The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine ("AQSIQ") has recently released the Rules for the Recall of Defective Imported Consumer Goods (the "Rules"), immediately effective from the issue date.
The Rules state that an investigation may be opened into defective products under any of four circumstances, such as "where the problematic products have been recalled in other countries or regions, but domestic measures have not been taken yet to have them recalled". Further, the Rules expressly state that the importer in charge of implementing the recall, shall, within five working days from the date the recall plan is filed under a record, issue an announcement through newspapers, websites, broadcast, television programs or by any other means easily accessible to the general public, to have people informed of flaws in consumer goods it offers, emergency response methods to prevent any unexpected damages, what measures it will take to eliminate such flaws, and other relevant matters. The AQSIQ and its Risk Assessment Research Center for Industrial and Consumer Product will release information on the recall among the general public in time. Furthermore, the Rules stipulate that where there is evidence proving that the imported consumer goods concerned caused or are likely to cause serious personal injuries or damages to property, the AQSIQ may give the general public a consumption warning.