Seed Law of the People's Republic of China (2015 Revision)

Seed Law of the People's Republic of China (2015 Revision) Order of the President of the People's Republic of China (No. 35) The Seed Law of the People's Republic of China, as revised and adopted at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on November 4, 2015, is hereby issued and shall come into force on January 1, 2016. President of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping November 4, 2015 Seed Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on July 8, 2000; amended for the first time according to the Decision on Amending the Seed Law of the People's Republic of China as adopted at the 11th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on August 28, 2004; amended for the second time according to the Decision on Amending the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and Other Eleven Laws as adopted at the 3rd Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on June 29, 2013; and revised at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 4, 2015) Table of Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Protection of Germ Plasm Resources Chapter III Variety Selection, Cultivation, Approval and Registration Chapter IV Protection of New Varieties Chapter V Seed Production and Business Operation Chapter VI Supervision and Administration Related to Seeds Chapter VII Seed Import and Export and Cooperation with Foreign Countries Chapter VIII Support Measures Chapter IX Legal Liability Chapter X Supplementary Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Law is developed for purposes of protecting and making rational use of germ plasm resources, standardizing variety selection and cultivation, as well as seed production and business operation and the administration thereof, protecting the right to new varieties of plants, safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of seed producers, traders and users, improving the quality of seeds, pushing forward the industrial management of seeds, developing modern seed industry, guaranteeing grain safety of the state, and promoting the development of agriculture and forestry. Article 2 This Law shall apply to variety selection and cultivation, seed production, business operation and management, and other activities conducted within the territory of the People's Republic of China. For the purpose of this Law, “seeds” mean the materials for planting or propagating crops and forest trees, including grains, fruits, roots, stems, seedlings, sprouts, leaves, and flowers, among others. Article 3 Competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council shall respectively take charge of the work related to crop seeds and forest tree seeds across the country. Competent agriculture and forestry departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall respectively take charge of the work related to crop seeds and forest tree seeds within their respective administrative regions. People's governments at all levels and their relevant departments shall take measures to strengthen law enforcement and supervision on seeds, and in accordance with the law, punish seed-related violations of laws that infringe upon farmers' rights and interests. Article 4 The state supports the protection of germ plasm resources and the selection, cultivation, production, replacement and popularization of improved varieties, encourages the integration of variety selection and cultivation and seed production and business operation, and rewards the entities and individuals that have made remarkable achievements in the work such as the protection of germ plasm resources and the selection, cultivation and popularization of improved varieties. Article 5 People's governments at or above the provincial level shall, according to the guidelines for developing agriculture through science and education and in light of the needs for the development of agriculture and forestry, make plans for the development of the seed industry and organize the implementation of such plans. Article 6 People's governments at or above the provincial level shall establish seed reserve rules mainly for purposes of satisfying production needs when disasters occur and regulating surplus and deficiency, so as to guarantee the safety of agriculture and forestry production. Reserved seeds shall be inspected and updated on a periodical basis. The specific measures for seed reserves shall be provided for by the State Council. Article 7 The variety selection, cultivation, experiments, approval and popularization of genetically modified plant varieties shall be subject to safety evaluation, and strict safety control measures shall be taken. Competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council shall strengthen track and supervision and in a timely manner, announce the information on the approval and popularization of genetically modified plant varieties. The specific measures shall be provided for by the State Council. Chapter II Protection of Germ Plasm Resources Article 8 The state protects germ plasm resources in accordance with law, and no entity or individual may misappropriate or destroy germ plasm resources. The collection and felling of natural germ plasm resources under special state protection shall be prohibited. If collecting or cutting is required for scientific research or any other particular reason, the matter shall be subject to approval by the competent agriculture or forestry department of the State Council or of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. Article 9 The state shall, in a planned way, conduct general survey, collect, sort out, verify, register, preserve, exchange and utilize germ plasm resources, and on a periodical basis, issue the catalogue of available germ plasm resources that may be utilized. The specific measures shall be developed by competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council. Article 10 Competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council shall establish germ plasm resources banks, germ plasm resources protection zones or germ plasm resources reserves. Competent agriculture and forestry departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Governments may establish germ plasm resources banks, germ plasm resources protection zones and germ plasm resources reserves based on requirements. The germ plasm resources of germ plasm resources banks, germ plasm resources