Electronic Commerce Law of People’s Republic of China
No.77 Decree of the President of the People's Republic of China
Electronic Commerce Law of People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 5th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteen National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on August 31, 2018, is hereby issued and shall come into force from January 1, 2019.
Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China
August 31, 2018
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Electronic Commerce Dealers
Section I General Rules
Section II Electronic Commerce Platform Dealers
Chapter III Conclusion and Performance of Electronic Commerce Contracts
Chapter IV Settlement of Electronic Commerce Disputes
Chapter V Promotion of Electronic Commerce
Chapter VI Legal Liability
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted for purposes of safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of all parties to electronic commerce, regulating electronic commerce conduct, maintaining the market order, and promoting the sustainable and sound development of electronic commerce.
Article 2 This Law shall apply to electronic commerce activities within the territory of the People's Republic of China.
The term "electronic commerce" as used in this Law refers to the business activities of selling commodities or providing services through the Internet or any other information network.
Where any other law or administrative regulations provide for sale of commodities or provision of services, such other law or administrative regulations shall apply. This Law shall apply to neither financial products and services nor services in provision of news information, audio or video programs, publication and cultural products, or any other content aspect through information network.
Article 3 The State shall encourage the development of new electronic commerce types and the innovation on business models, promote the research, development, promotion and application of electronic commerce technologies, advance the development of the electronic commerce honesty system, create a market environment favorable to innovative development of electronic commerce, and maximize the role of electronic commerce in promoting quality development, satisfying the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, and building an open economy.
Article 4 The State shall treat online and offline business activities equally and promote integrated development online and offline, and the people's governments and relevant authorities at all levels may neither take discriminatory policies and measures nor abuse administrative power to exclude or restrict market competition.
Article 5 An electronic commerce dealer shall, in business operation, abide by the principles of voluntariness, equality, equity and integrity, observe the law and business ethics, fairly participate in market competition, implement obligations in aspects including protection of consumer rights and interests, environmental protection, intellectual property rights, cybersecurity and individual information, assume responsibility for quality of products or services, and accept the supervision by the government and the public.
Article 6 The relevant authorities of the State Council shall be responsible for the promotion, supervision and management of electronic commerce in accordance with the division of responsibilities. The local people's governments at or above the county level may, according to the actual conditions of their respective administrative regions, determine the division of departmental responsibilities for electronic commerce within their respective administrative regions.
Article 7 The State establishes a collaborative management system that conforms to the characteristics of electronic commerce, and promotes the formation of an electronic commerce market governance system in which relevant authorities, electronic commerce industry organizations, electronic commerce dealers, and consumers participate.
Article 8 An electronic commerce industry association shall, according to its bylaws, conduct industry self-discipline, establish and improve industry specifications, promote the building of industry honesty, and supervise and guide businesses in the industry so that they fairly participate in market competition.
Chapter II Electronic Commerce Dealers
Section I General Rules
Article 9 The term "electronic commerce dealers" as used in this Law refers to natural persons, legal persons or organizations without the status of legal person that engage in the commercial activities of selling commodities, or providing services, through the Internet or any other information network, including electronic commerce platform dealers, in-platform dealers, and electronic commerce dealers that sell commodities or provide services though a self-built website or any other network services.
The term "electronic commerce platform dealers" as used in this Law refers to a legal person, or an organization without the status of legal person, which, in electronic commerce , provides both or multiple parties to trading with services, such as online places of business, brokering deal, and releasing information, for them to independently conduct trading.
The term “dealer within the platform” as used in this Law refers to an electronic commerce dealer who sells commodities or provides services through an electronic commerce platform.
Article 10 An electronic commerce dealer shall make market participant registration according to the law. unless it, as an individual, sells agricultural or sideline products produced by it, or products of a cottage industry, or uses its own skills to engage in public convenience services, or low-value transactions, for which no permit is required by law, or no registration is required by laws or administrative regulations.
Article 11 An electronic commerce dealer shall, according to the law, perform the duty of tax payment and enjoy tax incentives.
An electronic commerce dealer not required to make market participant registration under the provisions of the preceding Article shall, upon the happening of the first duty of payment of tax, as required by the laws and administrative regulations in relation to tax collection administration, apply for tax registration and faithfully declare tax returns.
Article 12 Where an electronic commerce dealer, in business operation, is required by law to obtain a relevant administrative license, it shall do so according to the law.
Article 13 An electronic commerce dealer shall sell commodities or provide services meeting the requirements for guaranteeing personal and property safety and those for environmental protection and shall not sell or provide commodities or services the trading of which is prohibited by any law or administrative regulation.
Article 14 An electronic commerce dealer shall, when selling commodities or providing services, issue hard-copy or electronic invoices or other documents of purchasing commodities or providing services, according to the law. An electronic invoice shall have the same legal effect as the hard-copy invoice.
Article 15 An electronic commerce dealer shall, at a conspicuous place of its homepage, continuously publish the information on its business license, administrative permit(s) relating to its business, and the circumstances not requiring it to make market participant registration as provided in Article 10 of this Law, among others, or the mark of the link to the aforesaid information.
