According to the relevant laws and regulations, my country's customs classifies inbound commodities into different regulatory objects such as goods and articles, and applies different management requirements, including tax rates, customs clearance methods, licenses, etc. Generally speaking, articles cannot be used for trade and belong to the category of personal use, while goods are of a trade nature. Based on this, the customs' specific regulations on their entry are different. The same commodity entering the country as an article and entering the country as a good have different obligations for the actor. The following distinction is made between the two concepts:

(1) Articles. According to the different ways of entry and exit, inbound and outbound articles can be divided into two categories: luggage and mail. Among them, personal luggage includes luggage carried on, checked and separately transported (the "luggage" in this article refers to luggage carried on by individuals); mail includes mail bags, personal parcels, small parcel mail, insured letters, and non-trade printed materials.

According to relevant laws and regulations, articles have the following characteristics:

1. Personal use. That is, the articles are used by the passenger or the recipient himself, not for sale or rental. The personal use here includes gifts between relatives and friends at home and abroad.

2. Reasonable quantity. That is, "the normal quantity determined by the customs based on the situation of the passenger or recipient, the purpose of travel and the length of stay." Within a reasonable quantity, the person is allowed to bring personal items obtained abroad into the country tax-free. If the amount exceeds the reasonable quantity but is still within the scope of personal use, the excess amount will be taxed. Chinese law has different provisions for "luggage items" and "mail items" in this regard.

(1) Luggage items. If the total value of personal items obtained abroad by resident passengers entering the country is within RMB 5,000 (including RMB 5,000, the same below); if the total value of personal items intended to be left in the country by non-resident passengers is within RMB 2,000 (including RMB 2,000, the same below), the customs will release them tax-free. If the amount exceeds the reasonable amount but is within the prescribed amount, the customs will tax the excess personal items. If the amount exceeds the self-use and is within the prescribed amount, the customs will tax the goods.

Single products are limited to personal use and reasonable quantity, but tobacco products, alcohol products and 20 kinds of goods that are subject to tax as stipulated by the state shall be handled in accordance with relevant regulations.

(2) Postal articles. For articles sent by mail, if the import tax exceeds RMB 50, the full amount of the goods value shall be levied. For articles sent by individuals from or to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the limit is RMB 800 per shipment; for articles sent from or to other countries and regions, the limit is RMB 1,000 per shipment. If the articles sent by individuals by mail exceed the prescribed limit, they shall go through the return procedures or customs clearance procedures in accordance with the regulations for goods.

(2) Goods. Goods are of a trading nature and fall within the scope of the Foreign Trade Law. The buyer and seller of goods are in a trading relationship and need to clarify the legal relationship between the two parties in the form of contracts or agreements. According to the purpose of entry and exit, inbound and outbound goods can be divided into three categories: imported goods, exported goods and other inbound and outbound goods (goods in this article refer to imported and exported goods). The specific regulations of the customs on the supervision of articles and goods vary greatly. In terms of taxation, the taxes that generally need to be paid for imported goods include tariffs, value-added tax and consumption tax. Goods that are subject to tariff reduction or increase stipulated by law are also subject to value-added tax and consumption tax. In addition, the taxation of imported and exported goods often involves a country's economic policy and trade relations with other countries or international organizations.

Therefore, whether it belongs to the category of "self-use" and "reasonable quantity" is the main criterion for distinguishing goods from articles. Based on this, the following points should be noted:

1. If the tax-free imported articles are sold, transferred, rented or used for other purposes within two years from the date of entry, the customs should apply for approval and pay taxes according to regulations. Among them, if the automobiles imported tax-free or tax-free according to regulations need to be transferred for special reasons after two years of use, they must be approved by the customs; if they are imported tax-free, they should pay taxes according to regulations.

2. Some tour guides take advantage of the convenience of leading the group and instruct passengers to bring the purchased items to enter the country in a scattered manner or evade customs supervision in other forms. Although the scattered goods brought into the customs meet the conditions of "reasonable quantity", they are used for trade and do not belong to the category of "self-use". They are still "goods" in nature.