Source: China Standards Information Service Network
On February 15, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Food and Drug Administration, and the State Intellectual Property Office jointly issued the “Ten Measures to Support the Resumption of Work and Production.” In order to better implement the ten policy measures, the background, basic considerations, key points and highlights of the policy are now explained.
1. Background of the promulgation of the “Ten Measures to Support the Resumption of Work and Production”
General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the prevention and control of the new coronavirus epidemic and the resumption of work and production of enterprises. He has chaired several meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee to conduct special studies, emphasizing the need to promote the resumption of work and production in an orderly manner on the premise of doing a good job in epidemic prevention, maintain stable economic operation and social harmony and stability, and strive to achieve various goals and tasks set by the Party Central Committee. Premier Li Keqiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council to make special arrangements and arrangements. The State Council’s joint prevention and control mechanism for the new coronavirus epidemic issued a notice requiring effective scientific prevention and control of the epidemic and the orderly resumption of work and production of enterprises. The Party Group of the State Administration for Market Regulation attaches great importance to this. Party Secretary and Director Xiao Yaqing immediately presided over a Party Group meeting to convey and study the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions and the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and to study policies and measures to support the resumption of work and production of enterprises. He emphasized that in accordance with the requirements of the General Secretary to “implement, detail and implement all work measures”, based on the actual work, we propose support measures that are effective and easy to implement. The market supervision department is both a regulatory department and a service department. It should not only serve the overall economic and social development by maintaining market order, but also propose targeted assistance measures in response to the practical difficulties faced by enterprises during the epidemic.
2. Basic considerations of the “Ten Measures to Support the Resumption of Work and Production”
The formulation and promulgation of the “Ten Measures to Support the Resumption of Work and Production” is mainly to address the practical difficulties faced by enterprises in resuming work and production, and to propose targeted and operable measures and methods based on the responsibilities of market supervision. On the one hand, we adhere to a problem-oriented approach and focus on the practical difficulties and problems faced by enterprises in resuming work and production. During the epidemic, companies faced some new difficulties and problems in resuming work and production. The resumption of work and production of many enterprises, especially the production of epidemic prevention materials, involves the application and extension of production licenses and compulsory certifications; the resumption of work and production of a large number of foreign trade export companies involves the issue of how to connect and convert international standards with domestic standards; corporate credit is very important for the resumption of work and production, involving the issue of credit repair mechanisms; many products enter the market and require third-party technical services such as certification and accreditation, inspection and testing, etc. Many of these issues are closely related to market supervision responsibilities and are an important focus in formulating the ten measures. On the other hand, we insist on precise policy implementation and formulate measures starting from reforming and improving market supervision itself. In response to the special difficulties and problems faced by enterprises in resuming work and production, market regulatory authorities have reformed and improved regulatory rules and methods in accordance with the principles of handling special cases, optimizing services, relieving difficulties, and reducing costs and burdens. The first is to improve the efficiency of administrative approval, simplify what can be simplified, merge where possible, and reduce some unnecessary links and procedures. The second is to take some emergency and transitional measures and methods in response to the special circumstances during the epidemic, such as extension of administrative licenses, implementation of notification commitments, standard conversion and application, etc. The third is to act proactively, take the initiative to provide services, think about the needs of enterprises, address their urgent needs, and provide targeted quality and technical assistance measures.
3. Key points and highlights of the “Ten Measures to Support the Resumption of Work and Production”
Article 1: Online registration During the epidemic prevention and control period, investing in and establishing new enterprises is still a new force supporting economic recovery. By promoting online registration, on the one hand, it can reduce the gathering and flow of people, and on the other hand, it can also improve the efficiency of registration services. For newly established enterprises that produce emergency supplies such as epidemic prevention supplies, we will provide convenience for the enterprises to put into production as soon as possible through the establishment of green channels, dedicated personnel for docking, and special handling of special cases. In view of the emergence of new business forms and models such as the production of anti-epidemic materials, online office work, and online education during the epidemic, the market supervision department actively adapted to the innovation needs of enterprises, timely updated and adjusted registration standards such as business scope, and supported the innovation, transformation and development of enterprises.
