MOFCOM Announcement No. 7 of 2014 on Provisions on the Procedures for Formulating Third-Party Platform Transaction Rules for Online Retailing (For Trial Implementation)
Issued by: Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China
Announcement No.7, 2014
Date of Issuance: December 24, 2014
Date of Implementation: April 1, 2015
The Provisions on the Procedures for Formulating Third-Party Platform Transaction Rules for Online Retailing (For Trial Implementation), approved and adopted at the 32nd executive meeting of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on December 1, 2014, is hereby promulgated for implementation as of April 1, 2015.
Minister Gao Hucheng
December 24, 2014
Provisions on the Procedures for Formulating Third-Party Platform Transaction Rules for Online Retailing (For Trial Implementation)
Article 1 In order to promote healthy development of online retailing, protect legitimate rights and interests of each party in online retailing activities based on third-party platforms and public interests, and strengthen public information services, the Provisions on the Procedures for Formulating Third-Party Platform Transaction Rules for Online Retailing (For Trial Implementation) (hereinafter referred to as the Provisions) is formulated in accordance to related laws and regulations.
Article 2 Operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall observe the Provisions when formulating, modifying, and implementing transaction rules.
Article 3 The transaction rules mentioned in the Provisions refer to public rules that are formulated, modified, and implemented by operators of third-party platforms for online retailing are applicable to unspecified parties using platform services, and involve social public interests.
The operators of third-party platforms for online retailing mentioned in the Provisions refer to legal persons or other organizations who provide other operators with virtual business sites and related services for online retailing and operate within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
Online retailing mentioned in the Provisions refers to activities that retailers sell goods or provide operational services for consumers via the Internet.
Article 4 Formulation, modification, and implementation of third-party platform transaction rules for online retailing shall follow the principles of openness, fairness, and impartiality, abide by laws and administrative regulations, respect social ethics, and shall not disrupt social and economic order or damage social and public interests.
Article 5 The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China is responsible for establishing the filing system for third-party platform transaction rules for online retailing, while commerce departments of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions (hereinafter referred to as the provincial commerce departments) are responsible for daily management such as filing for third-party platform transaction rules for online retailing.
Article 6 The transaction rules made, modified, and implemented by operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall be published as an announcement and put on file in accordance with the Provisions.
(1) Basic rules refer to rules based on which online retailers and consumers register with third-party platforms and basic rules regarding transaction establishment, effectiveness, and fulfillment.
(2) Liability and risk-sharing rules refer to rules based on which operators of third-party platforms for online retailing bear civil liabilities for online retailers and consumers or rules for exempting from liabilities and sharing risks.
(3) Intellectual property protection rules refer to rules for protecting intellectual property and preventing fakes and counterfeits.
(4) Credit evaluation rules refer to rules based on which operators of third-party platforms for online retailing provide credit evaluation services for the transaction parties and collect, record, and disclose credit information of the transaction parties.
(5) Consumer right and interest protection rules refer to rules used to protect consumers' legal rights, such as the right to know, right of return, and right of remedy and protect consumers’ personal information and transaction records.
(6) Information disclosure rules refer to rules based on which operators of third-party platforms for online retailing carry out real-name registrations on online retailers and review their legal business qualifications.
(7) Illegal information prevention and restraint rules refer to rules based on which operators of third-party platforms for online retailing prevent and restrain others from publishing goods and service information, and online advertisements in violation of state laws and regulations on their platforms.
(8) Transaction dispute resolution rules refer to mechanisms and rules based on which operators of third-party platforms for online retailing resolve disputes with online retailers and consumers.
(9) Transaction rule application regulations refer to regulations that specify applicable objects, scopes, and duration of transaction rules.
(10) Transaction rule amendment regulations refer to regulations that specify procedures and means for changing and amending transaction rules.
(11) Other essential transaction rules or rule-related measures
Article 7 Transaction rules made or modified by operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall be open to public comments at the eye-catching location on the website home page. Reasonable measures shall be taken to ensure that interested parties are timely and fully informed of the abovementioned transaction rules and express their comments. In addition, relevant comments shall be disclosed and replied in reasonable ways, and the public comment period shall not be shorter than seven days.
Article 8 If transaction rules fall under any of the following circumstances, public comments do not need to be sought:
(1) Rules which are modified to comply with laws and regulations.
(2) Rules indicating that urgent measures need to be taken to protect consumers’ interests according to requirements of related departments from the people’s government at provincial level
Article 9 Operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall make transaction rules public at the eye-catching position of the website seven days before implementation, except for those involving business secrets.
Article 10 If transaction rules made, modified, or implemented by operators of third-party platforms for online retailing have significant impact on online retailers and consumers, the operators shall make reasonable transitional measures.
Article 11 Operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall actively take reasonable ways to ensure that interested parties fully and easily understand the content of the implemented transaction rules, and shall draw their attention about exempting from or limiting liabilities of operators of third-party platforms for online retailing or interested parties.
Operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall follow requirements of interested parties and explain transaction rules in a reasonable manner within seven days from the date when an application is received.
Article 12 Operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall log in to the filing system of third-party platform transaction rules for online retailing to submit transaction rules mentioned in this Provisions, public comments, and replies to the comments within seven days after the transaction rules are implemented.
Article 13 When operators of third-party platforms for online retailing modify the transaction rules, they shall put the modified content on file again in accordance with Article 12 in the Provisions.
Article 14 Commerce departments shall provide public access services of filed transaction rules for free through the filing system of third-party platform transaction rules for online retailing.
Article 15 Any unit or individual can report transaction rules violating the Provisions to provincial commerce departments of the place where operators of third-party platforms for online retailing are located through the filing system of third-party platform transaction rules for online retailing.
If provincial commerce departments determine that the reported content is within their duties, they shall timely deal with the problems in accordance with laws. If the reported content is out of their duties, they shall timely transfer the problems to relevant departments.
Article 16 The state encourages each industry to carry out industrial self-regulation, offer suggestions on filed transaction rules, establish interaction mechanisms with operators of third-party platforms for online retailing, and promote standardization and normalization of third-party platform transaction rules.
Article 17 According to tip-offs, provincial commerce departments of the place where operators of third-party platforms for online retailing are located can offer administrative guidance to the operators if they fall under any of the following circumstances:
(1) The operators do not draw related parties’ attention about exempting from or limiting liabilities in accordance with Article 11 in the Provisions.
(2) The operators do not put transaction rules on file in accordance with the Provisions.
(3) The filed information is incomplete or fake.
Article 18 If operators of third-party platforms for online retailing do not make, modify, or implement transaction rules in accordance with the Provisions, the provincial commerce departments shall order them to make rectification in a specific period. Where they refuse to make rectification, they shall be warned and announced to the public.
Article 19 If transaction rules made, modified, implemented by operators of third-party platforms for online retailing damage the public interests and constitute a crime, criminal liabilities shall be investigated in accordance with laws.
Article 20 If operators of third-party platforms for online retailing violate Articles 12 and 13 and do not put transaction rules on file or submit fake filing information, the provincial commerce departments shall order them to make rectification within a time limit. Where they refuse to make rectification, they shall be warned and announced to the public.
Article 21 If commerce departments and the staff violate the Provisions and refuse to fulfill their duties, they shall be punished. Whereas the case constitutes a crime, criminal responsibilities shall be affixed in accordance with laws.
Article 22 Operators of third-party platforms for online retailing shall put transaction rules implemented before the Provisions on file within sixty days from the date when the Provisions take effect.
Article 23 The Provisions shall take effect as of April 1, 2015.