Administrative Regulations of Shenzhen Special

Economic Zone on Price

(Adopted at the Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Second Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress on November 3, 1995.)

Chapter ¢ñ General Provisions

Article 1 In order to normalize the administration of price and pricing in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (hereinafter referred to as "Special Zone" ), maintain the market price order, and protect national interests as well as lawful rights and interests of operators and consumers, these regulations are formulated in accordance with the basic principles of national laws and administrative regulations involving price and the actual circumstances of Special Zone.

Article 2 These regulations shall be applicable to the pricing of national authorities, institutions and operators in Special Zone.

Article 3 The prices regulated in these regulations include the prices of commodities and the fees of operational services.

Article 4 The State protects fair and lawful pricing, and prohibits price frauds, monopolies and other illegitimate pricing.

Article 5 The price administration shall follow the principle of mainly depending on indirect administration and auxiliarily depending on direct administration. Special Zone exercises two price forms, namely, government-controlled price and operator-set price. The government-controlled price applies to the prices of important commodities and services, and the operator-set price applies to other commodities and services.

Article 6 The Shenzhen Municipal People' s Government (hereinafter referred to as "municipal government" ) shall set the targets for controlling the general price level and the schedule for adjustment of the price structure in accordance with national general price level, needs for social development, fiscal conditions and affordance of the enterprises and consumers, and shall place it in the annual plan of national economy and social development and organize to implement it.

Article 7 The administrative department for price of the municipal government is the competent department for price in Special Zone (hereinafter referred to as "municipal competent department" ). The administrative departments for price (hereinafter referred to as "district competent department" ) of the district people' s governments (hereinafter referred to as "district government" ) are responsible for price administration within their respective district areas.

The administrative departments of the municipal government for public security, industry and commerce and others shall assist the competent department to conduct price administration according to their respective duties and powers.

Each trade association shall carry out supervision to the pricing of its trade under the direction and supervision of the municipal and district competent departments.

Chapter ¢ò Rights and Obligations of Operators

Article 8 "Operators" in these regulations refers to the individuals, legal persons and other organizations that engage in production or sale of commodities, or providing paid services.

Article 9 Operators enjoy the following rights in pricing:

(1) to fix price or make suggestions about fixing or adjusting price according to the principles and measures of fixing the price enacted by the government, in case the pricing shall be controlled by the government;

(2) to determine and adjust the price autonomously, in case the pricing shall be undertaken by operators; and

(3) to report and complain the illegal pricing.

Article 10 The rights in pricing enjoyed by the operators are protected by the laws that no unit or individual can restrict or deprive of.

Article 11 The operators shall bear the following obligations in pricing:

(1) to observe the government-controlled price or the principles and measures of fixing the price enacted by the government, in case the pricing shall be controlled by the government;

(2) to provide relevant materials about price to the government in time and truly;

(3) to clearly mark the price to the commodities and services provided. to clearly indicate the government documents of fixing price in the place of business in case the pricing shall be undertaken by operators.

Article 12 Operators shall not undertake the following behaviors in pricing:

(1) to sell the commodities or provide services with the means of price fraud;

(2) to undertake price discrimination against the traders who are under the same trading conditions;

(3) to engage in competitive sale, provide services below cost price or purchase commodities with high price, with the aim to merge the rival or monopolize the market shares;

(4) to restrict the trade counterpart' s resale price; and

(5) other behaviors in pricing prohibited by laws and regulations.

Chapter ¢ó Powers and Duties of the Administrative Department for Price

Article 13 The powers and duties of municipal and district competent departments are:

(1) to implement and supervise the implementation of laws, regulations, rules and administrative measures in price, and enact concrete measures for price administration according to the actual circumstances of Special Zone;

(2) to fix and adjust prices under control of government within the assigned administrative powers in pricing. The fixation or adjustment of the prices of important commodities and services shall be reported to municipal government for approval;

(3) to be responsible for monitoring the market price, organize the production cost investigation, monitor the variation trend of market supply and demand as well as the variation trend of price, and to exchange the information about price;

(4) to protect the rights in pricing of the operators, direct the operators to establish and improve the system of internal management, and train and examine the price managerial personnel;

(5) to organize and direct price consulting service and other price intermediary services to carry out their work;

(6) to investigate and deal with illegal behaviors in pricing; and

(7) other powers and duties stipulated by laws and regulations.

Article 14 The powers and duties in pricing of other municipal government administrative departments are:

(1) to implement and supervise the implementation of laws, regulations, rules and administrative measures involving pricing;

(2) to fix and adjust government-controlled price within the assigned administrative powers in pricing, or make suggestions about price adjustment and provide relevant materials to municipal competent department;

(3) to direct and supervise the work of pricing within the administrative scope of this department, to coordinate the price deputes, and to assist the competent department to investigate and deal with illegal behaviors in pricing; and

(4) other powers and duties stipulated by laws and regulations.

