Official Reply of the State Council to the Overall Proposals for the Pilot Reform of Separation of an Operating Permit and a Business License in Shanghai Municipality
Official Reply of the State Council to the Overall Proposals for the Pilot Reform of Separation of an Operating Permit and a Business License in Shanghai Municipality
Official Reply of the State Council to the Overall Proposals for the Pilot Reform of Separation of an Operating Permit and a Business License in Shanghai Municipality
Guo Han [2015] No.222
December 22, 2015
The Shanghai Municipal People's Government,
Your request for the approval of the Overall Proposals for the Pilot Reform of Separation of an Operating Permit and a Business License in Shanghai Municipality has been received. Our official reply is hereby given as follows:
I. Approval is hereby given to the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license in Pudong New Area of Shanghai Municipality, with the period of three years from the date of the official reply. The Overall Proposals for the Pilot Reform of Separation of an Operating Permit and a Business License in Shanghai Municipality (hereinafter referred to as the "Overall Proposals") are approved in principle and you shall diligently organize the implementation thereof.
II. The Shanghai Municipal People's Government shall, according to the decisions and plans of the Party's Central Committee and the State Council, focus on advancing the streamlining of administration and delegation of powers to lower levels while improving regulation and on optimizing services, carry out the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license to further clean up and cancel a batch of administrative licensing items, advance the replacement of examination and approval with record-filing of a batch of administrative licensing items, and advance the implementation of informing and commitment system for a batch of administrative licensing items so as to improve the transparency and predictability of handling administrative licensing items, release the vitality of enterprises in innovation and entrepreneurship, strengthen the economic development power, and create a legal, international and facilitated business environment, providing replicable experience for further advancing the reform of administration system.
III. The Shanghai Municipal People's Government is required to strengthen the organization and leadership concerning the implementation of the Overall Proposals. Make up its mind to accelerating the transformation of government functions, select some fields that may be operated and managed easily in Pudong New Area for the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license, and provide enterprises with convenient, efficient and quality services to improve constantly their market competitiveness. At the same time, further explore effective methods and measures for strengthening interim and ex-post regulation, and establish a comprehensive regulatory system to improve the regulatory efficiency for more flexible liberation, excellent management and quality services.
IV. The relevant departments under the State Council shall, according to their own duties, support actively Shanghai Municipality in carrying out the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license to test some major reform measures in administrative examination and approval system. The Office of the Administrative Approval System Reform and the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce shall, in concert with the relevant departments, strengthen guidance, and organize the implementation of evaluation to advance the proper implementation of reform measures of the Overall Proposals.
V. During the pilot reform, the implementation of certain provisions of relevant administrative regulations, the documents of the State Council and the departmental rules approved by the State Council shall be adjusted temporarily, and the specific adjustments will be separately issued by the State Council. Relevant departments under the State Council shall, in accordance with the Overall Proposals, adjust accordingly the rules and normative documents formulated thereby; and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government may, according to the conditions of the pilot reform, make courageous exploration and expand the pilot reform fields steadily. The Shanghai Municipal People's Government shall report in timely manner the major problems in the implementation of the Overall Proposals to the State Council for instruction.
Overall Proposals for the Pilot Reform of Separation of an Operating Permit and a Business License in Shanghai Municipality
The Overall Proposals are formulated with a view to implementing the decisions and plans of the Party's Central Committee and the State Council, accelerating the transformation of government functions, fully activating the vitality of market entities in innovation and entrepreneurship, and taking the lead in carrying out the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license in Pudong New Area of Shanghai Municipality.
I. Significance of Reform
The pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license is of great significance for clarifying the relationship between the government and the market, streamlining the administration and delegating powers to lower levels, innovating government administration modes and strengthening the status of market entities. Firstly, the pilot reform is conductive to vitalizing market entities. Through the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license, we can further clean up and cancel a batch of administrative licensing items, advance the replacement of examination and approval with record-filing of a batch of administrative licensing items, and advance the implementation of informing and commitment system for a batch of administrative licensing items so as to improve the transparency and predictability of handling administrative licensing items, release the vitality of enterprises in innovation and entrepreneurship and strengthen the economic development power. Secondly, the pilot reform is conductive to accelerating the transformation of government functions. Through the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license, we can promote the transformation of administrative ideas and improve the regulatory efficiency for more flexible liberation, excellent management and quality services. Thirdly, the pilot reform is conducive to creating a legal, international and facilitated business environment. Providing convenient, efficient and quality services through the pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license may help an enterprise adapt itself to the established international investment and trade rules and improve its market competitiveness.
