Ex officio seizures — customs stopping fakes on their own initiative — effectively require a recordal.
China Customs seizes outbound counterfeits, catching fakes before they reach your markets.
A registered Chinese trademark; the recordal is filed online with the GACC.
10 years or until the underlying registration expires, renewable.
Send us the mark, the market, and any deadline. We will route it to the right practice lead within one business day.
Contact UsMost counterfeit goods that reach Europe, the Americas, or Southeast Asia leave through a Chinese port. China Customs (GACC) is legally empowered to detain suspected infringing shipments in both directions — import and export — which makes it one of the few authorities in the world positioned to stop fakes before they scatter into your markets.
But the system has a switch, and the switch is the recordal. Without a recordal, customs officers have no practical way to know your mark exists, and protection is limited to shipments you yourself detect and report, with tighter deadlines and higher friction. With a recordal, frontline officers can flag suspicious shipments against your record on their own initiative and notify you.
The recordal is filed online with the GACC on the basis of a registered Chinese trademark, identifying the right holder, the mark, the goods, authorized users and licensees, and — the part that does the real work — information that helps officers tell genuine goods from fakes: authorized manufacturers and exporters, typical ports, packaging features, price ranges. Examination normally takes around 30 working days, and the recordal stays effective for ten years or until the underlying registration lapses, and is renewable.
Keep it current. An acquisition, a licensing change, or a new authorized factory that never reaches the recordal file is the classic reason a genuine shipment gets stopped — or a fake one waved through.
In the ex officio scenario, customs notifies you that a suspect shipment has been detained provisionally. You have a short statutory window — three working days from the notice — to confirm whether the goods are infringing and request formal detention, posting security. Customs then investigates and can confiscate infringing goods and fine the parties; contested cases move to court. The rhythm is fast, so the practical requirement is a standing playbook: who receives the notices, who inspects photos, what the bond arrangements are, and which counsel confirms in time.
Customs recordal is cheap relative to what it does, but it is one layer, not the whole defense. Seizure records feed complaints against repeat exporters, support administrative raids on upstream factories, and strengthen platform takedowns with hard evidence of physical counterfeiting. For brands that manufacture in China, the export-side seizure is also an early-warning system: it tells you which of your own supply-chain partners is leaking.
If you hold a registered Chinese mark and sell in — or manufacture in — China, and have no GACC recordal, this is usually the highest-return single filing left on the table.
This article is general information about Chinese IP practice, not legal advice for a specific matter. Rules, fees, and timelines change; confirm current requirements before acting. For advice on your situation, contact our team.