Recently, Mr Zhang Qiming and Mr Xu Ming from King&Capital represented a client who was convicted of smuggling of ordinary goods and successfully obtained a suspended sentence. In this case, the client purchased a number of brand-name watches abroad and was seized by the Customs when entering the country through the undeclared channel. After the intervention of the defenders, they proposed the necessity review of detention to the case-handling authority and obtained approval, which enabled the client to regain his freedom after being detained for nearly 4 months. After the defence actively communicated with the authorities, submitted comments on the evidence in the file, and finally obtained a suspended sentence for the client.

This case is a frequent undeclared smuggling cases. The client chose not to declare due to a sense of fluke, and jointly with another person in the same case, he carried a total of 11 pieces of watches into the customs, and was found to be the main offender in the case. The defender proposed to the case-handling authorities to review the necessity of detention from the process of investigation, the fixing of evidence in the case, and the family and physical condition of the person concerned. After the successful release of the client from bail pending trial, the defender, starting from the evidence in the file, firstly, proposed that the method used to calculate the value of tax evasion was not rigorous, secondly, pointed out that the newness and oldness of the watch should be taken into account and the real price of the watch should be appraised afresh, and thirdly, he actively communicated with the authorities in charge of the case and contacted them to make advance payment of fines, and finally obtained the opportunity to handle the case in a lenient manner.

This type of smuggling technique is quite common in daily life. It should be noted that the General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 176 of 2024 made changes to the amount of declaration for passengers entering and exiting the country. Starting from 1 December 2024, articles for personal use with a total value of more than RMB 12,000 brought into the country from Hong Kong and Macao and more than RMB 5,000 brought into the country from other countries and regions should be declared. Although this standard is higher than before, in real life, overseas ‘buying’ will still easily exceed the above threshold limit. As the National Customs and Excise Department is carrying out the joint special operation ‘Sharp Sword at the State Gate’, the trend is to crack down on smuggling offences, and consumers should pay attention to this red line so as not to inadvertently commit a criminal offence.