Lenore Chen
The National Communications Commission promulgated the Rules for Reviewing Establishment Application of Satellite Broadcast and Television Enterprises and Offshore Satellite Broadcast and Television Enterprises (hereinafter, the “Rules”), which consist of a total of 19 articles, via the Tong-Chuan-Nei-Rong-10548015871 Directive of June 21, 2016. The Rules came into effect on the day of their promulgation. The Rules are highlighted as follows:
Article 2 of the Rules provide that the operation of a satellite broadcast and television enterprise or offshore satellite broadcast and television enterprise requires application materials and documents designated by the competent authority to be submitted to the competent authority, and that operation may not commence until approval is granted and a license issued. The competent authority shall call license application and renewal consultation meetings for satellite broadcast and television enterprises and other types of channel program suppliers to review application cases and provide consultation. Basically, an application should be decided within six months upon acceptance under Article 16 of the Rules. In case of failure to conclude the handling of such application within such period, the competent authority may extend the review period for up to six months, and such period may be extended only once. After an approval is received, an applicant is required to complete the company establishment or amendment registration within six months before presenting documentation supporting company establishment or registration to the competent authority in application for a satellite broadcast and television business license. Under Article 18 of the Rules, an applicant is required to pay examination and certification fees to the competent authority.
Article 11 of the Rules specifically provides that no rectification is permitted in case of violation of restrictions on the organizational type, minimum capital, total donated assets, shareholding cap on foreign nationals, identity associated with political parties or the military or circumstances where the applicant’s responsible persons such as directors, supervisors and promotors are subject to Article 30 of the Company Law or less than two years has elapsed since the applicant’s satellite broadcast and television approval was revoked. If an application is found to be subject to any circumstance where no rectification is permitted during qualification review, the competent authority should reject the application by indicating the reasons. Since this is still at the qualification review stage, the examination fee should also be refunded.