Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Delivery Safety of the Postal Industry (2023)

by Ministry of Transport

Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Delivery Safety of the Postal Industry

Article 1 For purposes of strengthening the administration of the delivery safety of the postal industry, maintaining postal communication and information security, safeguarding the personal and property safety of practitioners and users, and promoting the sustainable and sound development of the postal industry, these Measures are developed in accordance with the Postal Law of the People's Republic of China, the Interim Regulation on Express Delivery and other laws and administrative regulations.

Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the provision of postal services and express delivery services, the acceptance of postal services and express delivery services, and the supervision and administration of the delivery safety of the postal industry within the territory of the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 The postal administrative department of the State Council, the postal administrative institutions of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the postal administrative institutions below the provincial level established in accordance with the provisions issued by the State Council (hereinafter collectively referred to as “postal administrative departments”) shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the delivery safety of the postal industry.

Article 4 Postal administrative departments shall cooperate with relevant departments, improve the safety guarantee mechanism, and strengthen the supervision and administration of the delivery safety of the postal industry.

Article 5 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall abide by the provisions issued by the state on safety administration, and shall not jeopardize national security, public interests, or the legitimate rights and interests of others.

Article 6 Where a unified trademark, trade name, or express waybill is used for providing express delivery services, the enterprise owning the trademark, trade name or express waybill shall conduct unified administration of the safety guarantee of enterprises using the trademark, trade name or express waybill, and supervise the implementation of the safety administration system for the postal industry by enterprises using its trademark, trade name or express waybill.

Article 7 Users shall, when sending mails and express items for delivery, abide by the provisions issued by the state on the articles prohibited or restricted from delivery, and shall not jeopardize national security, public interests, or the legitimate rights and interests of others by making use of mails or express items.

Article 8 No entity or individual may falsely claim, unseal without permission, hide, destroy, resell at a profit, or illegally inspect or withhold others' mails or express items or destroy postal facilities or express delivery facilities or affect the normal functioning of facilities.

Article 9 When sending or receiving for delivery of mails and express items, the administration system of real-name acceptance of articles for delivery shall be observed.

Article 10 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall legally check whether the articles sent by users for delivery are within the scope of those prohibited or restricted from delivery, verify whether the names, nature, and quantity, among others, of the articles are consistent with the information shown on or connected with detailed delivery lists; where articles are received for delivery, the check marks shall be put in accordance with the provisions issued by the postal administrative department of the State Council.

Where users are required to provide the relevant written certificates according to the relevant provisions issued by the state, postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall require users to provide the originals of the certificates, and may not receive them for delivery until no error is found upon verification.

Article 11 Where a postal enterprise or an express delivery enterprise finds any article prohibited from delivery in the process of receiving a mail or express item for delivery, it shall refuse to accept the mail or express delivery for delivery; and if a suspected article prohibited from delivery is found in a mail or express delivery that has been accepted for delivery, the sorting, transport, and delivery thereof shall be stopped immediately. For an article in a mail or express item, which shall be confiscated or destroyed according to the law or which may involve a violation of law or a crime, the enterprise shall immediately report to the relevant departments and cooperate in the investigation and disposition thereof; and for any other article prohibited or restricted from delivery or an article other than those prohibited from delivery also subject to investigation and disposition thereof, the postal enterprise or express delivery enterprise shall notify the sender or recipient, and handle it properly according to the law.

Article 12 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall conduct safety inspections of mails and express items in accordance with the provisions issued by the postal administrative department of the State Council, and put safety inspection marks on mails and express items that pass safety inspections. Where a third-party enterprise is authorized to conduct safety inspection of mails and express items, the postal enterprise and the express delivery enterprise shall not be exempt from the responsibility for the safety of mails and express items.

Postal enterprises, express delivery enterprises or third-party enterprises authorized shall use safety inspection equipment that meets compulsory national standards and strengthen the background review of and technical trainings for safety inspectors to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills necessary for safety inspections.

Article 13 Where a postal enterprise authorizes any other entity to provide postal services on its behalf, or an enterprise providing express delivery services or any of its branches opens an end outlet jointly with any other entity or individual, the personnel receiving for delivery and delivering mails and express items shall be educated and trained on safe operating procedures and safe operating skills for relevant posts.

Article 14 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall provide practitioners with labor protection supplies that meet relevant national standards or industry standards according to the law, and purchase work-related injury insurance for practitioners.