Article 2: Implement notification commitments Implementing notification commitments is an important measure to deepen the reform of the administrative approval system. In the process of enterprises resuming work and production, administrative approval matters such as production licenses and compulsory certifications are involved. Regular approval requires a lot of materials and is time-consuming. Therefore, for enterprises that meet the production conditions but are temporarily unable to submit corresponding materials, they can apply for approval on the spot as long as they promise to submit relevant materials within the corresponding time limit. This avoids being stuck in the access process for resumption of work and production. Ensuring food safety is particularly important during the epidemic. At present, strict licensing management is implemented for the production and operation of food enterprises. On the premise of ensuring food safety, we further simplify the licensing process and promote electronic certificates for food business licenses. At the same time, the licensing process is optimized, and companies that produce and operate low-risk foods are notified and promised. As long as the company promises to meet relevant conditions, the license can be issued first, and then the opportunity is selected for on-site verification. In addition, the qualification accreditation of inspection and testing institutions has also implemented new forms such as notification and commitment, and the centralized review of operators has been changed to provide materials online, which will further improve work efficiency and bring more convenience to enterprises. Article 3: Establishing an emergency green channel for administrative licensing At the current stage, the production of emergency supplies is an important guarantee for the fight against the epidemic. In particular, companies that produce medical and protective products such as masks, protective clothing, medicines, and medical devices generally face problems such as tight resumption time and heavy production tasks. Administrative licensing for such companies directly affects the recovery of production capacity and the supply of products. Therefore, special measures should be taken to deal with special cases and give widespread “green light” to help relevant enterprises resume work and production as soon as possible. For some enterprises that change production, especially those that change production of masks, protective clothing and other emergency supplies, the emergency approval process for production qualifications should be initiated, the approval process should be simplified and merged, and relevant administrative licenses should be obtained as soon as possible. For those producing drugs and medical devices needed for epidemic prevention and control, the approval process must be accelerated. Patent applications and trademark registrations involving epidemic prevention and control can be reviewed with priority and expedited upon request.
Article 4: Extending the Administrative License Period Administrative licenses generally have a certain license period. Affected by factors such as delayed start of work, delayed personnel arrival, and suspension of relevant qualification review, some companies were unable to handle changes, extensions, certificate renewals and other matters during the epidemic prevention and control period, resulting in license expiration issues, which affected the resumption of work and production to a certain extent. Therefore, targeted facilitation relief measures need to be proposed. If the business license registration items change and the change registration cannot be processed in time, it is allowed to be postponed to one month after the epidemic is lifted. For administrative licenses such as food production licenses, food business licenses, industrial product production licenses, special equipment production unit licenses, special equipment inspection and testing agency approval certificates, inspection and testing agency qualification certificates and other administrative licenses that expire, their validity periods can be appropriately extended, and relevant procedures can be completed after the epidemic is resolved, clearing obstacles for enterprises to resume work and production as soon as possible. For enterprises that have resumed work and resumed production when handling intellectual property-related matters that exceed the relevant time limit due to the impact of the epidemic, measures such as time limit suspension, extension, and request for restoration of rights will be given in accordance with the law.
Article 5: Accelerate the conversion and application of standards. Part of my country’s manufacturing capacity is used for export to the international market. Products comply with international standards or foreign standards and cannot be sold in the domestic market according to existing regulations. Strengthening the connection between international standards and domestic standards and tapping the potential of this part of production capacity are important measures to support the resumption of work and production of foreign trade enterprises, promote the stable development of enterprises, and ensure market supply. To this end, the market supervision department will speed up the conversion of international standards and domestic standards and promote the connection of export products based on standards and domestic standards. Products produced in accordance with international standards and the main technical indicators of relevant international standards meet the safety requirements of mandatory national standards are allowed to be sold domestically. Encourage social organizations to formulate relevant group standards and increase the effective supply of standards required for enterprises to resume work and production. For enterprises that produce foreign standard masks for export and have the ability to produce domestic standard masks but have not obtained relevant qualifications, the process will be expedited.
Article 6: Prudent management of corporate credit in the abnormal list is very important for enterprises to resume work and production. Enterprises listed in the abnormal business directory will be restricted and restricted in terms of registration, bidding, financing and loans, etc. In order to support enterprises that produce and operate materials related to epidemic prevention and control to resume work and production as soon as possible, relevant enterprises that have been included in the list of abnormal operations will be removed from the list of abnormal operations as soon as possible by the local market regulatory authorities upon application by the enterprises and announced on the publicity system. Enterprises that have temporarily lost contact due to the impact of the epidemic may not be included in the list of abnormal operations for the time being.
