Laws of the Guangdong Province

Rules of Shenzhen Economic Special Zone on Administration of Outdoor Advertisements

(Promulgated as Order No.35 of Shenzhen Municipal Government on October 18^th,1994, and revised on May 28^th,1998 in accordance with The Decision on Revising the Rules of Shenzhen Economic Special Zone on Administration of Outdoor Advertisements made by Shenzhen Municipal Government.)

Article 1 In order to strength the administration of  outdoor advertisements of  Shenzhen Economic Special Zone(hereinafter referred to as Shenzhen), regulate the operating adverting activities, and maintain the neatness and beauty of cityscape and traffic security, these rules are formulated in accordance with pertinent national provisions, and in light of practical situations of Shenzhen.

Article 2 Anyone who set up outdoor advertisements within the territory of SZ shall abide by these rules.

The "outdoor advertisements" as referred to in these rules mean the advertisements set up outside of buildings within the territory of SZ , released through roadsides signs, light-boxes, neon lights, walls, electronic display screens, signboards, posters, scrolls, balloons, display windows, or the advertisements set up , drawn, posted or hung by making use of transportation.

Article 3 The Administrative Department of Industry and Commerce of Shenzhen Municipality(hereinafter referred to as the Administrative Department of Industry and Commerce) is the organ in charge of outdoor advertisements.

Administrative departments in charge of urban utilities, public security, planning, and land resources of all levels shall accomplish the administration of outdoor advertisements based on their respective functions.

Article 4 The outdoor advertisements shall be set up in light of the characteristics of urban functions, and in accordance with urban planning and need of approved building design.

Article 5 The setup of outdoor advertisements shall practice the system of joint examination and approval, carried out by the Municipal Administrative Departments for Industry and Commerce, Urban Utilities, Planning and Land Resources, and public security and traffic, which shall present their examination decisions within their respective responsibilities, and shall implement a ticket veto.

Conference of joint examination and approval shall be called in by the ICAD and termly be held every month. The management measures of Conference of joint examination and approval shall be separately formulated by the Municipal Government.
        Article 6 Any unit and individual who wants to operate outdoor advertisement shall be obliged to apply to ICAD, and begin to operate after receiving the "Business License of Business Corporation" or the "Business License" , "License for Advertising Operation" (the "License for Temporary Advertising Operation" for temporary outdoor advertising operation) granted by ICAD with approval. Without approval, the outdoor advertising operation shall not be carried out.

Article 7  Enterprises, institutions and individuals who need to release outdoor advertisement shall commission the units, whose management scope includes outdoor advertising operation(hereinafter referred to as "advertisement publishers" )to release the advertisement. However, the units and individuals who set up signboards or release advertisement for publicizing oneself by making use of space of their private sites shall release the advertisement by themselves after approved by relevant departments according to paragraph 2 of this article.

Advertisement publishers shall fill in the "application form for outdoor advertisement setup of Shenzhen Municipality" , submit planning drafts, certificates for use of site and other identification documents provided by laws, regulations and rules, make an application to the Administrative Department of Industry and Commerce, and receive the "License for Outdoor Advertisement Registration" if approved for the release.  

Advertisement publishers shall comply with the approved contents, standards, venue and time limits in their release, and shall indicate the registration numbers and the names of the publishers of outdoor advertisements at margin of right under corner of the advertisements.

Article 8  All kinds of poster advertisements shall be submitted for examination to the operating agents for poster advertisement, shall be posted in the special columns of posted advertisements for public approved to be set up by the Municipal Administrative Departments for Industry and Commerce, Urban Utilities, Public Security and Traffic, and shall be forbidden to be posted at other places.  

Article 9 The content of outdoor advertisements shall be true, legal and embody spiritual scenes and cultural characteristics of Shenzhen Municipality, shall not violent provisions of pertinent laws, regulations and rules, and shall not damage social public interests.

The outdoor advertisements shall be set up or installed firmly and safely, use normative characters, shall not hinder traffic and fire protection, and shall not impair the view of cityscape and destroy gardens and afforestation.

Article 10 Advertisement publishers shall, when releasing advertisements, keep the integrity and beauty of them, and maintain, renovate or dismantle in time the neon advertisements which are fragmentary or no more shine, or the advertisements that are decolored, damaged, obsolete, out-date or left unsed. 

Article 11 The outdoor advertisements linked together in the same section of an area shall be standardized in unity and kept integrity and beauty.

Article 12 If there is a citywide important activity determined by the municipal government, the scrolls and slogans may, arranged in unity or approved by the Municipal Administrative Department for Urban Utilities, be hung in approved time limit in public sites of downtown area.

