What is a Smuggled Car?

[LaEvan]

Smuggled cars refer to imported vehicles that have not entered the country through normal channels and have not paid the required taxes. Purchasing smuggled cars carries certain legal liabilities. According to the "Customs Supervision Measures on Articles for Personal Use of Non-resident Long-term Passengers Entering and Exiting the Country" and the "Customs Supervision Measures on Public Articles of Resident Institutions Entering and Exiting the Country," the import of used cars is strictly prohibited by the state. The price of smuggled cars is approximately half that of legally imported used cars of the same quality. Most smuggled cars are sourced from used car markets abroad. The smugglers legally hire ships to transport the cars to Hong Kong, but the process of smuggling them from Hong Kong to the mainland involves tax evasion. As a result, these originally legal vehicles become smuggled cars upon entering the country and can never be registered or obtain full legal documentation. In the past, smuggled cars were directly destroyed. Now, these smuggled cars are publicly auctioned, with the proceeds going to the national treasury, and the vehicles then become legal.