(Adopted by the Fifth Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on December 29, 1988, promulgated by the Order No 11 of the President of the People's Republic of China on December 29, 1988, and effective on April 1, 1989)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Creation of Standards
Chapter III Implementation of Standards
Chapter IV Legal Liability
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
For the purposes of developing the socialist commodity economy, promoting technological progress, improving product quality, increasing social and economic benefits, and safeguarding the interests of the State and the people so that the standardization work can meet the needs of socialist modernization and of the development of economic relations with foreign countries, this Law is hereby enacted.
Article 2
Standards shall be created for the following technical requirements that need to be unified:
(1). the varieties, specifications, quality and grades of industrial products as well as the safety and hygiene requirements thereof;
(2). the design, production, inspection, package, storage, transportation and methods of application of industrial products as well as the safety and hygiene requirements thereof in the course of production, storage and transportation.
(3). various technical requirements and testing methods related to environmental protection;
(4). the design, construction method and safety requirements for construction projects; and
(5). technical terms, symbols, code names and drawing methods related to industrial production, engineering construction and environmental protection.
The State Council shall establish the standards for major agricultural products and other items that need such standards.
Article 3
The tasks of standardization work shall include the creation of standards, the implementation of the standards and the supervision over the implementation of the standards.
Standardization work shall be incorporated in the plan for national economic and social development.
Article 4
The State encourages the adoption of international standards.
Article 5
The department of standardization administration of the State Council shall be in charge of the unified administration of standardization work throughout the country. Competent administrative departments of the State Council shall be in charge of standardization work in their respective departments and trades.
The departments of standardization administration of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be in charge of the unified administration of standardization work within their respective administrative areas. Competent administrative departments under the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be in charge of standardization work in their respective departments and trades within their respective administrative areas.
The departments of standardization administration and the competent administrative departments of cities and counties shall, in line with their respective functions as assigned thereto by the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, be in charge of standardization work within their respective administrative areas.
Chapter II Creation of Standards
Article 6
National standards shall be established for those technical requirements that need to be unified nationwide. National standards shall be formulated by the department of standardization administration of the State Council. Where, in the absence of a national standard, technical requirements for a certain trade need to be unified, a trade standard may be established. Trade standards shall be formulated by competent administrative departments of the State Council and be reported to the department of standardization administration of the State Council for the record, and such trade standards shall be annulled once the national standards thereon are created and published. Where, in the absence of both national and trade standards, safety and hygiene requirements for industrial products need to be unified within a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government, local standards may be established. Local standards shall be formulated by departments of standardization administration of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and be reported to the department of standardization administration and the competent administrative departments of the State Council for the record, and such local standards shall be annulled once national standards or trade standards thereon are established and published.
Where, in the absence of both national and trade standards for products manufactured by an enterprise, standards of the enterprise shall be formulated to serve as the criteria for the organization of production. An enterprise's standards on its products shall be reported to the standardization administration department and the competent administrative authorities under the local government for the record. Where national or trade standards have been established, the State encourages enterprises to formulate their enterprise standards, which are more stringent than the national or trade standards, to be applied only by these enterprises themselves.
Where laws contain otherwise provisions on the creation of standards, such legal provisions shall be applicable.
Article 7
National standards and trade standards are classified into compulsory standards and voluntary standards. Those standards created for safeguarding human health and ensuring the safety of the person and of property as well as those standards for compulsory execution as prescribed by the laws and administrative rules and regulations shall be compulsory standards, the others shall be voluntary standards.
Those local standards created by the departments of standardization administration of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government for the safety and hygiene requirements of industrial products shall be compulsory standards within their respective administrative areas.
Article 8
The establishment of standards shall be conducive to safeguarding safety and the people's health, protecting consumers' interests and protecting the environment.
Article 9
The creation of standards shall be conducive to utilizing rationally the country's resources, spreading and promoting the application of scientific and technological results, improving economic efficiency, and conforming to the demands of application, cultivating the universality and interchangeability of products so as to ensure that such standards are technologically advanced and economically rational.
