《贸易便利化协定》框架下建立中国海关预裁定制度的思考

Thoughts on Advance Ruling of China Customs under the Framework of the WTO TFA

预裁定(也称为事先裁定、预约裁定)的概念源于税务部门,指税务机关就纳税人所提交的待定事项该如何适用税法所进行的解释。进出口企业在海关通关时同样面临海关法律法规适用结果不可预知的问题,由于海关的业务是高度专业化的,企业普遍对此缺乏深入的了解,面临的风险可能更大。因此企业事先向海关进行咨询,并以某种有约束力的形式将咨询的结果加以确认,已经成为国际上一种普遍的做法。《贸易便利化协定》吸收和借鉴了此前各成员和各个国际组织在预裁定方面的做法和经验,明确提出了预裁定(Advance Ruling)的概念:预裁定指WTO成员在申请所涵盖的货物进口之前向申请人提供的书面决定。目前我国预裁定制度政出多门,存在效力高低不一、申请程序各异、规则重复等问题。因此,尽快按照TFA的规定对于我国现行的预裁定制度进行完善,建立完备、有效、可操作的预裁定制度,不仅是我国作为WTO成员应尽的义务,对我国自身的发展也大有裨益。

Advance ruling,also known as ruling in advance or ruling in appointment,originated in the tax bureau,meaning the interpretation provided by the tax bureau for the inquiry on the application of the tax regulations to the activities to be operated by the liable duty payer. Likewise,in the process of customs clearance,the trader also faces the problem of unpredictability of the application of legislations. However,due to the intricate expertise of the customs practice,the traders are usually lack of necessary knowledge and thus face even greater risks. Therefore,the trader approaches the customs administration for consultation in advance, whose results will be recognized with certain binding force. This has become a universal practice in the world. Absorbing and learning from the practices and experience of the WTO Members and other international organizations in advance ruling,the TFA puts forward the definition of Advance Ruling： ＂is a written decision provided by a Member to the applicant prior to the importation of a good covered by the application＂. At present,there are many offices responsible for providing advance ruling,which results in low efficiency,different application procedure and duplicate rules. Thus,it is imperative to improve our advance ruling system in light of the provision of the TFA,so as to build a sound,effective and operable advance ruling system. It is not only a commitment for our country as a Member of the WTO,but also is conducive to our own development.