooden packaging and its importance in maintaining the biological safety of the country to enterprises, guiding them to enhance their understanding and recognition of the law, and achieve the organic unity of legal and social effects

The customs did not simply impose fines, but gave us the opportunity to correct and learn, allowing us to truly feel the warmth and goodwill of law enforcement, "said Ms. Huang, the person in charge of the company.

The handling of this case is a vivid practice of Jiangmen Customs adhering to the concept of "combining punishment with education". In order to cultivate a rule of law environment that operates in accordance with the law and solves problems, this department actively improves the enforcement methods of administrative penalties involving inspections. Tailored "one case, one lesson" legal interpretation training is provided for each type of violation in each case, combined with regulatory interpretation and risk analysis to break down compliance points, guiding parties to take proactive measures to correct compliance loopholes, and promoting "dual interpretation of matters and minds".

The best law enforcement effect is to make enterprises transform legal requirements into conscious actions, "said Chen Zhihong. According to statistics, by 2025, 48 administrative penalty cases involving inspection and prosecution will be resolved, with a penalty amount of over 600000 yuan. Among them, a total of 48400 yuan in fines were reduced or exempted for 25 cases in accordance with the law, accounting for 40.32% of the cases. There have been no cases of the parties being investigated and punished again for the same illegal reasons, nor have any parties filed administrative reconsideration or litigation for punishment, achieving a governance upgrade from "physical punishment" to "chemical reaction".