China's Draft Printing License Rules: Easier Entry, Stronger Oversight for Packaging Printers

On April 29, the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese government's legislative information website jointly issued the Provisions on the Qualification Conditions of Printing Business Operators (Draft for Comment) and opened it for public feedback.

Lighter approval, heavier oversight

It is common knowledge that the qualification rules for printing operators provide the legal foundation for applying for a printing business license, and they significantly affect the day-to-day operations of printing and packaging companies.

Compared with earlier rules, the draft's central direction can be summarized as 'relax at the approval stage, tighten at the supervision stage.'

1. Approval conditions relaxed further

Under the earlier 'streamlining administration, delegating power, improving regulation and optimizing services' reform, the requirement for packaging and decorative printing to have two machines made within ten years and not included in the elimination catalogue (with no restrictions on machine count or age) was already scrapped. The current draft goes further by easing the requirements for publication printing applicants:

The equipment threshold falls from two machines to one;

The acceptable equipment range expands from only automatic folio offset presses to automatic folio offset and flexographic presses, or one production digital printing machine.

1. Regulatory measures strengthened further

For applicants seeking to engage in publication printing or packaging and decorative printing, the draft calls for complete business and financial management systems covering print verification, registration, storage, delivery and destruction, along with a quality assurance system (for other printed materials and special permits such as typesetting, plate-making and binding, the old version already had such requirements). In addition, the draft requires:

The batch quality of printed products from printing operators must meet national or industry standards;

Annual reports must be filed via the annual report disclosure platform.

The draft states that if the above two requirements are breached, or if the Printing Regulations Training Certificate is not obtained, the publication administration department of a county-level or higher local people's government shall order correction and, depending on the severity, issue a warning and impose a fine of no more than RMB 30,000.

Full text of the draft rules

Article 1: These Provisions are formulated under the Regulations on the Administration of the Printing Industry and relevant laws and regulations to regulate printing operators' business activities, create a fair competitive market, raise the quality and level of printing supply, and drive high-quality development of the printing sector.

Article 2: For these Provisions, 'printing industry operators' include entities involved in publication printing, packaging and decorative printed materials, and special typesetting, plate-making and binding activities, as well as entities or individuals engaged in printing other printed materials.

Article 3: A party applying to conduct publication printing business activities must satisfy the following conditions:

(1) It has completed industrial and commercial registration, holds legal person status, and its business scope covers printing business activities;

(2) It has a fixed production and business site that fits its business needs;

(3) It has funds sufficient to maintain normal production and operation;

(4) It has the necessary publication printing equipment: at least one automatic folio offset or flexographic printing machine manufactured within the most recent 10 years (as of the application submission date) and not listed in the Restricted and Eliminated Categories of the Catalogue for Guiding Industry Restructuring, or one production digital printing machine;

(5) It has an organizational structure and personnel suited to its business needs;

(6) It has sound business and financial management systems covering print verification, registration, storage, delivery and destruction, plus a quality assurance system.

Article 4: A foreign-invested enterprise applying for publication printing activities must meet Article 3 conditions and also comply with restrictive special administrative measures in the negative list for foreign investment access. In pilot free trade zones, wholly foreign-owned enterprises may apply for publication printing activities. Preferential opening measures for investors from Hong Kong and Macao, Taiwan region investors, or printing investment in other special economic zones follow relevant rules.

Article 5: A party applying to conduct packaging and decorative printed materials printing must meet these conditions:

(1) It has completed industrial and commercial registration, holds legal person status, and its business scope covers printing business activities;

(2) It has a fixed production and business site that fits its business needs;

(3) It has funds sufficient to maintain normal production and operation;

(4) It has the necessary packaging and decorative printing equipment;

(5) It has an organizational structure and personnel suited to its business needs;

(6) It has sound business and financial management systems covering print verification, registration, storage, delivery and destruction, plus a quality assurance system.

Article 6: A party applying to conduct printing of other printed materials must meet these conditions:

(1) It has completed industrial and commercial registration, and its business scope covers printing business activities;

(2) It has a fixed production and business site that fits its business needs;

(3) It has funds sufficient to maintain normal production and operation;

(4) It has production equipment suited to its business needs;

(5) It has an organizational structure and personnel suited to its business needs;

(6) It has sound business and financial management systems covering print verification, registration, storage, delivery and destruction, plus a quality assurance system.

Article 7: A party applying to conduct special typesetting, plate-making and binding activities must meet these conditions:

(1) It has completed industrial and commercial registration, holds legal person status, and its business scope covers printing business activities;

(2) It has a fixed production and business site that fits its business needs;

(3) It has funds sufficient to maintain normal production and operation;

(4) It has the necessary typesetting, plate-making and binding equipment: at least one pre-press or post-press processing machine manufactured within the most recent 10 years (as of the application submission date) and not listed in the Restricted and Eliminated Categories of the Catalogue for Guiding Industry Restructuring;

(5) It has an organizational structure and personnel suited to its business needs;

(6) It has sound business and financial management systems covering print verification, registration, storage, delivery and destruction, plus a quality assurance system.

Article 8: A printing industry operator running multiple types of printing business must simultaneously satisfy the qualification conditions for each corresponding category.

Article 9: The publication administration department must decide whether to approve an application within 20 working days from receipt. If approved, it issues a printing business license and notes the types of printing activities in the business scope. If the application uses a production digital printing machine, the business scope must state 'engaging in printing publications, packaging and decorative printed materials and other printed materials by digital printing.' If rejected, the applicant must be notified with reasons.

Article 10: Publication administration departments must review printing business applications under these Provisions and cannot approve applications that fail the conditions. Applications for publication printing, or applications using a production digital printing machine, are approved by the publication administration department of the provincial people's government. Applications for packaging and decorative printed materials printing, other printed materials printing, and special typesetting, plate-making and binding are approved by the publication administration department of a city divided into districts.

Article 11: In addition to these Provisions, approval of printing business applications must also align with the publication administration department's plans for the total number, structure and layout of printing enterprises, and with other conditions set by laws and regulations.

Article 12: In conducting printing business activities, a printing industry operator must, beyond the above rules, also meet the following conditions:

(1) The enterprise's legal representative and key persons in charge of production and operation must receive regulatory training as required by the publication administration department and obtain the Printing Regulations Training Certificate;

(2) The batch quality of printed products produced by printing operators must meet national or industry standards;

(3) Annual reports must be submitted on time through the annual report disclosure platform as required by the publication administration department.

If this Article is violated, the publication administration department of a county-level or higher local people's government shall order correction and, depending on the severity, issue a warning and impose a fine of no more than RMB 30,000.

Article 13: Printing-related administrative approval matters included in the 'separating licenses from certificates' reform are handled under relevant provisions.

Article 14: Publication administration departments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may formulate implementation rules based on these Provisions and local printing industry management realities.

Article 15: These Provisions take effect on the date of promulgation. The Interim Provisions on Qualification Conditions for Printing Industry Operators issued by the former General Administration of Press and Publication on November 9, 2001, and the Interim Provisions on Establishing Foreign-Invested Printing Enterprises issued by the former General Administration of Press and Publication and the former Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation on January 29, 2002, together with their series of supplementary provisions, are repealed at the same time.

—Reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-377318.html