Article 15 The municipal competent department and other municipal government administrative departments determine the assigned administrative powers according to the Price Administration Catalogs issued by the municipal government.

Article 16 The trade associations perform the following powers and duties:

(1) to organize their own trade associations to implement laws, regulations, rules and administrative measures involving pricing;

(2) to assist the municipal and district competent departments and other government administrative departments to investigate, supervise and inspect the behaviors in pricing of their trade;

(3) to make suggestions about the work of pricing in their trade to the municipal and district competent departments as well as other municipal government administrative departments; and

(4) to coordinate the price disputes in their trade.

Article 17 The municipal and district competent departments, other municipal government administrative departments, and the trade associations shall keep confidential the business secrets of the operators, while they perform the powers and duties stipulated in these regulations.

Chapter ¢ô Fixation and Administration of the Price

Article 18 "Government-controlled price" in these regulations refers to the prices fixed according to the assigned administrative power in pricing and procedures, and the prices regulated through principles and measures of determining prices by the municipal and district competent departments as well as other administrative departments.

Article 19 The municipal government shall establish the system of important commodity reserve, price regulation fund and necessary price subsidy. The concrete implementing measures shall be made by the municipal government separately.

Article 20 The municipal government shall establish the municipal price consulting committee to carry out consultation and hearing to the fixation and adjustment of important government-controlled price. The municipal price consulting committee consists of the representatives recommended by all circles. The concrete working measures of the municipal price consulting committee shall be made by the municipal government separately.

Article 21 The municipal competent department may establish price firm, which engages in price consultation and assessment as well as other services.

Article 22 The fixation and adjustment of the government-controlled price shall be based on the average production costs and reasonable profits, and consider the market supply and demand situation, the relationship of price ratio and the tolerance of the community.

Article 23 The prices of commodities and services with the characters of monopoly, coercion, public interests and resource protection shall exercise the government-controlled price.

Article 24 The procedures for fixing and adjusting the government-controlled price are:

(1) The applicant files a written application for fixing or adjusting price to the municipal or district competent department and provides the cost accounting materials used to fix or adjust price;

(2) The municipal or district competent department investigates and examines the written application and relevant materials, and solicits opinions from other municipal or district government administrative departments; as to the fixation and adjustment of important government-controlled prices, it shall solicit opinions from the municipal price consultation committee, trade association and social public;

(3) The municipal or district competent department shall make written decision for approving or disapproving the fixation or adjustment of price within 90 days from the receipt of the written application, and deliver it to the applicant.

As to the price programs fixed or adjusted by the administrative department for price of the municipal government or the State, the applicant shall file an application to municipal competent department according to the first paragraph of this Article. Having made suggestions about fixing or adjusting prices after examination, the municipal competent department shall report to the administrative department for price of the municipal government or the State for decision.

Other municipal government administrative departments shall consult the procedures stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article to fix or adjust the price, and the procedures shall be reported to the municipal competent department for record.

Article 25 When the regional great natural calamity or emergency results in serious circumstances of rising suddenly or slump in price, the municipal competent department, with the approval of the municipal government, may temporarily concentrate the powers in pricing, supervise and examine prices of partial commodities and services, make interim ceiling price or take the administrative measures of declaration for raising the price, putting the price adjustment on record, restricting the intermediate and other measures. If necessary, the municipal government, with the decision of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress, may take the administrative measures of freezing the price partially or totally.

Article 26 Other municipal government administrative departments shall obtain the consent of the municipal competent department in advance to make administrative measures involving price administration; If these administrative measures are issued arbitrarily without consent, the municipal competent department may refer them to the municipal government to revoke.

Chapter ¢õ Supervision over and Inspection of Pricing

Article 27 The municipal and district competent departments may establish price inspection agency to exercise the powers of supervision and inspection in pricing.

Other administrative departments of the municipal and district government shall assist the municipal and district competent department to carry out price supervision and inspection.

Article 28 The consumers' committee, trade association and other public organizations may supervise the behaviors in pricing.

Article 29 Any unit or individual shall have a right to boycott, report or complain the illegal behaviors in pricing. If their legal rights and interests are infringed upon, they have rights to ask for compensation.

Article 30 When the municipal or district price inspection agency investigates illegal cases in pricing, it may collect and investigate relevant materials about price. The investigated unit or individual shall reflect conditions and provide materials truly. No unit or individual may hinder or interfere the law enforcement activities of the administrative law enforcement personnel.