Article 10
The creation of standards shall be coordinated with and supported by related standards.
Article 11
The creation of standards shall help promote economic and technological cooperation with foreign countries and foreign trade.
Article 12
The roles of trade associations, scientific research institutions and academic organizations shall be given a full play in the creation of standards.
A department engaged in establishing standards shall organize a committee on standardization technology composed of specialists, which shall be responsible for the drafting of the standards and shall participate in the examination of the draft standards.
Article 13
After the standards come into force, the department that created them shall, in the light of scientific and technological developments and the needs in economic construction, make timely reviews of the current standards to determine if they are to remain effective or are to be revised or annulled.
Chapter III Implementation of Standards
Article 14
Compulsory standards must be complied with. It shall be forbidden to produce, sell or import products that are not up to the compulsory standards. With regard to voluntary standards, the State encourages enterprises to adopt such standards on their own initiative.
Article 15
Regarding to products for which national or trade standards have been established, enterprises may apply to the department of standardization administration of the State Council or agencies authorized by the same department for product quality certification. For products which are certified to be conforming to the standards, certificates shall be issued by the department that made the certification, and the use of the prescribed certification marks shall be permitted on such products and the packaging thereof.
Where any product for which authentication certificates has been granted is found to be no longer conforming to national or trade standards, or where any product has not undergone certification procedures or is found not up to the standards after the certification procedures, no certification mark may be used on the product leaving factories for sale.
Article 16
Technical requirements for export products shall comply with agreements contained in the contracts.
Article 17
The development of new products, improvement of products or technical renovation by an enterprise shall conform to standardization requirements.
Article 18
Departments of standardization administration under governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for supervision over and inspection of the implementation of the standards.
Article 19
Departments of standardization administration under governments at or above the county level may, in accordance with needs, establish inspection organizations or authorize inspection organizations of other units to examine whether products conform to the standards. Where the laws and administrative regulations have otherwise provisions on the inspection organizations, such provisions shall apply.
Disputes over whether a product conforms to the standards shall be handled in accordance with the inspection data provided by the inspection organizations specified in the preceding paragraph.
Chapter IV Legal Liability
Article 20
Whoever produces, sells or imports products that fail to conform to the compulsory standards shall be dealt with according to law by the competent administrative departments prescribed by laws and administrative regulations. In absence of such provisions by laws and regulations, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall confiscate the products and unlawful proceeds involved, and shall impose a fine thereon concurrently; where serious consequences are caused and a crime is constituted, the person directly responsible shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.
Article 21
Where certification marks are used on products leaving a factory for sale, for which certificates have been issued but which fail conform to national or trade standards, the department of standardization administration shall order to stop the sale of such products and shall impose a fine thereon concurrently; where the circumstances are serious, the certification department shall revoke such certificates.
Article 22
Whoever uses certification marks, without authorization, on products leaving a factory for sale, which have not undergone certification or have been found not up to the standards in the certification procedures, shall be ordered by the department of standardization administration to stop the sale of such products and shall concurrently be fined.
Article 23
Where any party refuses to accept the punishment of confiscation of products, unlawful proceeds and a fine, the party may, within 15 days of receiving the notification on the penalty, apply for reconsideration to the department next higher to the department that made the punishment decision; If the party still refuses to agree with the reconsideration decision, the party may, within 15 days of receiving the reconsideration decision, initiate a legal proceedings to a people's court. The party also may, within 15 days of receiving the notification on the penalty, directly initiate a legal proceedings to a people's court. If a party neither applies for reconsideration nor initiate legal proceedings to a people's court within the prescribed time limit nor complies with the punishment decision, the department that made the punishment decision shall apply to a people's court for compulsory enforcement.
Article 24
Where any personnel in charge of the supervision over, inspection and administration of standardization violates the law or neglects his or her duties, or engages in malpractice's for personal gains, the person involved shall be given an administrative penalty; where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
Article 25
The State Council shall enact rules for the implementation of this Law.
Article 26 This Law shall enter into force on April 1, 1989.
