Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Authorizing the State Council to Temporarily Adjust the Implementation of Relevant Provisions of Law in Pilot Free Trade Zones (2019)

by Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Authorizing the State Council to Temporarily Adjust the Implementation of Relevant Provisions of Law in Pilot Free Trade Zones

(Adopted at the 14th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on October 26, 2019)

⁠For the purpose of further optimizing the business environment, stimulating market's vitality and public creativity, and speeding up the transformation of government functions, the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress has decided at its 14th meeting: to authorize the State Council to temporarily adjust the implementation of relevant provisions of the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China, Law of the People's Republic of China on Road Traffic Safety, Fire Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, and Seed Law of the People's Republic of China (See the Appendix for details) in the pilot free trade zones. The said adjustments shall be implemented on a pilot basis for three years. Where adjustments are proved feasible in practice, the State Council shall make a proposal on revising the relevant laws, whereas for those adjustments which are proved unsuitable, the original provisions of law shall be reinstated.

⁠This Decision shall come into force on December 1, 2019.

Appendix:

List of Provisions of Law the Implementation of which is Temporarily Adjusted in Pilot Free Trade Zones by the State Council upon Authorization

Serial No.	Item	Legal Provisions	Adjustment
1	Foreign trade dealers’ registration	Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China Article 9 A foreign trade dealer who intends to engage in the import and export of goods or technologies shall register with the department for foreign trade under the State Council or the body it entrusts with the registration, unless otherwise prescribed by laws, administrative regulations or by the said department. The specific measures for registration shall be formulated by the department. Where a foreign trade dealer fails to register as required by regulations, the Customs shall not process the procedures of declaration, inspection and release for the import or export of goods.	Requirement for approval (foreign trade dealers’ registration) cancelled.
2	Certification of tractor drivers’ training schools or classes	Law of the People’s Republic of China on Road Traffic Safety Article 20 Training of motor vehicle drivers shall be commercialized. The competent traffic control department shall manage the qualifications of drivers’ training schools and classes, among which the qualifications of the ones specially for training tractor drivers shall be managed by the department of agriculture (agricultural machinery).	Requirement for approval cancelled.
3	Certification of technical service agencies	Fire Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China The First Paragraph of Article 34 Technical service agencies and professionals engaging in quality certification of fire protection products, testing of fire protection facilities, monitoring of fire safety, etc., shall, in accordance with law, acquire the necessary competence and qualifications; and they shall, in accordance with the laws, administrative regulations, national and industrial standards and professional code, accept commissions to provide technical services for fire protection and be responsible for the quality of their services.	Approval replaced by recordation.
4	Permit for food business operation (pre-packed food only)	Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China Article 35 The State adopts a permit system for the production and operation of food products. Food producers, sellers and caterers shall obtain permits pursuant to law, with the exception of those selling agricultural food products. The food and drug administration department of people’s governments at or above the county level shall review, in accordance with the Administrative Permission Law of the People’s Republic of China, the supporting materials submitted by the applicants as are required in Subparagraphs (1) through (4) of the first paragraph of Article 33 of this Law, and carry out, where necessary, on-site inspections of the applicants’ business premises. Permits shall be issued to qualified applicants, and in the event of unqualified applicants, their applications shall be rejected and they shall be notified of the reasons in writing.	Approval replaced by recordation.
5	Customs brokers’ registration	Customs Law of the People’s Republic of China The First Paragraph of Article 11 Consignors and consignees of imports and exports, and Customs brokers shall register with the Customs according to law before making customs declarations. No party may engage in customs declaration business without registering with the Customs according to law.	Approval replaced by recordation.
6	Fire safety inspection of public gathering facilities before being put to use or starting business operation	Fire Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China Article 15 Before the public facilities where large number of people gather are put to use or into business operation, the developers or the users shall apply for inspection of fire protection to the fire and rescue departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level where the places are located. The fire and rescue department shall, within 10 working days from the date it accepts the application, inspect fire protection at the said places in accordance with the technological standards and administrative regulations for fire protection. If a place fails to undergo inspection for fire protection or fails to meet the requirements for fire safety although it undergoes such inspection, it shall not be put to use or into business operation.	The mechanism of “Inform and Guarantee” (where the operators of such facilities guarantee that the facilities conforms to relevant fire safety standards and provide the related materials, on the strength of which the fire and rescue departments, instead of conducting substantive inspections, will issue approvals on the spot) applied.
7	Permit for production and operation of forest tree seeds and grass sees (imported and exported)	Seed Law of the People’s Republic of China The First Paragraph of Article 31 The applications for the production and business operation permits for importing and exporting seeds shall be subject to examination by the competent departments in charge of agriculture or forestry under the people’s governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the permits shall be issued by the competent department in charge of agriculture or forestry under the State Council. Article 93 This Law shall apply, mantadis mutantis, to the management and the selection and cultivation of germ plasm resources of grass seeds, cigarette seeds, traditional Chinese medicine seeds and edible fungi seeds, and to the seed production, business operation, and management, etc.	Approval procedure optimized (examination by provincial departments in charge of forestry and grasslands cancelled).