Where the information for the purpose of the preceding paragraph is modified, the electronic commerce dealer shall promptly update and publish the information.
Article 16 Where an electronic commerce dealer is to independently terminate its electronic commerce operation, it shall, 30 days in advance, continuously publish the relevant information at a conspicuous place of its homepage.
Article 17 An electronic commerce dealer shall fully, authentically, accurately, and promptly disclose the information on commodities or services to safeguard consumers' rights to know and to opt. An electronic commerce dealer may neither conduct false or misleading commercial promotion by fabricating transactions, making up user comments or any other means nor defraud or mislead consumers.
Article 18 When providing the results of search for commodities or services for a consumer based on the hobby, consumption habit, or any other traits thereof, the electronic commerce dealer shall provide the consumer with an option of not targeting his/her identifiable traits and respect and equally protect the lawful rights and interests of consumers.
An electronic commerce dealer shall send advertisements to consumers according to the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 19 Where an electronic commerce dealer performs tie-in sale of commodities or services, it shall request consumers to pay attention in a conspicuous manner and shall not set the said tie-in sale as a default option.
Article 20 An electronic commerce dealer shall deliver commodities or services to consumers according to its commitment or in the manner and period stipulated with a consumer and assume risks and liability in relation to the shipment, unless the consumer separately chooses another logistics service provider.
Article 21 Where an electronic commerce dealer collects deposits from consumers as agreed, it shall expressly state the manner and procedure for the refund of the deposits, and shall not set unreasonable conditions. Where a consumer applies for the refund of his/her deposit and meets the condition therefor, the electronic commerce dealer shall make a refund in a timely manner.
Article 22 Where an electronic commerce dealer has a dominant market position on account of its technological advantage, number of users, control of the relevant industry, other dealers' reliance on the electronic commerce dealer in trading, or any other factor, the electronic commerce dealer shall not abuse the dominant market position to exclude or restrict competition.
Article 23 An electronic commerce dealer shall, when collecting or using the individual information of its users, observe the rules for protection of individual information in the relevant laws and administrative regulations.
Article 24 An electronic commerce dealer shall explicitly explain the means of and procedures for search, correction or deletion of user information and user deregistration and shall not establish unreasonable conditions for search, correction or deletion of user information and user deregistration.
An electronic commerce dealer shall, upon verification of identity, approve an application for search, correction or deletion of user information in a timely manner. In the case of user deregistration, an electronic commerce dealer shall immediately delete the information of the user unless otherwise provided by any law or administrative regulations, or stipulated by the parties.
Article 25 Where the relevant authorities require, according to any law or administrative regulations, an electronic commerce business to provide relevant electronic commerce data information, the electronic commerce business shall do so. The relevant authorities shall take necessary measures to protect the security of the data information provided by the electronic commerce dealer, strictly keep confidential the individual information, privacy, and trade secrets therein, and shall not divulge, sell, or illegally provide it to any other person.
Article 26 An electronic commerce dealer shall engage in cross-border electronic commerce according to the laws, administrative regulations, and other relevant provisions issued by the states on the supervision and administration of import and export.
Section II Electronic Commerce Platform Dealers
Article 27 An electronic commerce platform dealer shall request a dealer applying for selling commodities or providing services on its platform to submit authentic information including its identity, address, contact information, and administrative permits, make verification and registration, establish a register, and make regular updates and verification.
When an electronic commerce platform dealer provides services for non-dealer users selling commodities or providing services in the platform, the electronic commerce platform dealer shall observe the relevant rules established in the present Section.
Article 28 An electronic commerce platform dealer shall submit the identity information of in-platform dealers to the administrative authorities of market regulation as required, prompt a business not making market participant registration to make registration as legally required, cooperate with the administrative authorities of market regulation, and based on the characteristics of electronic commerce , provide businesses required to make market participants with registration facilitation.
An electronic commerce platform dealer shall submit the identity information and the information relative to tax of the in-platform dealers to the taxation authorities, according to the laws and administrative regulations in relation to tax collection administration, and prompt electronic commerce platform dealers, which are not required to make market participants registration, under Article 10 of this Law, to make tax registration under paragraph 2, Article 11 of this Law.
Article 29 Where an electronic commerce platform dealer discovers that any information on commodities or services on its platform falls under any circumstances in violation of Article 12 or Article 13 of this Law, it shall take necessary disposition measures in accordance with the law and make a report to the relevant competent authorities.
Article 30 An electronic commerce platform dealer shall take technological measures and other necessary measures to ensure its cybersecurity and stable operation, prevent online illegal and criminal activities, effectively tackle cybersecurity events, and guarantee electronic commerce trading safety.
An electronic commerce platform dealer shall make a contingency plan for cybersecurity events and when a cybersecurity event occurs, it shall launch the contingency plan forthwith, take corresponding remedial measures, and make a report to the relevant competent authorities.
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II E-commerce Dealers
Section I General Rules
Section II E-commerce Platform Dealers
Chapter III Conclusion and Performance of E-commerce Contracts
Chapter IV Settlement of E-Commerce Disputes
Chapter V Promotion of E-Commerce
Chapter VI Legal Liability
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions