The competent departments of commerce of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities with separate planning status, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

Deepening the reform of the comprehensive commercial administrative law enforcement system is an important measure to implement the spirit of comprehensively governing the country according to law, building a rule-of-law government and the reform spirit of "decentralization, management and service", and is of great significance to rationalizing the comprehensive law enforcement management system, improving the ability to supervise during and after the event, standardizing market order, and building a business environment based on the rule of law. Since 2016, the Ministry of Commerce and the Central Editorial Office have jointly carried out pilot reforms of the comprehensive administrative law enforcement system for commerce in 10 cities, actively exploring ways to sort out law enforcement duties, integrate law enforcement functions, standardize law enforcement behavior, and strengthen law enforcement cooperation, effectively centralizing law enforcement powers, improving regulatory efficiency, and achieving remarkable results, but there are still outstanding problems in the commercial system, such as unclear regulatory responsibilities, unsmooth law enforcement system, scattered law enforcement forces, lack of law enforcement fields, and insufficient guarantee conditions. In order to implement the Implementation Outline for the Construction of a Rule of Law Government (2015-2020) (Zhongfa [2015] No. 36), the Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Modernization of Domestic Trade Circulation and Building a Law-based Business Environment (Guo Fa [2015] No. 49), the 13th Five-Year Plan for Market Supervision (Guo Fa [2017] No. 6), the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Domestic Trade Circulation (Shang Jianfa [2016] No. 430) and The Opinions of the Ministry of Commerce on Promoting the Reform and Development of Basic Commercial Business (Shang Zhenfa [2017] No. 281) require that with the consent of the Central Committee of Commerce, the following opinions are hereby put forward on the reform of the national comprehensive administrative law enforcement system for commerce.

1. General requirements

(1) Guiding ideology.

Deeply implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guide, conscientiously implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, coordinate and promote the overall layout of the "five-in-one" and coordinate the promotion of the "four comprehensive" strategic layout, unswervingly implement the development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, adhere to administration according to law, establish the concept of big business, follow the principle of "who approves and supervises, who is in charge and who supervises", takes institutional reform and innovation as the core, and accelerates the transformation of regulatory concepts. The system and method have shifted from decentralized individual supervision to integrated forces and comprehensive supervision, from focusing on administrative means to using administrative, legal, economic and information means, promote the establishment of a comprehensive commercial law enforcement and supervision system that adapts to the modern market system, strictly standardize fair and civilized law enforcement, and provide law enforcement guarantees for maintaining market order and creating a business environment based on the rule of law.

(2) Overall objectives.

By 2020, effectively integrate law enforcement functions and resources in the commercial field, scientifically set up law enforcement levels for compliance, strengthen the commercial supervision and law enforcement system and capacity building, basically establish a comprehensive commercial administrative law enforcement system with clear responsibilities, clear boundaries, standardized behavior, strong safeguards and efficient operation, and initially form a law enforcement and supervision system that is compatible with the development of commercial reform.

(3) Basic principles.

1. Persist in administering according to law. Adhere to statutory duties that must be done, and cannot be done without the authorization of the law, clean up and reduce law enforcement matters, regulate discretion, and adhere to strict standards, fairness and civility in law enforcement.

2. Adhere to reform and innovation. Innovate commercial law enforcement supervision systems, mechanisms, and supervision methods, promote smart supervision, credit supervision, and precise supervision, strengthen supervision during and after the event, and improve the level of supervision and the efficiency of law enforcement.

3. Adhere to the consistency of rights and responsibilities. Formulate a list of powers and responsibilities, clarify the functions of comprehensive law enforcement agencies, clarify the boundaries of duties, reduce the overlapping of duties, and implement law enforcement responsibilities.

Second, the main tasks

(1) Integrate comprehensive law enforcement functions. In principle, the duties of commercial law enforcement shall be undertaken by the organs, and comprehensive law enforcement may be carried out by relying on internal institutions. It is necessary to sort out, reduce, consolidate, and merge law enforcement matters, and establish a list of law enforcement matters. Relatively separate administrative law enforcement functions such as supervision and inspection, administrative punishment, and administrative management functions such as policy formulation, access permits, and industry promotion, centralize administrative law enforcement functions, and implement comprehensive administrative law enforcement. Areas that meet the conditions may carry out a wider range of comprehensive law enforcement in light of actual conditions. Clarify the relationship between comprehensive law enforcement agencies and administrative departments, and accelerate the formation of an operational mechanism with a clear division of labor and coordination between administrative management functions and administrative law enforcement functions.

