The General Administration of Customs (GAC; Chinese: 海关总署; Pinyin: Hǎiguān Zǒngshǔ) is an administrative agency within the government of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for the collection of value added tax (VAT), customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes such as air passenger duty, climate change levy, insurance premium tax, landfill tax and aggregates levy. It is also responsible for managing the import and export of goods and services into China. The current Minister of the Administration is Mou Xinsheng, who replaced Sheng Guangzu.
GAC guards the borders of China from smugglers and is therefore dedicated to keeping illegal products outside of Chinese borders. It also regulates what can leave China and is partially responsible for who can enter or leave the country.
Famous quotes containing the words general and/or customs:
“As a general rule never take your whole fee in advance, nor any more than a small retainer. When fully paid beforehand, you are more than a common mortal if you can feel the same interest in the case, as if something was still in prospect for you, as well as for your client.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Neighboring farmers and visitors at White Sulphur drove out occasionally to watch ‘those funny Scotchmen’ with amused superiority; when one member imported clubs from Scotland, they were held for three weeks by customs officials who could not believe that any game could be played with ‘such elongated blackjacks or implements of murder.’”
—For the State of West Virginia, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)