Measures on the Management of Credit Information Restoration Following the Correction of Untrustworthy Conduct (Provisional)

[Source]https://www.creditchina.gov.cn/zhengcefagui/zhengcefagui/zhongyangzhengcefagui1/202301/t20230118_309218.html
Comment:

Take it down! Stopping the display of "negative credit information"

Newly released measures on “Credit information restoration” clarify procedures for entities applying to end the public display of their negative credit information.

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Measures are drafted based on the requirements of the "Opinions on Advancing High-Quality Development in the Establishment of the Social Credit System for Promoting the Formation of a New Development Structure", "The State Council's Guiding Opinions on Establishing and Improving Systems of Joint Incentives for Trustworthiness and Joint Disciplinary Action for Untrustworthiness and Accelerating the Establishment of the Social Credit System", "the Guiding Opinions by the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating the Advancement of the Establishment of the Social Credit System with New Forms of Credit-based Regulatory Mechanisms", and "the Guiding Opinions on Further Improving Systems for Restraining the Untrustworthy and Building Mechanisms for Building Creditworthiness that have Longterm Effect" issued by the CPC Central Committee General Office and the General Office of the State Council so as to regulate efforts on credit information restoration, preserve credit subjects' lawful rights and interests, and further increase the level to which the social credit system is under the rule of law and regulated.

Article 2: Credit subjects enjoy the right to restore credit information in accordance with law. Credit subjects that satisfy the requirements may all apply for the restoration of credit information as provided, except in situations where laws, regulations, and policy documents of the Party Central Committee and the State Council expressly provide that they may not.

Article 3: "Credit information restoration" as used in these Measures refers to credit subjects' applying to actively improve their credit status to the units that have found information on untrustworthiness (hereinafter "designating units") or to the institutions operating credit platform websites that have aggregated information on untrustworthiness (hereinafter "aggregating bodies") after they have actively corrected their untrustworthy conduct and fulfilled corresponding obligations; and the designating units' or aggregating bodies' lifting or ending the display of information on untrustworthiness in accordance with relevant provisions.

"Display" as used in these Measures refers to the aggregating bodies' centralized and uniform display of information that may be made public on information websites after integrating relevant credit information and recording it under credit subjects' names.

Article 4: "Information on Untrustworthiness" as used in these Measures refers to information that reflects negatively on credit subjects' credit statuses that is listed in the National Base Directory of Public Credit Information and local supplemental directories of Public Credit Information, including information from lists of seriously untrustworthy entities, information on administrative punishments, and other information on untrustworthiness.

"Lists of seriously untrustworthy entities" as used in these Measures refers to lists of seriously untrustworthy entities established based on laws, regulations, or policy documents of the Party Central Committee or State Council.

Article 5: These Measures apply to credit information restoration activities carried out by the national credit information sharing platform, "Credit China" website, as well as local credit information sharing platforms and information sites (hereinafter collectively "information platform websites").

Credit information restoration carried out by credit information systems established by relevant industry (regulatory) departments, may be implemented with reference to these Measures.

Where laws, regulations, departmental rules, and documents of the Party Central Committee or State Council have other provisions on the display or restoration of credit information, follow those provisions.

Article 6: The National Development and Reform Commission is responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and guidance of efforts on credit information restoration. The departments leading the establishment of the social credit system for all levels of local people's government are responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and guidance of efforts on credit information restoration in that jurisdictional area. All relevant departments and units are to complete efforts on credit information restoration in accordance with their duties and division of labor.

Chapter II: Primary Methods for Credit Information Restoration

Article 7: The means of credit information restoration include removal from lists of seriously untrustworthy entities, stopping the display of information on administrative punishments, and restoring other information on untrustworthiness.

Article 8: Removal from a List of Seriously Untrustworthy Entities refers to the designating unit removing a credit subject from the relevant List of Seriously Untrustworthy Entities in accordance with relevant regulations.

Article 9: Stopping the display of information on administrative punishments refers to an aggregating body stopping the display of a credit subject's information on untrustworthiness that is currently displayed on a credit website in accordance with relevant provisions.

Article 10: The restoration of other information on untrustworthiness is to be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of the designating unit.

Article 11: Where credit information restoration systems are established in accordance with laws, regulations, or departmental rules, the designating units are to accept related applications for restoration. In sectors that have not yet established credit information restoration systems, the state Public Credit Information center is to accept applications for restoration. After the state Public Credit Information center makes a decision, the relevant information is to be updated on the national credit information sharing platform and the "Credit China" website. The institutions operating all levels of credit platform websites are to cooperate with the state Public Credit Information center to complete efforts related to credit information restoration.

Chapter III: Restoration of Lists of Seriously Untrustworthy Entities

Article 12: The designating units are responsible for accepting applications for removal from lists of seriously untrustworthy entities.

Article 13: Designating units shall strictly follow the established provisions on lists of seriously untrustworthy entity systems to review whether decisions agree to remove credit subjects from the list.

Article 14: The "Credit China" website is to stop the display of information on the list of seriously untrustworthy entities within three working days of receiving removals from the lists shared by the designating units.

Chapter IV: Restoration of Displayed Information on Administrative Punishments

Article 15: Information on administrative punishments of legal persons and unincorporated organizations made using the simplified procedures is not to be aggregated and displayed by the credit platform websites.

Information on administrative punishments of legal persons and unincorporated organizations made using the ordinary procedures shall be aggregated and displayed by the credit platform websites. Information on administrative punishments of warnings or circulated criticism is not displayed. The period for display of information on other administrative punishments is to be three months at the shortest and three years at the longest; but information on administrative punishments involving the food, drug, special equipment, production safety, or fire safety sectors is to be displayed for at least 1 year. The minimum display period must be completed before an application is made for stopping the display in advance in accordance with provisions. After the maximum display period is completed, the display of the relevant information is stopped automatically.

