Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China (2018 Amendment)

Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China (2018 Amendment) Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the 30th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on February 22, 1993, as amended for the first time by the Decision on Revising the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China at the 16th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on July 8, 2000; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending Some Laws adopted at the 10th session of the 11th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on August 27, 2009; and amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to Amend Five Laws Including the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 7th session of the Standing Committee of the thirteenth National People's Congress on December 29, 2018) Contents Chapter I General Principles ChapterII Supervision and Control of Product Quality ChapterIII Product Quality Responsibilities and Obligations of Producers and Sellers Section 1 Product Quality Responsibilities and Obligations of Producers Section 2 Product Quality Responsibilities and Obligations of Sellers ChapterIV Damages ChapterV Penalty Provisions ChapterVI Supplementary Provisions Chapter I General Principles Article 1 The law has been formulated with a view to reinforcing the supervision and regulation of product quality, improving the quality of products, clarifying the liabilities for product quality, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and safeguarding the social and economic order. Article 2 The law applies to all production and marketing activities within the territory of the People's Republic of China. Products mentioned in this law refer to to products processed and manufactured for the purpose of marketing. This law is not applicable to construction projects. However, the construction materials, structural components and fittings and equipment that fall within the category as provided in the previous paragraph shall be governed by this law. Article 3 Producers and sellers shall have their own proper regulations for the management of product quality, rigorously implementing post-oriented quality regulations, quality liabilities and relevant measures for their assessment. Article 4 Producers and sellers are responsible for the product quality according to the provisions of the law. Article 5 It is forbidden to forge or infringe upon quality marks such as certification marks and marks for fine quality products; it is forbidden to forge the place of origin, forge or infringe upon the factory names, factory addresses; it is forbidden to produce or market adulterated products or to use fake goods as genuine or sub-standard products as standard. Article 6 The State encourages the use of scientific quality control methods and adoption of advanced science and technology by enterprises to make their products surpass the standards set by the various trades, the State standards and even international standards in their product quality. Awards shall be given to units and individuals who have made outstanding achievements in quality control and in bringing the product quality up to the advanced international levels. Article 7 The people's government at all levels shall ensure the implementation of this law by incorporating the improvement of product quality into their plans for national economy and social development, reinforcing the integrated planning and organization regarding product quality, guiding, supervising and urging the producers and sellers to reinforce the management of product quality and improve the quality of products, organizing relevant departments to lawfully taking measures for stopping those acts that violate this law in the process of product production and product selling. Article 8 The market regulatory authorities of the State Council are responsible for the supervision and administration of the quality of products of the whole country. All relevant departments of the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision of product quality within their own functions and duties. Local market regulatory authorities at and above the county level are responsible for the supervision of product quality within their own administrative jurisdictions. The relevant departments of the local people's governments at and above the county level are responsible for the product quality within their respective functions and duties. If there are different provisions concerning the supervision departments of product quality, such provisions shall be applied. Article 9 The staff members of the people's governments at all levels and other state organs may not abuse their power, neglect their duties or misconduct to seek private interests, cover up or give loose to the acts violating this law that occurs within the locality or within the industry, hinder or meddle with the investigation of acts violating this law that occurred in the process of the producing or selling products. Where any of the local people's governments or other state organs covers for or give green light to the violations of this law that occurred in the production or selling of products, the person who is held to be mainly responsible shall take legal liabilities. Article 10 Any entity or individual is entitled to report to the market regulatory authorities or other relevant departments about any of the acts violating this law. The market regulatory authorities and relevant departments shall hold all information about the reporter as confidential and give awards to the reporter in accordance with the provisions of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. Article 11 No entity or individual may prevent any of the qualified products produced outside of the region or trade from entering the region or trade. ChapterII Supervision and Control of Product Quality Article 12 Quality of products shall pass standard examinations and no sub-standard products shall be used as standard ones. Article 13 Industrial products which may be hazardous to the health of the people and the safety of lives and property shall conform to the State and trade standards for ensuring the health of the human body and safety of lives and property. In absence of such State or trade standards, the products shall conform to the minimum requirements for ensuring the health of the human body and the safety of lives and property. It shall be prohibited to produce or sell industrial products that do not come to the requirements and demands for physical health and safety of body and property. The specific measures for management will be enacted by the State Council. Article 14 The State shall institute the system for certifying quality control system of enterprises according to the quality control standards commonly accepted internationally. Enterprises may apply voluntarily for certification of their quality control systems with the market regulatory authorities under the State Council or quality certification organizations recognized by the departments authorized by the market regulatory authorities under the State Council. The qualified enterprises shall be issued with the certificates for the quality control systems. The State shall institute the system for certifying the product quality in reference to the internationally advanced product quality standards and technical requirements. Enterprises may apply voluntarily for certification of the quality of their products with the market regulatory authorities under the State Council or quality certification organizations recognized by the departments authorized by the market regulatory authorities under the State Council. The qualified enterprises shall be issued with the certificates for product quality and are allowed to use quality certification marks on the products or on the packages of their products. Article 15 An supervision and inspection system based on random inspection is implemented by the state to test those products that may injure physical health or the safety of body or property, those important industrial products that have a great bearing on the national economy and those products that have been reported by consumers or relevant organizations as to be defective in quality. The samples shall be randomly taken from the market or the products stored in the warehouse of the enterprise for sale. The supervision and inspection shall be planned and organized by the market regulatory authorities of the State Council. The local market regulatory authorities on and above the county level may organize and supervise sample tests. Where there are different provisions concerning the supervision and inspection, such provisions shall be applied. The products supervised and inspected by the state administrations shall be not re-supervised and re-inspected by the local administrations; the products supervised and inspected by the administration on a higher level shall be not reinspected by that on a lower level. Products may be tested according to the demand of supervision and random inspection. The quantity of samples for random sample test shall not be bigger than that is reasonably needed, and no fees may be collected from the person under supervision and inspection. The expenses for supervision and random inspection shall be covered in according to the provisions of the State Council. Where the producer or seller refuses to accept the results of sample test, he may apply to the market regulatory authority that carries out the supervision and inspection or market regulatory authorities on the higher level within 15 days from the day he receives the results for reexamination. The reexamination conclusion shall be made by the market regulatory authority that does the reexamination. Article 16 No producer or seller may reject any supervision or inspection of product quality that is lawfully carried out. Article 17 Where any product is found to be unqualified by any supervision and inspection that is carried out according to this law, the producer or seller shall be ordered to make corrections within the time limit by the market regulatory authority that carries out the supervision and inspection. Where the producer or seller fails to make corrections within the time limit, he shall be publicized by the market regulatory authority of the people's government on or above the provincial level; if the product quality is still not qualified after reexamination, the producer or seller shall be ordered to suspend business for rectifications within the time limit; if the product quality is still proved unqualified by reexamination after the period for rectifications, the busin......