Article 15 Where a postal enterprise or express delivery enterprise provides long-term or bulk delivery services for a sender, it shall enter into a safety agreement with the sender, specifying the safety guarantee obligations of the enterprise itself and the sender signing the safety agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “user signing the agreement”). If a postal enterprise or express delivery enterprise finds that any product produced or sold by a user is within the scope of articles prohibited from delivery, it shall not provide the delivery services by taking it as a user signing the agreement.

Article 16 Postal enterprises, express delivery enterprises and users shall, in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, prevent the excessive packaging of mails ad express items and reduce packaging wastes.

Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall be encouraged to take measures to recover the packaging materials of mails and express items so as to achieve the reduced utilization and recycle of packaging materials.

Article 17 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall use eco-friendly materials to package mails and express items.

Article 18 The total quantity of lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium in the plastic packaging bags and ordinary tape of mails and express items and benzene solvent residues in plastic packaging bags of mails and express items shall comply with the provisions issued by the state.

Article 19 Where users signing agreements provide packaging supplies and tape of mails and express items, postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall notify them in writing that the packaging supplies and tape they provide shall comply with the provisions issued by the state.

Article 20 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall not use toxic substances as the packing materials for mails and express items.

Article 21 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall conduct the round-the-clock video surveillance of their business premises and processing premises that provide delivery services, including end express delivery outlets they open and intelligent express item boxes they set up. The full coverage of video surveillance equipment at business premises, end express delivery outlets and intelligent express item boxes shall be achieved, and the video surveillance equipment at processing sites shall cover all entrances, exits, and main production areas.

Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall keep the surveillance data for at least 30 days. The surveillance data of areas for sending for delivery, receiving, checking, conducting safety inspection of and picking up mails and express items and of areas where intelligent express item boxes are placed shall be kept for not less than 90 days. Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall submit surveillance data according to the requirements put forward by postal administrative departments.

Article 22 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall, in accordance with the requirements of the rules for graded protection of cybersecurity of the state, fulfill the following security protection obligations, so as to ensure that the network is free from interference, damage or unauthorized access, and prevent network data from being divulged, stolen or falsified:

(1) Developing internal security management rules and operating procedures, determining the persons in charge of cybersecurity, and implementing the responsibility for cybersecurity protection.

(2) Taking technical measures to prevent computer viruses, network attack, network intrusion and other acts endangering cybersecurity.

(3) Taking technical measures to monitor and record the status of network operation and cybersecurity incidents, and preserving relevant weblogs for not less than six months as required.

(4) Taking measures such as data categorization, and back-up and encryption of important data.

(5) Performing other obligations as prescribed by laws and administrative regulations.

Article 23 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall establish detailed delivery lists and the electronic data management system, destroy on a regular basis the used detailed delivery lists, properly keep electronic data such as user information, and take effective measures to ensure the security of user information.

Article 24 Without explicit legal authorization or the written consent of users, postal enterprises, express delivery enterprises and their employees shall not provide users' identity information and information on users' use of postal services and express delivery services to any other entities or individuals.

When user information leakage or loss occurs or may occur, a postal enterprise or express delivery enterprise shall take remedial measures immediately, and report it to the postal administrative department at the place where the incident occurs, and support the relevant departments in the investigation and handling thereof.

Article 25 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall reserve security supervision data interfaces in accordance with the relevant provisions issued by postal administrative departments, and collect and analyze information related to delivery security to ensure that data is true and complete and is submitted to postal administrative departments on schedule.

Article 26 The postal administrative department of the State Council shall strengthen the construction of the emergency management system, develop the plan of the state for responding to emergencies in the postal industry, and establish the work mechanisms for emergency prevention, monitoring, early warning, information reporting, and response, among others.

The postal administrative institutions of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government and the postal administrative institutions below the provincial level shall develop emergency response plans in accordance with laws, regulations and rules and the plan of the state for responding to emergencies in the postal industry, among others, and in light of the actual circumstances of local regions.

Postal administrative departments shall, according to the actual needs of emergency management of the postal industry and changes in situations, assess and revise emergency response plans at appropriate time.

Article 27 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall be encouraged to establish emergency rescue teams to prevent and dispose of emergencies.

Article 28 In case of a natural disaster, accident, public health event, or social security event, among others, a postal enterprise or an express delivery enterprise shall, in accordance with laws, regulations, rules and the plan of the state for responding to emergencies in the postal industry, and according to the event type and grading, report it to the postal administrative institution below the provincial level at the place where the event occurs and departments assuming the relevant functions during a specified period, and, at the same time, dispose of the event in advance to control the development of the situation.

