James Cheng
On April 29, 2016, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce promulgated the Decision of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce on Abolishing and Amending Certain Administrative Rules for Industry and Commerce (hereinafter, the “Decision”). After sorting out the current administrative rules for industry and commerce in effect, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce decides to abolish 10 regulations rules, such as the Rules for Implementing the Advertisement Administration Regulations, the Interim Measures on the Administration of Industry and Commerce, the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Individual Industrial and Commercial Businesses in Scenic Spots, the Measures for the Implementation of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks, the Administrative Measures for Managers, the Interim Measures for the Administration of Tobacco Advertisements, the Measures for Qualification Inspections of Advertisement Operations, the Administrative Measures for Print Advertisements, the Administrative Measures for the Registration of Outdoor Advertisements, and the Measures for the Administration of Trademark Agents. In addition, some amendments are made to the relevant provisions of the Rules for Implementing the People’s Republic of China Regulations on the Registration of Corporate Persons, the Administrative Measures for the Registration of Foreign Enterprises Engaging in Manufacturing Operations in the Territories of China, the Administrative Measures for the Authorized Registration of Foreign-invested Enterprises and the Measures for the Registration of Equity Pledges with the Industrial and Commercial Authorities.
The Decision’s amendments to the People’s Republic of China Regulations on the Registration of Corporate Persons is primarily focused on “the representative offices set up by foreign-invested enterprises,” regarding which the Decision removes all provisions concerning such representative offices and adjusts the sequence of the provisions accordingly.
In addition, the Decision also makes important amendments to the Administrative Measures for the Registration of Foreign Enterprises Engaging in Manufacturing Operations in the Territories of China. Previously under Article 2, a foreign enterprise seeking to engage in manufacturing in the territories of China was required to apply to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce or its authorized local industry and commerce authority for registration. From now on, such foreign enterprise is only required to apply to the provincial industrial and commercial authority for registration. In addition, changes are made to the documents or certifications under Article 5 that a foreign enterprise was previously required to submit in its application for registration; all specific submission requirements for the industries under Paragraph 2 are deleted, and Paragraph 2 as amended only retains the “approval documents or certificates from the reviewing agencies.” In addition, Article 14 previously required foreign enterprises in relevant industries to go through annual inspections, and after the amendments, all foreign enterprises are required to submit an annual report for the previous year to the original registration authorities through the public through enterprise credit information disclosure system from January 1 through June 30 each year.
The Decision also amended the Measures for the Registration of Equity Pledges with the Industrial and Commercial Authorities. The requirement under Article 5 that a pledge of the equity of a foreign-invested company may only be registered pursuant to the approval of the original review agency that approved the establishment of the company is hereby removed. Article 15, Paragraph 1 is amended as: “A registration agency shall publish information on equity pledges in the enterprise credit information disclosure system for public inquiry.”