Guanzhou Customs Seized Used Furniture Made of Endangered Wood

Recently Guangzhou customs seized a shipment containing wooden furniture suspected of being made of endangered wood. The furniture were sent to a professional institution for identification. It was confirmed by the institution that the furniture were made of Dalbergi acochinchinensis Pierre(Siam rosewood) and Dalbergia cochinchinensis(yellow sandalwood) Pierre which both were endangered species. Guangzhou customs has further disposed this case.

The shipment was declared to Guangzhou airport customs for importation. The declared goods names included 1x engraved two-door wardrobe(used), 2 x open-type engraved shelving(used), and 2 x open-type engraved arm chair(used). The importer declared the furniture were made of elm wood. Three solid wood cartons of different sizes were used to contain the furniture. The on-field on customs officer executed X-ray machine non-intrusive inspection based on the risk control instruction, and found the density of the contained furniture was relatively high, and suspected that the subject furniture may be wood products made of endangered plants.

The customs officer opened the cartons and found that the wardrobe, armchairs and shelvings contained in the three wooden cartons were hard and solid, felt delicate, beautifully carved, and had special wood texture. The customs officer initially assessed them as yellow sandalwood made products. Later on, the engraved two-door wardrobe(used) was identified as Dalbergia cochinchinensis (yellow sandalwood) product, while the 2 x open-type engraved shelving(used) and 2 x open-type engraved arm chair(used) were identified as Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre(Siam rosewood) products by the professional institution. The mentioned plants are both protected species in appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (hereinafter referred to as CITES)

Reminder of Seahog, a China customs broker since 1997

China, as a contracting country of CITES, has implemented strict controls over the import & export trading for endangered wild plants as listed in the appendix II of CITES and their products. Without legally obtaining the import/export permit from the relevant administrative department of the State, any enterprise, company, unit or individual shall not import endangered plants and their products by freight, post, express or passenger carry. If the violations are serious enough to constitute a crime, the offender shall be prosecuted for criminal responsibility according to relevant laws .

Guanzhou Customs Seized Used Furniture Made of Endangered Wood

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