Article 31 For the illegal behaviors in pricing whose fact is clear, evidence is irrefutable, fine is less than 3,000 yuan, if the party has no disagreement, the price inspection agency may make the punishment on the spot. If making the punishment on the spot, the price inspection agency shall produce the notice of punishment decision on the spot.

When the punishment is made on the spot according to the preceding paragraph, the administrative law enforcement personnel of the price inspection agency shall make records on the scene, which shall record the basic conditions of the party, main facts about the malfeasance and content of the punishment, and shall be signed by the administrative law enforcement personnel and the party.

Article 32 For other illegal cases in pricing except those punished on the spot according to the preceding paragraph, the price inspection agency shall examine them immediately after discovering them or receiving report. If according with the conditions for filing a case, they shall be placed on file.

Article 33 The price inspection agency, when investigating and dealing with the illegal cases in pricing, shall make the settlement decision within 90 days form the date on placing them on file; For the important and complex cases, with an approval of the leading official of the price inspection agency, the period may be extended, but the extended time shall not exceed 90 days.

Article 34 With an approval of the leading official of the district or superior price inspection agency, the price inspection agency may decide to seal up or distrain the properties involving the illegal behaviors in pricing. The period of sealing up or distraining is 90 days; under special circumstances, with an approval of the leading official of the municipal price inspection agency, it may be extended, but the extended period shall not exceed 90 days.

Chapter ¢ö Legal Responsibilities

Article 35 If the operator' s pricing violates the government-controlled price or the principles and measures for fixing the price enacted by the government, violating the provisions of the first subparagraph of Article 11 of these regulations, he shall be ordered to refund the money collected additionally, be confiscated the illegal gains, and be fined more than 5 times but less than 10 times of the illegal gains by the price inspection agency; If the circumstances are serious, he shall be revoked the Business License by the administrative department of industry and commerce.

Article 36 If the operator violates the provisions of the second subparagraph of Article 11 of these regulations, providing false materials about price to relevant government departments, he shall be ordered to supplement and correct them within a specified time, and the personnel directly responsible shall be fined 5,000 yuan by the price inspection agency.

Article 37 If the operator violates the provisions of the third subparagraph of Article 11 of these regulations, failing to clearly tap the prices or indicate the government documents of fixing price, he shall be ordered to correct them within a specified time; If the operator fails to correct them within the time limit, the person in charge of the operating unit shall be fined 5,000 yuan.

Article 38 If the operator violates the provisions of Article 12 of these regulations, he shall be ordered to stop illegal behaviors, be confiscated the illegal gains and be fined more than 20,000  yuan but less than 100,000 yuan by the price inspection agency.

Article 39 For the units and individuals who refuse to pay the fine or forfeiture, with an approval of the leading official of the district or superior price inspection agency, the price inspection agency may inform their deposit bank in written to transfer the deposit according to relevant provisions.

Article 40 The administrative law enforcement personnel shall take the responsibility for compensation if they disclose the commercial secrets acquired during exercising the official business and thus cause losses to others.

Article 41 If the administrative law enforcement personnel abuse their powers, play favoritism and commit irregularities, the administrative and supervisory department shall impose administrative disciplinary punishments stipulated in laws, regulations or rules to the discipline violators.

Article 42 In case the behavior violates these regulations and constitutes a crime, the criminal responsibility shall be prosecuted by the judicial organ.

Article 43 The price inspection agency shall exercise functions and powers according to law when it investigates and deals with the violations in pricing; If it abuses its powers and thus damages the operator' s lawful rights and interests, it shall bear the administrative responsibility for compensation according to law.

Article 44 The price inspection agency shall turn over the collected fine and forfeiture fully to the finance according to these regulations.

Article 45 If the party doesn' t accept the administrative coercive measure or the administrative punishment decision made by the district price inspection agency, he shall apply for review to the municipal price inspection agency within 15 days from receipt of the written decision; If the party is not satisfied with the administrative coercive measure or the administrative punishment decision made by the municipal price inspection agency, he shall apply for review to the organization for administrative review of the municipal government; If the party is not satisfied with the decision of review yet, he may file a lawsuit to people' s court within 15 days form receipt of the written decision of review.

If the party doesn' t apply for review or file a lawsuit within the time limit, and fails to fulfill the administrative coercive measure or the administrative punishment decision, the price inspection agency may enforce it coercively or apply to the people' s court for coercive enforcement according to law.

Chapter ¢÷ Supplementary Provisions

Article 46 The municipal government may enact the implementing rules according to these regulations.

Article 47 These regulations shall go into effect as of January 1, 1996.