Chapter II Supervision over Product Quality
Article 12 The quality of a product shall undergo inspection until it proves to be up to the standards. No sub-standard product may be passed off as an up-to-standard one.
Article 13 Industrial products constituting potential threats to human health, personal safety and safety of property shall be in conformity with the national standards and sectoral standards for ensuring human health, personal safety and safety of property; with regard to products for which there are no national or sectoral standards to measure up to, products shall meet the requirements for ensuring human, personal safety and safety of property. Manufacturing and selling of industrial products that do not conform to the standards and requirements for ensuring human health, personal safety and safety of property are prohibited. The specific administrative measures shall be prescribed by the State Council.
Article 14 The State applies, in light of the quality control standards used internationally, the practice of authentication with respect to the quality series of enterprises. An enterprise may, on a voluntary basis, apply for authentication with respect to its quality series to an authentication body approved by the department for supervision over product quality under the State Council or by a department authorized by the said department. The enterprise that is authenticated as qualified shall be issued an authentication certificate for its quality series by the authentication body.The State applies, in light of the internationally advanced product standards and technical requirements, the system for product quality authentication. An enterprise may, on a voluntary basis, apply for authentication with respect to the quality of its products to an authentication body approved by the department for supervision over product quality under the State Council or by a department authorized by the said department. The enterprise whose product quality is authenticated as up-to-standard shall be issued an authentication certificate for its product quality by the authentication body and shall be permitted to use product quality authentication mark on its products or the packages thereof.
Article 15 The State, with respect to product quality, applies a system of supervision and inspection with random checking as the main form. Products constituting potential threats to human health, to personal safety and to safety of property, important industrial products which have a bearing on the national economy and the people’s wellbeing, and products with quality problems as reported by consumers or relevant organizations shall be subjected to random checking. Samples for random checking shall, at any time, be selected from the market or from among the finished products ready for sale in the storehouse of an enterprise. Supervision and random checking shall be planned and arranged by the department for supervision over product quality under the State Council. The local departments for supervision over product quality in the people’s governments at or above the county level may also make arrangements for supervision and random checking within their respective administrative regions. Where laws provide otherwise with respect to supervision over and inspection of product quality, the provisions of such laws shall apply. Local departments may not repeat random checking already conducted by State departments; departments at lower levels may not repeat random checking already conducted by departments at higher levels. Products may be inspected where random checking of such products so requires, but the amount of samples selected for inspection may not exceed the reasonable need of the inspection and no fees may be charged from the enterprises concerned. The expenses thus incurred shall be disbursed in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State Council. Where producers or sellers have objections to the result of inspection, they may, within 15 days from the date the result is received, apply to the department for supervision over product quality that has conducted the random checking or its superior for re-inspection. The department for supervision over product quality that conducts the re-inspection shall make a conclusion afterwards.
Article 16 No producers or sellers may refuse to undergo supervision over and inspection of their product quality conducted in accordance with law.
Article 17 Where the quality of a product is proved to be not up to standard after random checking is conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the department for supervision over product quality that has conducted random checking shall order the producer and/or seller to improve it within a time limit. If the producer and/or seller fails to do so at the expiration of the time limit, the matter shall be announced by the department for supervision over product quality under the people’s government at or above the provincial level; if the product quality fails to pass re-inspection conducted after the announcement, the producer shall be ordered to discontinue production and/or business operation for overhaul within a time limit; if it again fails to pass another re-inspection conducted at the expiration of the time limit, the producer’s and/or seller’s business license shall be revoked. Where a product is found through random checking to have serious quality problems, punishment shall be meted out in accordance with the relevant provisions in Chapter V of this Law.
Article 18 The departments for supervision over product quality at or above the county level may, on the basis of the obtained evidence for or information against suspected violations of this law, exercise the following functions and powers when investigating and handling such violations:
(1) to conduct on-the-spot inspection of the place where the party is suspected of engaging in production or sale activities in violation of this Law;
(2) to conduct investigation among the legal representative of the party, the person who is chiefly in charge, and other persons concerned for information related to the production or sale activities engaged in by the suspected party in violation of this Law;
(3) to look into and duplicate the contracts, invoices and account books concerning the party and other relevant material; and
(4) to seal up or seize the products which are regarded, on the basis of evidence, as not being in conformity with the national or sectoral standards for ensuring human health, personal safety and safety of property or as having other kinds of serious quality problems, and the raw and supplementary materials, package materials and production tools that are used directly for the manufacture and sale of such products.
Administrative departments for industry and commerce at or above the county level may, within the scope of their functions and duties defined by the State Council, exercise the functions and powers mentioned in the preceding paragraph when investigating and handling suspected violations of this Law.
Article 19 Product quality inspection institutions shall have the necessary testing facilities and competence and shall undertake inspection of product quality only after being appraised and endorsed by the department for supervision over product quality under the people’s government at or above the provincial level or a department authorized by the said department. Where laws or administrative regulations provide otherwise with respect to the institutions for inspection of product quality, the provisions of such laws or administrative regulations shall apply.
Article 20 Intermediary bodies for product quality inspection or authentication shall be established in accordance with law, and they may not be subordinate to or have any relationship of interest with any administrative department or other state organs.
Article 21 Institutions for product quality inspection or authentication shall, on the basis of relevant standards, be objective and impartial in issuing the result of inspection or authentication certificate.
Institutions for product quality inspection or authentication shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State, conduct follow-up inspection of the products bearing the authentication mark with approval; where products not conforming to the standards for authentication bear such mark, it shall demand rectification; if the circumstances are serious, the products shall be disqualified from using the mark.
Article 22 Consumers shall have the right to make inquiries to the producers and sellers about the quality of their products. Where a complaint is made to a department for supervision over product quality, or to an administrative department for industry and commerce, or to any other department concerned, the department that receives the complaint shall be responsible for handling the case.
Article 23 Public organizations protecting the rights and interests of consumers may suggest that the department concerned dispose of the product quality problems as reported by consumers, and may support consumers in their efforts to bring a suit to a people’s court with respect to the damage caused by quality problems of products.
Article 24 The department for supervision over product quality under the State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall regularly issue Quality Status Bulletin regarding the products which they have conducted random checking.
Article 25 No departments for supervision over product quality, or other State organs, or institutions for product quality inspection may recommend any manufacturer’s products to the public, or participate in business activities in the form of supervision over the manufacture or sale of products. Chapter 3