II. General Requirements
The pilot reform of separation of an operating permit and a business license, an important step to advance the streamlining of administration and delegation of powers to lower levels while improving regulation and to optimize services, focuses mainly on solving the problems encountered by a market entity in applying for an operating permit under the mode of "issuing a business license before an operating permit". Further improve the market access administration to facilitate more convenient and efficient permit application by enterprises by reforming the examination and approval manner and strengthening comprehensive regulation. Cancel the administrative examination and approval or replace the same with record-filing management for the operating activities which may be decided by an enterprise independently; simplify the examination and approval manner and implement the informing and commitment system if the examination and approval for an administrative license cannot be cancelled temporarily; simplify the service process and publicize the service procedure to improve the transparency and predictability of the examination and approval if it is unsuitable to adopt the informing and commitment system for certain administrative licensing items; strengthen the market access administration continuously and enhance the prevention of risks in certain fields relating to national security or public security. Further explore effective methods and measures for strengthening the interim and ex-post regulation and establish a comprehensive regulatory system to strengthen practically the composite force of regulation and to improve the regulatory efficiency.
III. Reform Mode
According to the requirements for easy operation and manageability, 116 administrative licensing items (see the Schedule for details), which are subject to examination and approval frequently and have obvious reform effect, are selected from those related closely to the operating activities of an enterprise for pilot reform. The pilot reform shall be promoted by classification and deepened according to the different situation of administrative licensing items.
(I) Cancel the examination and approval. For the items subject to the effective adjustment by market competition mechanism and the effective industrial self-discipline management by industrial organizations or intermediaries, cancel the administrative examination and approval and implement the industrial self-discipline management to allow enterprises to carry out directly relevant operating activities. Such provisions are applicable to the ten administrative licensing items including the examination and approval of the establishment of recordable CD manufacturers.
(II) Replace the examination and approval with record-filing management. In order to obtain the relevant accurate information in a timely manner to better guide the industrial development, formulate industrial policies and safeguard the public interests, the government applies the record-filing management to administrative licensing items. According to the required record-filing conditions, an enterprise may carry out relevant operating activities once it submits the relevant materials to the relevant government departments; if any department finds that any enterprise has an act of violating laws or regulations, it shall order the enterprise to make corrections or impose a punishment on the enterprise by strengthening the interim and ex-post regulation. A government department is not responsible for the approval or licensing of record-filing materials. Such provisions are applicable to the six administrative licensing items including the examination and approval of processing trade contracts.
(III) Simplify the examination and approval and implement the informing and commitment system. For the administrative licensing items for which the examination and approval cannot be cancelled for the time being, where any act that is not in compliance with the approval conditions can be corrected by interim and ex-post regulation and no serious consequence arises, the informing and commitment system shall be implemented. For the administrative licensing items subject to the informing and commitment system, the administrative examination and approval departments will prepare a letter of informing and commitment and provide a model text for the applicant, informing the enterprise of the examination and approval conditions and the materials required to be submitted at one stroke; the enterprise may handle the relevant administrative licensing items immediately if it undertakes to meet the examination and approval conditions and submits the relevant materials. An applicant may conduct the licensed acts only after it reaches the statutory licensing conditions. Such provisions are applicable to the 26 administrative licensing items including licensing of motor vehicle maintenance business.
(IV) Improve the transparency and predictability of examination and approval. For the administrative licensing items for which the examination and approval cannot be cancelled for the time being and it is not suitable to adopt the informing and commitment system, simplify the service process, publicize the service procedure, advance the standard management and online service, clarify the examination and approval standard and time limit, and minimize the right of discretion in examination and approval to the maximum extent so as to realize the transparency of handling and the definite predictability of handling results. Such provisions are applicable to the 41 administrative licensing items including the examination and approval of the establishment of accounting firms and their branches.
(V) Strengthen the market access administration over specific activities related to public security. For the administrative licensing items concerning the specific activities relating directly to the national security, public security and ecological environment protection and directly mattering personal health and life and property safety, strengthen the risk control and market access administration according to the established international rules. Such provisions are applicable to the 33 administrative licensing items including the examination and approval of the establishment of operational Internet cultural entities.
IV. Comprehensive Regulatory Measures
(I) Implement coordinated regulation based on the interconnection and sharing of information. Clarify the market regulation duties of the relevant government departments, establish a market regulation mechanism with the interconnection of registration, administrative examination and approval, and industry taking charge to promote the systems including "the system of informing both entities and examination and approval departments of handling examination and approval formalities" and the "system of random selection of inspection objects and inspectors". Establish a mechanism for interconnection and sharing of market regulation information to advance the communication of information and sharing of resources, realizing the real-time transfer and barrier-free exchange of information among the industrial and commercial departments, the examination and approval departments, the competent industrial departments and other departments. Strengthen the cross-departmental coordination and response to form a joint punishment mechanism of "violation in one aspect leads to restrictions in all aspects". Promote the unified market regulation and comprehensive law enforcement pattern, integrate regulation departments and reduce regulatory levels to enhance the regulatory efficiency.
(II) Implement classification-based regulation through good faith management. Speed up the construction and application of a public credit information platform, establish an administrative examination and approval credibility archive system, classify the regulation targets according to their daily operating activities, credit evaluation information and other credibility information, and establish a corresponding incentive mechanism, an early warning mechanism and a punishment mechanism. Perfect the enterprise information publicity system and the system of random inspection of information publicized, and improve the system of a list of enterprises operating abnormally and the system of a blacklist of enterprises with serious violations.
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