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'Infernal' documents

By Ian J Stones (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-03 13:46

Nothing was simple back then: you had to jump through all kinds of hoops to get anything you needed, even just for normal office life. We take office equipment and furniture for granted today.

We probably wouldn't think twice about importing something from Hong Kong and having a customs agent or freight forwarder handle the procedures for us. 

But 30 years ago it wasn't like this - it was very difficult, and we had to do everything ourselves.

Ian J. Stones (right) featured in an ad for the Lido Hotel Business Center in 1986.

The story of how we acquired a filing cabinet illustrates the difficulties of dealing with Customs. At the time we were involved in a joint venture with Smith Industries to represent their subsidiaries.

Their vice-president bought us a four-drawer filing cabinet in Hong Kong and shipped it by train to Beijing. This basic piece of office furniture couldn't be found anywhere in the Chinese capital, and we didn't want the nearest equivalent - all clumsy metal cupboards with flimsy brown paper envelopes piled up inside.

The cabinet took three weeks to arrive. A postcard notice to collect it from Beijing Railway Station came by mail and, late the next morning, after meetings, I took a taxi to pick it up.

With me I had around 300 yuan ($200 in those days) and our company checkbook, so I was ready to pay the customs duty. I thought I'd be in and out of there in a few minutes. Boy, was I in for some memorable lessons ...

'Infernal' documents

Lesson No 1: Never try to clear Customs just before lunch. After finding the unmarked freight office at Beijing Station, I was given the documents to take to Customs and found the Customs office. Nine or so people were sitting at desks.

Even though I was the only "customer", no one stood up to attend to me. Eventually one young officer came to the counter. I asked how much the duty would be. He told me to come back after 2 pm. I took a taxi back to the hotel, and returned in the afternoon.

Lesson No 2: Customs duties were very high. The filing cabinet and freight charges came to the equivalent of $412, which at the prevailing exchange rate of 1.58 yuan to the dollar was 650 yuan. This was already twice what the cabinet would cost in Hong Kong.

After looking up the category in which it should be classed, I was eventually told that the duty would be 100 percent, which meant that this simple cabinet would cost us the grand total of $824. For anything we would want to import, duties ranged from 80 percent to 280 percent, including other taxes - although the categories weren't clear and were subject to interpretation.

Lesson No 3: Foreigners are not allowed to see "internal documents". I was shocked by this amount and wanted to see how they'd calculated the duties. I asked to see the booklets they'd been referring to and was told, "Custom tables are internal documents, foreigners are not allowed to see them".

That term neibu wenjian, or "internal documents", would become one of the most irritating phrases I would hear. It would be used in all sorts of situations, and you'd never be sure if there really was a document or not.

Transparency is an issue raised by foreign business representatives today. In 1979, "You can't see the internal documents" was the norm.

Lesson No 4: Carry lots of cash - Customs don't take checks. The duty came to 649.5 yuan.

Since I didn't have that amount of cash on me, I opened the checkbook. At that time, foreigners with accounts with the Bank of China were issued checkbooks that, surprisingly, you could use in taxis and hotels and even at souvenir stalls at the Great Wall.

They were different from the checks used by Chinese entities, and were generally accepted. The customs officer watched me write out the check, sign it and put the mandatory contact details on it. When I handed it to him he looked at it and, with a stony face, said, "We do not accept checks."

"Why not?"

"It's a regulation."

"Show me the regulation."

"You can't see it."

"Why not?"

"Because it concerns foreigners."

"Then I can see it."

"No, it's an internal document."

"If the taxi-drivers, the Friendship Stores, CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) and the Great Wall souvenir shops accept checks, why won't the Customs?"

"We are the Customs, we do it our way."

After 15 minutes I gave up. It was too late to go the Bank of China that day, so I went the next morning.

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