Article 7: Strictly investigate arbitrary charges and price increases. Prices are the core of the market mechanism. Maintaining market price order and maintaining market price stability are crucial to reducing the costs and burdens of enterprises resuming work and production. At present, it will take some time for the industrial chain to fully recover, and market price fluctuations are showing signs of being transmitted from the consumer end to the upstream production end. Market supervision departments will strengthen price and charging supervision to create a good price and charging environment for enterprises to resume work and production. On the one hand, we will strictly investigate arbitrary charging behaviors such as failure to implement preferential and reduction measures for fees by administrative institutions, setting up margin projects without authorization, and forcing fees during the loan process of commercial banks. On the other hand, illegal activities such as collusion in price increases and price gouging shall be seriously investigated and punished in accordance with the law to prevent the overall market price disorder of prevention and control materials caused by changes in the market prices of machinery, equipment, raw and auxiliary materials, and resolutely maintain the overall stability of prices in the production, wholesale, and sales of prevention and control materials.
Article 8: Strengthen quality and technical services to assist enterprises in resuming work and production. Many of them require corresponding measurement, standards, certification and accreditation, inspection and testing services. The market supervision departments should further give full play to their responsibilities and advantages, take active actions, and proactively provide services. For the type evaluation of manufacturing measuring instruments, dedicated personnel will be assigned to the post, time will be reduced, and the validity period of expired measuring standard instruments will be extended. Encourage standardization technical organizations and institutions to provide standardization consultation, carry out standards comparison studies, and help enterprises establish and improve standard systems. Certification, accreditation and inspection and testing agencies give priority to 3C certification related to health and safety, and adopt online services, postponed on-site audits and other methods to meet the needs of enterprises.
Article 9: Reduction or exemption of technical service fees During the epidemic, enterprises face many difficulties and burdens in production and operation. Reducing fees and burdens is the due responsibility of all parties. The State Administration for Market Regulation has once again significantly reduced or exempted technical service fees for its affiliated institutions’ technical services such as quality inspection, metrological testing, special equipment inspection, and standardized services, based on the previous implementation of the State Council’s request to reduce related fees. Metrology and verification institutions, product quality inspection and testing institutions, and special equipment inspection and testing institutions affiliated to the State Administration for Market Regulation will reduce the fees for verification and calibration of measuring instruments, product quality inspection and testing items, and special equipment inspection items by 50% for enterprises that resume work and production. All types of verification, calibration, and inspection and testing fees will be waived for enterprises in Hubei Province. The standardization technology agency affiliated to the State Administration for Market Regulation waives fees for Chinese and foreign standards information consulting services, standard timeliness confirmation and standard translation.
Article 10: Encourage enterprises to participate in the “Three Guarantees” action. The State Administration for Market Regulation has launched a series of activities to “guarantee price, guarantee quality, and guarantee supply”. The purpose is to build a platform for communication and mutual trust between people’s livelihood expectations and corporate responsibilities. By promoting enterprises’ public commitments, implementing the main responsibilities, stabilizing market expectations, gathering the joint efforts of the whole society for epidemic prevention and control, and effectively ensuring that the prices of epidemic prevention supplies and important people’s livelihood commodities do not increase, the quality does not decrease, and the supply is continuous. Since the launch of the “Three Guarantees” campaign on January 29, as of February 26, 7,893 companies have officially participated in the “Three Guarantees” commitment, covering production and processing, circulation, catering, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, materials and other industries. In the “Three Guarantees” campaign, participating companies actively fulfilled their commitments, continuously innovated business models, accelerated the restoration and improvement of production capacity, worked hard to open up sources of goods, smoothed supply and marketing channels, strengthened the safety protection of production and operation sites and consumption environments, and played an active role in ensuring price stability, quality safety, and market supply. It is necessary to continue to encourage and guide more enterprises to participate in the “three guarantees” action and continuously increase the coverage of activities.
The implementation of the “Ten Measures to Support the Resumption of Work and Production” requires further refinement and implementation by various localities to provide tangible support to enterprises and form a good policy effect. Market supervision, drug supervision, and intellectual property departments at all levels must improve their political stance, strengthen their awareness of the overall situation, actively assume their responsibilities, closely integrate with the actual situation of each place, further refine the ten policy measures, and implement them in detail, so as to better serve the resumption of work and production of enterprises, and resolutely win the battle against epidemic prevention and control.