protection zones and germ plasm resources reserves are public resources, and shall be opened and utilized in accordance with the law. The occupation of any germ plasm resources bank, germ plasm resources protection zone or germ plasm resources reserve shall be subject to approval by the original authority that forms it. Article 11 The state has sovereignty over germ plasm resources. Any entity or individual that plans to provide germ plasm resources to overseas or cooperates with any overseas institution or individual in conducting research to utilize germ plasm resources shall file an application with the competent agriculture or forestry department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, and submit the state benefit sharing plan; and the competent agriculture or forestry department that accepts the application shall, upon examination, submit the application and plan to the competent agriculture or forestry department of the State Council for approval. Any introduction of germ plasm resources from overseas shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council. Chapter III Variety Selection, Cultivation, Approval and Registration Article 12 The state supports scientific research institutions and institutions of higher learning in centering on the research on fundamental, frontier and applied technologies for breeding, the breeding of conventional crops and main reproducing tree species, the selection and cultivation of vegetative propagation materials, and other public welfare research. The state encourages seed enterprises to make full use of public welfare research achievements so as to cultivate good varieties with independent intellectual property rights; and encourages seed enterprises to build technical research and development platforms with scientific research institutions and institutions of higher learning, and establish the seed industry technical innovation system with market as the orientation, capital as the link, and featured by interest sharing and joint assumption of risks. The state shall strengthen the enhancement of capability for making scientific and technological innovations in the seed industry, promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements made in the seed industry, and protect the lawful rights and interests of technicians in the seed industry. Article 13 The undertakers of authorized projects shall, in accordance with the law, obtain the right to breeding invention patents and the right to new varieties of plants formed through fiscal support, unless they involve state security, national interest or major public interest. The transfer and licensing, among others, of breeding results formed through fiscal support shall be conducted in public in accordance with the law, and private trading is prohibited. Article 14 Where the economic income of entities or individuals are reduced for the reason that competent forestry departments establish testing stands, experimental stands, fine tree collection areas, or gene banks, among others, for the selection and cultivation of improved varieties of forest trees, competent forestry departments that grant the approval shall make economic compensation in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state. Article 15 The state implements the rules for the approval of main crop and forest tree varieties. Main crop varieties and main forest tree varieties shall be subject to approval at the national or provincial level prior to their popularization. Main forest tree varieties determined by competent forestry departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be subject to approval at the provincial level. The varieties under applications for approval shall comply with the requirements for specialty, consistency and stability. The measures for the approval of main crop varieties and main forest tree varieties shall be prescribed by competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council. The approval measures shall embody the principles of fairness, openness, scientificness and efficiency, be conducive to the improvement and coordination of yield, quality, and resistance, among others, and be conducive to the popularization of varieties adapting to market demand and the requirements for living and consumption. When approval measures are developed or amended, the opinions of breeders, seed users, producers and traders and representatives of the relevant industries shall be fully solicited. Article 16 Competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council and people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall respectively set up crop and forest tree variety approval committees composed of professionals. Variety approval committees shall undertake the approval of main crop varieties and main forest tree varieties, establish approval archives covering the contents such as application documents, the data of variety approval experiments, seed samples, approval opinions and approval conclusions, and ensure that they are traceable. The information on approved varieties issued in accordance with the law shall cover approval opinions to accept supervision. Withdrawal rules shall be implemented for the approval of varieties. The committee members and ordinary staff members of variety approval committees and the relevant personnel making tests and experiments shall be duteous, impartial and honest. Competent agriculture and forestry departments of people's governments at or above the provincial level and the relevant authorities shall, in accordance with the law, handle the violations of laws by the aforesaid personnel as reported by entities and individuals or found through supervision and inspection. Article 17 Seed enterprises that integrate selection, cultivation, production and business operation, and meet the conditions prescribed by competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council may, according to approval methods, complete by themselves experiments on main crop varieties and main forest tree varieties developed through their independent research, and if the approval standards are reached, variety approval committees shall issue approval certificates. Seed enterprises shall be responsible for the truthfulness of experimental data, ensure that they are traceable, and accept the supervision of competent agriculture and forestry departments of people's governments at or above the provincial level and public supervision. Article 