Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Amendment)

Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Amendment) Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the 4th session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on August 27, 2003, and amended in accordance with the the Decision to Amend Eight Laws Including the Construction Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 23, 2019) Contents Chapter I. General Provisions Chapter II. Establishment of an Administrative License Chapter III. Executive Organ for Administrative License Chapter IV. Procedures for Administrative License Section 1 . Application and Acceptance Section 2 . Examination and Decision Section 3 . Time Limit Section 4 . Hearing Section 5 . Modification and Extension Section 6 . Special Provisions Chapter V. Expenses of Administrative License Chapter VI. Supervision and Check Chapter VII. Legal Liabilities Chapter VIII. Supplementary Provisions Chapter I. General Provisions Article 1 In order to regulate the establishment and implementation of administrative licenses, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, to safeguard public interests and social order, to ensure and supervise the effective implementation of administrative management, the present Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution . Article 2 The term “administrative licenses” as mentioned in the present Law refers to the acts that the administrative organs permit, upon examination according to law, the citizens, legal persons or other organization to engage in special activities according to their applications. Article 3 The present Law shall be applicable to the establishment and implementation of administrative licenses. The present Law shall not be applicable to the examination and approval of such matters as personnel, finance and foreign affairs of relevant administrative organs to other organs or public institutions directly thereunder. Article 4 The establishment and implementation of an administrative license shall tally with legal authority, scope, conditions and procedures. Article 5 The principle of publicity, fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination shall be observed in the establishment and implementation of an administrative license. The relevant regulations on administrative license shall be announced to the public; those undisclosed shall not be the basis for the implementation of the administrative license. The implementation of the administrative license and the results thereof, except for those that concern the state secrets, commercial secrets or individual privacy, shall be disclosed. Without the consent of the applicant, an administrative agency, its functionaries, or an expert on a panel shall not disclose any trade secret, undisclosed information, or confidential business information submitted by the applicant, unless the law provides otherwise, or national security or the material social and public interest is involved; and if the administrative agency discloses such information of the applicant to the public according to the law, the applicant shall be allowed to file an objection within a reasonable period of time. Any applicant who meets legal conditions and standards is equally entitled to obtain the administrative license according to the law, without being discriminated against by an administrative agency. Article 6 In the implementation of administrative license, the principle of facilitating people shall be abided by so as to enhance the efficiency and to render quality services. Article 7 With regard to an administrative organ's implementation of an administrative license, the citizens, legal person or other institutions shall be entitled to make statements, to defend themselves, to apply for administrative reconsideration or to file an administrative lawsuit in accordance with the law. Where any of their legal rights and interests is impaired because of the administrative organs' unlawful implementation of the administrative license, it shall be entitled to demand compensation in accordance with the law. Article 8 The administrative license obtained by a citizen, a legal person or any of other organizations in accordance with the law shall be protected by law. The administrative organs shall not change an effective administrative license without permission. Where any of the laws, regulations and rules that the administrative license is based on is amended or abolished, or the objective circumstances that the administrative license rests on change greatly, in order to meet the demand of public interests, the administrative organ may modify or withdraw the effective administrative license. The damages caused to the properties of citizens, legal person or other institutions accordingly shall be compensated for by the administrative organ in accordance with the law. Article 9 An administrative license obtained in accordance with the law shall not be transferred except for those that may be transferred in light of the legal conditions and procedures of the laws and regulations. Article 10 The people's governments above the county level shall establish and perfect the supervisory system for the administrative licenses implemented by administrative organs, shall strengthen the supervision and examination over the administrative licenses implemented by administrative organs. The administrative organs shall effectively supervise the activities of the citizens, legal persons or other institutions concerning the matters under administrative license. Chapter The Establishment of an Administrative License Article 11 The establishment of an administrative license shall be in line with the rule of economic and social development, shall be propitious to the full play of the enthusiasm and initiative of the citizens, legal persons or other institutions, safeguard the public interests and social order, promote the harmonious development of the economy, society and ecological environment. Article 12 An administrative license may be established for any of the following matters: (1) The special activities that directly bear on the state security, public security, macro-economic control, ecological environment protection, and those directly relate to the human health, safety of life and property, which shall be approved according to the legal requirements; (2) The development and utilization of the limited natural resources, allocation of public resources and the market entry of the special trades that directly concern public interests, which shall be entitled with special rights; (3) The vocations and trades that provide public services and directly relate to the public interests, which need qualification of special credit, conditions or skills; (4) The important equipment, facilities, products, articles that directly concern public security, human health, the safety of life and property, which shall be examined and approved by means of inspection, testing, and quarantine according to the technical standards or criterions; (5) The establishment of the enterprises or other institutions, which need to determine the subject qualification; (6) Other matters, for which administrative licenses may be established in accordance with the laws and regulations. Article 13 For the matters listed in Article 12 of the present Law, which may be regulated