Measures on the Management of the List of Targets for Credit Joint Disciplinary Action in Commercial Affairs

Promulgation Date: 2019-7-17
Title: 商务部关于印发《商务信用联合惩戒对象名单管理办法》的通知
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Promulgating Entities: Ministry of Commerce
Source of text: http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/article/b/d/201907/20190702886459.shtml

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Measures are drafted so as to implement the Party central committee and the State Council's decisions and deployments on advancing the establishment of the social credit system, and in accordance with the requirements of "The State Council 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" (GuoFa (2016) No.33) and other documents; to improve mechanisms for joint credit disciplinary action in the commercial sector and regulate management of the lists of targets of joint credit disciplinary action (hereinafter "punishment lists), and to accelerate the establishment of a new form of credit-based oversight mechanism and strengthen credit oversight in the commercial sector.

Article 2: The competent departments for commercial affairs are to list and remove entities from the punishment lists on the basis of their legally-prescribed duties and the provisions of these Measures, and publish list information to the public or send it to the relevant departments, to jointly implement credit restraints and joint disciplinary action.

Article 3: The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for establishing and completing mechanisms for joint review of punishment lists, and the Ministry of Commerce's bodies for credit work (hereinafter 'credit bodies') are responsible for relevant routine work.

Chapter II: List Designations

Article 4: Each operational division of the Ministry of Commerce and the competent provincial level departments for commercial affairs are the designating units, responsible for cautiously designating targets for the punishment list in accordance with laws and regulations, and responsible for their legality, veracity, and accuracy.

Article 5: The Ministry of Commerce is to separately draft standards for punishment list designations by field.

'Punishment lists' as used in these Measures are divided into lists of targets of joint disciplinary action against untrustworthiness, and key scrutiny lists.

Article 6: Punishment list designations may be based on the following information:

(1) Commercial sector administrative punishments, administrative compulsion, administrative inspections, and other information that reflects market entities' credit status;

(2) Judicial Rulings;

(3) Other information that laws, regulations, rules, and normative documents provide may be the basis for designations.

Article 7: When designation units make designations for the punishment lists, they should carry out notice procedures; clarifying the standards and basis for entry, the punishment measures, the rights to a defense enjoyed by relevant entities, and other such matters.

During the notice procedures, relevant entities may submit objections and provide relevant materials to the designation units. The designation units should conduct a review and make a decision to sustain, revise, or revoke.

When making punishment list designations, the designation units should conduct cross-referencing, and if it is discovered that relevant entities have already been entered into the list of targets for joint rewards for trustworthiness, they should promptly inform the relevant designating department.

The effective period for the list of targets for joint disciplinary action against untrustworthiness is generally 3 years, and the effective period for the key scrutiny list is not to exceed 2 years.

Chapter III: Publication and Forwarding of Lists

Article 8: Punishment list information should include:

(1) Relevant entities' basic information, including the names of legal persons and other organizations (or the full names of natural persons), the uniform social credit numbers, the global legal person entity identification numbers (LEI codes) (or citizens' ID numbers; citizen social credit numbers for residents of Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan; or ID numbers for foreign nationals), legal representatives' (or units' responsible parties) full names and ID type and number, and so forth;

(2) The matter on which entry is based, including the ascertained facts on the illegal untrustworthy conduct, the designation unit, the basis for the designation, the date of the designation, the effective period, legal documents, and so forth;

(3) circumstances regarding the relevant market entities' receipt of joint punishment, credit restoration, and removal from lists.

Article 9: Designation units should promptly report punishment lists to the credit bodies, and submit one or more of the following suggestions for joint disciplinary action:

(1) Publication on the Ministry of Commerce website and the "Credit China" Website;

(2) Sending it to the competent departments for commercial affairs and other relevant departments to carry out joint disciplinary action (limited to the List of targets for joint disciplinary action against the untrustworthy).

(3) Sending it to the competent departments for commercial affairs and other relevant departments to strengthen oversight;

(4) Other measures that may be lawfully employed in accordance with law.

Designation units should conduct a review of lists before reporting them, and make necessary technical processing of information involving commercial secrets and personal privacy; and where classified information is involved, they shall comply with provisions on state security.

Article 10: Credit bodies, in consultation with relevant operations divisions, are to make preliminary comments on joint disciplinary action for the list of targets of joint disciplinary action against untrustworthiness, and upon review by joint review mechanisms, are to form the joint disciplinary action opinions.

Credit bodies, in consultation with relevant operations divisions, are to form joint disciplinary action opinions for the key scrutiny list, and when necessary, get approval from the joint review mechanisms.

Article 11: Based on joint disciplinary action opinions, credit bodies are to publicly publish punishment lists on the Ministry of Commerce website, the 'Credit China' website, and other channels, with the period for publication remaining consistent with the lists' effective period; are to send punishment lists to the national credit information sharing platform and all levels of competent department for commercial affairs through the commerce credit information exchange and sharing platform, or are to take other measures.

Chapter IV: Response and Removal from Lists.

Article 12: All levels of competent departments for commercial affairs are to lawfully restrict subjects on the list of targets fro joint disciplinary action against untrustworthiness in areas such as direct sales qualifications, goods quotas, and so forth; and increase oversight of subjects on the key scrutiny lists.

Article 13: All levels of competent departments for commercial affairs are to promptly report the relevant circumstances to the credit bodies after they employ joint disciplinary action. Credit bodies are then to give feedback to designation units after making aggregated summaries.

Article 14: After subjects of the punishment lists that have been entered for half a year have actively corrected untrustworthy conduct and eliminated negative impact, they may submit an application for credit restoration to the designation unit, and carry out credit restoration through methods such as credit pledges and credit training.

The designation units are to usually make a decision on whether to accept applications for credit restoration within 10 working days of receiving the application for credit restoration and related materials; and conduct a a review within 30 days of acceptance and decide whether or not to permit restoration.

Where the previous credit restoration was less than one year before, or where there have been 2 or more restorations within 3 years, credit restoration must not be permitted.

Article 15: Where entities on the punishment lists have any of the following circumstances, they may be removed from the list:

(1) The effective period is completed without any further serious untrustworthy conduct occurring;

(2) The designation unit has already granted credit restoration;

(3) The administrative punishments or other decisions on which the designation was based are revoked in accordance with law;

(4) The relevant standards for designations have changed and the new designation standards are not met.

Article 16: Designation units are to notify credit bodies in writing within 15 working days of entities removal from punishment lists, explain the means of removal and give recommendations for handling it. After credit bodies receive the designation units' notice of removal, they are to promptly take measures to stop relevant joint disciplinary action.

Chapter V: Supplementary Provisions

Article 17: These Measures apply to Ministry of Commerce's activities such as transfer, response, and implementation of other departments lists of targets for credit joint disciplinary action, based on joint disciplinary action MOUs signed by the Ministry of Commerce,

Article 18: All levels of competent department for commercial affairs should embed Credit regulatory functions in the management system and specific work processes of relevant sectors in the industry, with proactive inquiries and use of credit information such as punishment lists.

Where in the course of joint disciplinary action work the staff of competent departments for commercial affairs at any level abuse their authority, derelict their duties, or twist the law for personal gain, responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with laws and regulations.

Article 19: The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for interpreting these Measures.

Article 20: These Measures are to take effect from their date of publication.