18 Where the applicant has any objection to any crop variety or forest tree variety that fails to obtain the approval upon examination, the applicant may file a reexamination application with the original variety approval committee or the national approval committee. Article 19 The crop varieties and improved varieties of forest trees approved at the national level shall be announced by competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council, and may be popularized in suitable ecological regions across the country. The crop varieties and improved varieties of forest trees approved at the provincial level shall be announced by competent agriculture and forestry departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and they may be popularized in suitable ecological regions within their respective administrative regions. Whoever introduces any improved crop variety or forest tree variety from the same suitable ecological region in any other province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall report the introduced variety and relevant region to the competent agriculture or forestry department of the local people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government for recordation. The to-be-introduced forest tree varieties which have no natural distribution in a region shall pass experiments according to the national standards on variety introduction. Article 20 Competent agriculture and forestry departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall improve regional cooperation mechanisms for variety selection, cultivation and approval, and promote the selection, cultivation and popularization of good varieties. Article 21 Where any approved crop variety or improved variety of forest trees has any serious defect that cannot be rectified or falls under any other circumstance and it is inappropriate to continue popularizing and selling it, the original approval committee shall, upon examination and confirmation, revoke the approval, and the original issuer shall make an announcement to cease the popularization and sale thereof. Article 22 The state implements variety registration rules for some non-main crops. The varieties included in the non-main crop registration catalogue shall be registered before their popularization. The scope of crops that are subject to variety registration shall be strictly controlled and be determined under the principles of protecting biological diversity and guaranteeing consumption safety and variety safety. The registration catalogue shall be developed and adjusted by the competent agriculture department of the State Council. An applicant that applies for variety registration shall submit application documents and seed samples to the competent agriculture department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, be responsible for their truthfulness, ensure that they are traceable, and accept supervision and inspection. The application documents shall cover the variety type, name, source, features, breeding process, and specialty, consistency and stability testing reports, among others. The competent agriculture department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall, within 20 working days as of acceptance of a variety registration application, conduct written examination of the application documents submitted by the applicant, and if the application satisfies the relevant requirements, shall report it to the competent agriculture department of the State Council for registration and announcement. Where the application documents and seed samples on a registered variety are false, the competent agriculture department of the State Council shall revoke the registration of the variety, include the illegal information on the applicant in social credit archives, and announce to the public; and if any loss has been caused to any seed user or any other seed producer or trader, the applicant shall assume compensation liability in accordance with the law. Where any registered variety has any serious defect that cannot be rectified or falls under any other circumstance, the competent agriculture department of the State Council shall revoke the registration, make an announcement, and cease the popularization of the variety. The measures for the registration of non-main crop varieties shall be provided for by the competent agriculture department of the State Council. Article 23 No crop varieties that should have been examined for approval may be announced, popularized or sold. No forest tree varieties that are granted approval without examination may be popularized or sold as improved varieties. However, if such varieties are indeed needed for production, the matter shall be subject to confirmation by the forest tree variety approval committee. The crop varieties that should have been registered shall not be advertised or popularized, and shall not be sold in the name of registered varieties. Article 24 Where any overseas institution or foreigner that has no regular domicile or business premise in China applies for the approval or registration of any variety in China, the institution or foreigner shall authorize a domestic seed enterprise with the legal person status as the agent. Chapter IV Protection of New Varieties Article 25 The state implements rules for the protection of new varieties of plants. The plant varieties in the national plant variety protection catalogue that are selected manually or improved from discovered wild plants, have novelty, specialty, consistency and stability and are appropriately named shall be granted the right to new varieties of plants by competent agriculture and forestry departments of the State Council, and the lawful rights and interests of owners of the right to new varieties of plants shall be protected. The content and ownership, granting conditions, application and acceptance, examination and approval, as well as time limit, termination and invalidation, among others, of the right to new varieties of plants shall be governed by this Law and the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations. The state encourages and supports scientific and technological innovations in the seed industry, the breeding of new varieties of plants and the transformation of achievements. If the varieties that have obtained the right to new varieties of plants are popularized and applied, breeders shall obtain the corresponding economic benefits in a......