• Area of Law： Maritime Litigation
• Level of Authority： Documents of Judicial Interpretation Nature
• Date issued：05-28-2003
• Effective Date：05-28-2003
• Issuing Authority： Supreme People's Court
• Status： Effective

Reply of the Supreme People's Court to a Request for Instructions on the Case of China Changjiang National Shipping (Group) Corporation v. Wuhan Port Administration for a Dispute over the Authorized Collection of Surcharges on the Waterway Transportation of Passengers and Cargos 
(No. 41 [2002] of the Civil Division IV of the Supreme People's Court, May 28, 2003) 
Higher People's Court of Hubei Province: 
Your Report on a Request for Instructions on the Case of China Changjiang National Shipping (Group) Corporation v. Wuhan Port Administration for a Dispute over the Authorized Collection of Surcharges on the Waterway Transport of Passengers and Cargos has been received. Upon deliberation, this Court holds that the surcharges on the waterway transport of passengers and cargos are administrative fees imposed by the state, and the Ministry of Transport is the only statutory authority collecting them. Although China Changjiang National Shipping (Group) Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “Changjiang Shipping Corporation”) and Wuhan Port Administration are corporate entities, they are authorized by the Ministry of Transport to respectively collect and receive the surcharges on the waterway transport of passengers and cargos in accordance with the provisions of documents No. 456 [1993] and No. 541 [1993] of the Ministry of Transport. Therefore, they are in a legal relationship of administrative authorization with the Ministry of Transport, and there is a re-authorization relationship between Changjiang Shipping Corporation and Wuhan Port Administration under such administrative authorization, which should not be determined as an agency relationship in civil law. 
In sum, this Court concurs with the second opinion of your Judicial Committee that the dispute involved falls outside of the scope of cases accepted by the people's courts and the action instituted by Changjiang Shipping Corporation should be dismissed in accordance with the law.