Article 29 After receiving an emergency report, a postal administrative institution below the provincial level at the place where the event occurs shall activate an emergency plan and take emergency measures according to the law. Article 30 Postal administrative departments shall properly dispose of emergencies in the postal industry, ascertain the causes and responsibilities for the events, propose rectification measures, and deal with the liable persons who have committed illegal conducts according to law. If an emergency involves the administrative function and power of any other department, the postal administrative department shall handle the emergency jointly with the relevant department.

Article 31 Postal administrative departments shall strengthen the monitoring and early warning of the safe operation of the postal industry, establish a security information management system, collect and analyze the information related to the safe operation of the postal industry, and share the information related to safe operation with relevant departments in accordance with laws, administrative regulations and other provisions.

Article 32 Postal administrative departments shall strengthen the supervision and inspection of postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises' establishment and improvement and implementation of the delivery safety system and the emergency management system and work safety; and shall establish and improve the routine supervision and inspection system focusing on random inspections, establish the lists of items subject to random inspections, publish the catalogues of safety items subject to random inspections, clarify the basis, frequency, methods, content and procedures of random inspections, randomly select the inspected enterprises, randomly select and assign inspectors, and establish the directory of inspectees and the directory of law enforcement inspectors. The results of random inspections and of investigation and punishment shall be announced to the public according to the law.

Article 33 Postal administrative departments may authorize the professional technical organizations that meet the statutory requirements to inspect and test the facilities and equipment processing mails and express items, packaging supplies, packing materials and other postal supplies and apparatus.

Article 34 Post safety supervision and inspection personnel shall make written records of the time, places and content of inspection, problems found and the handling thereof, which shall be signed by the supervision and inspection personnel and the persons in charge of the inspected entities. If the persons in charge of the inspected entities refuse to sign, the supervision and inspection personnel shall place the relevant circumstances on records, and report to postal administrative departments.

Article 35 Postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises shall support the safety supervision and inspection conducted by postal administrative departments, and shall not refuse or obstruct such supervision and inspection.

Article 36 Postal administrative departments shall record the information on illegal and dishonest acts of postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises, incorporate such information into the credit administration of the postal industry, and take joint punishment measures according to the law.

Postal administrative departments shall circulate a notice of the information on postal enterprises and express delivery enterprises' violations of relevant provisions on safety regulation, the occurrence of safety incidents, and the punishment of the relevant liable persons. Where the illegal act of an entity is serious, it shall be announced to the public according to the law and be notified to relevant departments and institutions.

Article 37 Where a postal enterprise or express delivery enterprise, in violation of the provisions of Articles 18 and 20 of these Measures, uses plastic packaging bags or ordinary tape that fail to meet the provisions issued by the state, or uses toxic substance as packing materials for mails or express items, the postal administrative department shall order it to take corrective action during a specified period; and if it refuses to do so, it shall be fined not less than 5,000 yuan nor more than 10,000 yuan.

Article 38 Where a postal enterprise or express delivery enterprise, in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of these Measures, fails to notify in writing a user signing the agreement of the requirements for packaging supplies and tape, the postal administrative department shall order it to take corrective action during a specified period, and may impose a fine of not more than 5,000 yuan on it.

Article 39 Where a postal enterprise or express delivery enterprise, in violation of the provisions of paragraph 1 or 2 of Article 21, fails to conduct the round-the-clock video surveillance of any of its business premises or processing places providing delivery services, end express delivery outlets or intelligent express item boxes established within the prescribed coverage scope, or to keep surveillance data for a specified period, the postal administrative department shall order it to take corrective action during a specified period; and if it refuses to do so, it shall be fined not more than 10,000 yuan.

Article 40 Where a postal enterprise or express delivery company, in violation of the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 21, and Article 25, fails to submit materials, information or data as required, the postal administrative department shall order it to take corrective action during a specified period; and if it refuses to do so, it shall be fined not more than 3,000 yuan.

Article 41 Where the state has otherwise provided for the supervision and administration of the security of confidential correspondence, such provision shall prevail.

Article 42 These Measures shall come into force on February 15, 2020, upon which the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Safety of the Postal Industry issued by Order No. 2 [2011] of the Ministry of Transport on January 4, 2011, and amended by Order No. 6 [2013] of the Ministry of Transport on April 12, 2013, shall be repealed.