through the following methods, the administrative licenses aren't required to be established: (1) Those can be decided by the citizens, legal person or other institutions themselves; (2) Those can be effectively regulated by the market competition mechanism; (3) Those may be subject to the self-discipline management of the trade organizations or intermediary institutions; (4) The matters that can be solved by the administrative organs by means of supervision afterwards or through other administrative methods. Article 14 As to the matters listed in Article 12 of the present Law, administrative licenses may be established by means of law. Where there is no governing law, administrative licenses may be established by means of administrative regulations. Where necessary, the State Council may adopt the form of releasing decisions to establish administrative licenses. After implementation, except for the matters under temporary administrative licenses, the State Council shall timely propose to the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee to formulate laws, or formulate administrative regulations by itself. Article 15 If there is no governing law or administrative regulation yet, an administrative license may be established by means of local regulations for any of the matters listed in Article 12 of the present Law; if there is no governing law, administrative regulation and local regulation yet, but it is really necessary to establish an administrative license to conduct administrative management immediately, an temporary administrative license may be established by means of a regulation of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. If it is necessary to keep on implementing the administrative license after a year, the people's congress and its standing committee of the same level shall be proposed to formulate a local regulation. No local regulation or government rule of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may establish any administrative license for the qualifications of the citizens, legal persons or other institutions that shall be determined by the state; no administrative license and pre-administrative license may be established for the establishment and registration of enterprises or other institutions. The administrative licenses established thereby shall not hinder the individuals or enterprises of other regions from dealing in production and business and providing services in one region, shall not restrict the commodities of other regions from entering into the market of the local region. Article 16 An administrative regulation may have specific requirements for the implementation of an administrative license within the scope of the matters prescribed by a statutory administrative license. A local regulation may, within the scope of the matters of administrative license established by the laws and administrative regulations, make specific requirements for the implementation of the administrative license. The regulation may make specific requirements for the implementation of the administrative license within the scope of the matters established by the upper law. The regulations and rules shall not make specific requirements for the implementation of the administrative license set down by the upper law, shall not increase administrative license; for the specific conditions of administrative license, they shall not establish any other condition in violation of the upper law. Article 17 Except for Articles 14 and 15 of the present Law, no administrative license shall be set in any other regulatory document. Article 18 In the establishment of an administrative license, the implementing organ, conditions, procedures and time limit shall be specified. Article 19 Where an administrative license is to be established by means of drafting a law, a regulation or a regulation of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, the drafting entity shall consult the opinions through hearing and argumentation, etc., and shall give explanations to the law (regulation) making organ about the necessity to establish the administrative license, the potential effects on the economy and society and the opinions heard and adopted. Article 20 The establishment organ of the administrative license shall periodically evaluate the administrative license it set. If it considers that an already established administrative license can be solved through any of the methods listed in Article 13 of the present Law, it shall modify the requirements for the establishment of the administrative license or abolish it in time. The executive organ of an administrative license shall evaluate the information of the implementation of the administrative license and necessity of its existence, and shall report the relevant opinions to the establishing organ of the administrative license. The citizens, legal person or other institutions may put forward opinions and suggestions to the establishment organ and executive organ about the establishment and implementation of the administrative license. Article 21 Where any of the people's governments of the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government considers an administrative license on economic affairs, which is established by means of administrative regulation, can be solved through any of the methods listed in Article 13 of the present Law according to the economic and social development of this administrative area, it may stop implementing the administrative license within the administrative area upon reporting to and obtaining the approval of the State Council. Chapter III. Executive Organ for Administrative License Article 22 An administrative license shall be implemented by the empowered administrative organ within its statutory functions. Article 23 The organization with a function of managing public affairs under the authorization of a law or regulation shall, within the authorized scope, implement the administrative license in its own name. The provisions concerning the administrative organ in the present Law shall be applicable to the empowered organizations. Article 24 An administrative organ may, within its statutory functions, authorize other administrative organs to implement the administrative license in light of the laws, regulations and rules. The authorizing organ shall announce to the public the authorized administrative organs and the authorized particulars of the administrative license. The authorizing administrative organ shall be responsible for supervising the implementation of the administrative license by the authorized administrative organs, and shall bear the legal liabilities for the consequences of implementation. An authorized administrative organ shall, within the authorized scope, implement the administrative license in the name of the authorizing administrative organ; it shall not authorize any other organization or individual to implement the administrative license. Article 25 Upon approval of the State Council, the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities may decide one administrative organ to exercise the power of administrative license of the relevant administrative organs according to the principle of simplification, unification and efficiency. Article 26 Where it is necessary to handle the administrative license through several interior......