For information on administrative punishments provided for in the preceding paragraph, where the same administrative punishment decision involves multiple types of punishment, the longest display period is controlling. The time at which the administrative punishment was made is the time at which the display period begins.

Information on the administrative punishment of natural persons is, in principle, not displayed by credit platform websites.

Article 16: Where legal persons and unincorporated organizations are not satisfied with administrative punishment decisions and apply for administrative reconsideration or initiate administrative litigation, the display of the relevant information on administrative punishments is not stopped before the corresponding procedures are completed except where the administrative reconsideration organ or people's court finds enforcement must be stopped.

Where the administrative punishment is revoked or changed in accordance with law after the administrative reconsideration or administrative litigation procedures conclude, the original punishing organ shall promptly report the outcome to the credit platform websites. The credit platform websites shall revoke or change the relevant information within three working days of receiving the related information.

Article 17: Where legal persons or unincorporated organizations find that there are errors in the information displayed by information platform websites on their administrative punishments, that the display period does not conform to provisions, or that the administrative punishment decision has been revoked or changed in accordance with law, they may submit an appeal to the state Public Credit Information center. Where the requirements for an appeal are found to be met upon review, feedback on the outcome of the review should be given within seven working days, and the credit platform website shall promptly update the information.

Article 18: The following conditions shall be concurrently met for the the display of administrative punishment information for legal persons or unincorporated organizations to be stopped in advance:

(1) The performance of obligations provided for in the administrative punishment decision is complete, and the unlawful conduct has been corrected;

(2) The minimum display period is completed;

(3) A public credit pledge is made. The content of the credit pledge should include that provided materials are true and valid, and willingness to bear responsibility for violating the pledge.

Article 19: To stop the display of information on administrative punishments of legal persons and unincorporated organizations in advance, an application shall be made to the state Public Credit Information center through the "Credit China" website, submitting the following materials:

(1) A comment issued by the administrative punishment organ explaining that the obligations for which responsibility was indicated in the administrative punishment decision have already been fulfilled, or other materials that can show that the relevant obligations have been fulfilled;

(2) Credit pledge documents.

Article 20: After the state Public Credit Information center receives applications to end the display of information on the administrative punishment of legal persons or unincorporated organizations, they shall conduct a formal review of the application materials, and where the materials are complete, they shall accept it; and where the materials are incomplete or do not meet the requirements, they shall notify the credit subject one time within 3 working days to supplement them and are to accept them where they meet requirements after being supplemented.

Article 21: The state Public Credit Information Center shall confirm whether display may be stopped in advance within seven working days of receipt; and where the advance conclusion of the display is not granted, shall explain the reasons.

Article 22: Where laws and regulations provide for punitive measures with time periods for illegal conduct, the display of information on the administrative punishments must not be stopped in advance until the relevant period is complete.

Chapter V: Coordinated Action for Credit Information Restoration

Article 23: The state Public Credit Information Center shall ensure the online operation of processes such as for credit information restoration application acceptance, review and determination, and information handling.

Article 24: The institutions operating credit platform websites shall cooperate with the state Public Credit Information center on work coordination and information synchronization.

Article 25: Credit platform websites and designation units, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, and relevant industry (regulatory) department credit information systems are to establish mechanisms for information sharing on credit information restoration. The credit platform websites shall update displayed information within three working days of receiving information on credit information restoration. The credit platform websites shall share information on restoration with the designating units and related systems within three working days of making a credit information restoration decision.

Article 26: Third-party credit service establishments obtaining information on untrustworthiness from the "Credit China" website shall establish mechanisms for updating information, ensuring that they maintain consistency with the "Credit China" website. Where the information is not consistent, the information on the "Credit China" website is controlling.

The state Public Credit Information center shall conduct oversight inspections of third-party credit service establishments' information updating, and may suspend or cancel the sharing of information with establishments that do not promptly update restoration information.

Chapter VI: Oversight, Management, and Creditworthiness Education on Credit Information Restoration

Article 27: Credit subjects applying for credit information restoration shall follow the principles of good faith and honesty, and if they have conduct such as providing false materials, making seriously false credit pledges, or are found by an administrative organ to have intentionally not fulfilled a credit pledge, the unit accepting the application is to include this in the credit record, enter it in the national credit information sharing platform, and promptly share it with the designating units; the relevant credit record is to be displayed for three years on the "Credit China" website and must not have display stopped in advance; they must not apply for credit information restoration on credit platform websites for three years; where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 28: The state Public Credit Information center must not collect fees from credit subjects applying for credit information restoration in any form. The responsibility of relevant units and persons shall be pursued in accordance with laws and regulations credit information restoration in not handled as provided or where fees are directly or indirectly collected from credit subjects.

Article 29: In conjunction with relevant departments, the National development and Reform Commission, and the departments leading the establishment of the social credit system of local people's governments at the county level or above shall strengthen urging and guidance on credit information restoration, and promptly order corrections where problems are discovered.

Article 30: Give full play to the roles of relevant departments, industry associations, chambers of commerce, third-party credit service establishments, experts, scholars, news media, and others in promptly describing and explaining credit information restoration policies. Carrying out of all types of publicity and education on creditworthiness is to be encouraged to create a positive public opinion environment.

Chapter VII: Supplementary Provisions

Article 31: The National Development and Reform Commission is responsible for the interpretation of these Measures.

Article 32: These measures take effect on May 1, 2023. Stop the enforcement of any provisions related to credit information restoration by credit platform websites that are inconsistent with these Measures.