(2) Optimize the allocation of law enforcement forces. Rationalize law enforcement duties at the provincial, municipal, and county levels, and promote the tilt of law enforcement forces toward the grassroots level. In addition to undertaking statutory regulatory and law enforcement duties, provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government are primarily responsible for establishing and improving the commercial law enforcement work system for their respective administrative divisions, and supervising and guiding the supervision and coordination of major and important cases. The city and county levels should strengthen the allocation of grassroots law enforcement forces through internal integration, optimization of structure, revitalization of stocks, and tapping potential, and scientifically and rationally set up posts. In principle, first-level law enforcement is implemented at the municipal level and municipal districts. Enrich and optimize the personnel strength, strictly implement the system of law enforcement personnel holding certificates and qualification management, and ensure the full-time and professional personnel of the team.

(3) Strictly regulate law enforcement conduct. Develop and publish a list of business enforcement powers and responsibilities. According to each law enforcement responsibility, clarify the content of performance of duties, clarify the law enforcement methods, and optimize the operation process. Formulate rules for commercial law enforcement work, refine job responsibilities, and implement a law enforcement responsibility system and accountability system. Improve law enforcement oversight processes, establishing and completing systems for publicizing administrative law enforcement, recording the entire process of law enforcement, and reviewing the legal system for major law enforcement decisions. Establish and complete a system of benchmarks for administrative discretion, refine and quantify administrative discretion standards, standardize the scope, type, and extent of discretion, and strengthen restrictions and supervision of administrative power. Establish and improve mechanisms for supervision, assessment and incentives.

(4) Innovate law enforcement methods. Adapt to the development trend of new technologies and new business formats, improve traditional law enforcement methods, and fully implement the "double random, one open" supervision method. Accelerate the establishment of informatization of regulatory law enforcement, relying on the Internet, big data, and other technologies to promote the online operation and management of case-handling processes and law enforcement work, and improve statistical analysis, monitoring, and early warning capabilities. Establish creditworthiness archives for business operators, giving play to the restraining role of the credit system, advancing categorical regulation.

(5) Strengthen coordination and cooperation in law enforcement. Strengthen horizontal and vertical linkage in commercial law enforcement, and establish and improve cross-departmental and cross-regional coordination mechanisms. Complete mechanisms for linking administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, standardize standards and procedures for case transfer, and bring about seamless connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice. Strengthen interdepartmental information sharing and case reporting on regulatory law enforcement, and increase the effectiveness of law enforcement coordination and supervision.

(6) Give play to social industry supervision. Establish and complete the 12312 business reporting and complaint service system, unblock channels for public reporting and complaints such as telephones, windows, and e-mails, improve mechanisms and procedures for accepting and transferring cases to supervision, and improve service levels. Strengthen mutual cooperation with relevant industry organizations, strengthen the main responsibility of enterprises, enhance self-discipline, and guide enterprises to become supervisors and maintainers of industry order. Mobilize supervision forces such as third parties, industries, the public, and the media, to form a new regulatory pattern in which social forces jointly participate in maintaining market order.

3. Organization and implementation

(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. It is necessary to actively seek the support of local party committees and governments, promote the establishment of a cross-departmental comprehensive commercial administrative law enforcement system reform coordination working mechanism led by the government and participated by commerce, preparation and other departments, strengthen work coordination, study and solve outstanding problems encountered in reform, and ensure that all reform measures are implemented in place. The Ministry of Commerce tracks and supervises the progress of reform, summarizes experience in a timely manner, discovers problems, and promotes reform to achieve practical results.

(2) Strengthen law enforcement capacity building. Commercial departments at all levels should actively seek the support of local governments, coordinate finance, human resources and social security and other relevant departments, improve commercial law enforcement safeguard mechanisms, strengthen operational training, include commercial law enforcement work funds and capacity building funds in the scope of financial guarantees at the same level, rationally allocate transportation, communications, investigation and evidence collection and other equipment necessary for law enforcement, improve law enforcement conditions, and ensure the needs of law enforcement work.

(3) Strengthen exchanges and publicity. Give full play to the role of traditional and emerging media, widely publicize advanced experiences and typical practices in commercial law enforcement, and give play to the leading role of advanced demonstrations; Increase the intensity of popularizing the law, vigorously publicize and popularize laws, regulations, and rules in the commercial field, promptly expose typical cases of violations of laws and regulations, strengthen warning education, and create a good atmosphere of public opinion.

Ministry of Commerce   

November 24, 2017