Enterprises and institutions who wants to hang noncommercial scrolls or slogans shall apply to the Municipal Administrative Department for Urban Utilities for approval. If commercial scrolls and slogans to be hung, they shall be applied to the Municipal Administrative Department for Industry and Commerce and Municipal Administrative Department for Urban Utilities for approval and shall be hung in authorized time limit.

Article 13 Commercial advertisements shall not be set up or posted in the areas designated by the Municipal Administrative Department for planning and land resources, including government departments, cultural relic preservation agents and schools and dominated belts all around, and in the districts that advertisements are forbidden to be set up and posted by laws, regulations, rules and provisions of government. 

It is forbidden to set up outdoor advertisements on crossroads, footbridges, establishments for traffic security, traffic signs, urban trees, and telegraph poles and light poles of noncommercial area.

It is forbidden to poster, spray or scrawl advertisements on glass curtain walls and the outside walls and windows of buildings.

Article 14   The outdoor advertisements which are set up according to the provisions of these rules shall not be  illegally occupied, demolished, covered or destroyed by any unit or individual, except the circumstances that the land need to be taken over for use because of need of city planning and construction. 

Article 15 Charge of outdoor advertisements shall be fixed by the advertising agent and advertising customer  through consultation.

The public sites for outdoor advertisements' setup shall be invested by the Finance and be transferred with compensation through public bidding organized by the Municipal Administrative Departments for Urban Utilities, with participation of the Municipal Administrative Department for Industry and Commerce, Planning and Land Resources, and Public Security and Traffic, and the full charge of compensated transfer shall be handed in to the Finance. Related measures of bid invitation and bidding shall be formulated by the Municipal Administrative Departments for Urban Utilities, Industry and Commerce, Planning and Land Resources, and Public Security and Traffic, and be implemented after approved by the Municipality Government.

Article 16 It is forbidden to operate advertising business by means of monopoly or unfair competition.

Article 17 If the installation of outdoor advertisements collapses or detaches, thus results in wound, disability, death or property losses of other persons, the advertisement publisher shall bear civil liability; but he shall not bear liability, if the infringement is caused by the fault of the victim. If the damage occurs through the fault of a third party, the third party shall bear liability.

Article 18 Anyone, who commits any act of the following, shall be punished respectively by the administrative department of industry and commerce in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances:

(¢ñ)Where anyone unauthorized operates outdoor advertising business without approval in violation of provisions of Article 6 of these rules, he shall be ordered to make a rectification in prescribed time limit, be confiscated his illegal gains by the law and be imposed a fine of 20,000 yuan;

(¢ò) Where anyone, in violation of provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 6 of these rules, publishes advertisement without receiving the "License for Outdoor Advertisement Registration" , he shall be ordered to make a rectification in limited time, be confiscated its illegal gains by the law and be imposed a fine of 5,000 yuan; if he fails to make a rectification, he shall be ordered to dismantle the advertisement in limited time; if the advertisement fails to be dismantled in the time limit, dismantling shall be compelled, and the publisher shall be responsible for the costs;

(¢ó) Where anyone, in violation of provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 6 of these rules, publishes advertisement not according to the approved contents, specifications, sites and time limit, or without marking name of the publisher and the number of the "License for Outdoor Advertisement Registration" , he shall be ordered to make a rectification in limited time, and be imposed a fine of 1,000 yuan; if the advertisement fails to be dismantled in the time limit, dismantling shall be compelled, and the publisher shall be responsible for the costs;

(¢ô)Where, in violation of the provision of 1^st paragraph of Article9 of these rules, the content of the advertisement is false, violates the provisions of the laws, rules and regulations, and damages the public interests, it shall be handled according to the Law of the People' s Republic of China On Advertisement.

(¢õ)Where anyone, in violation of Article16 of these rules, operates the businesses of outdoor advertisement by means of monopoly or unfair competition, he shall be handled according to the Law of the People' s Republic of China Against Unfair Competition.

Article 19 Anyone, who commits any act of the following, shall be published respectively in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances by the administrative department of urban utilities:

(¢ñ) Where anyone, in violation of Article8 of these rules, posts advertisements beyond the special columns of posted advertisement for public, he shall be ordered to dismantle the advertisement in limited time, be confiscated his illegal gains , and be imposed a fine of 500 yuan;

 (¢ò)Where , in violation of the 2^nd paragraph of Article9 and Article 10 of these rules, the advertisement impairs the view of cityscape and destroy gardens and afforestation, or the advertisement is decolored, damaged, obsolete, it shall be ordered to be maintained, renovated and dismantled; if the advertisement fails to be maintained, renovated and dismantled, dismantling shall be compelled, and the publisher shall be responsible for the costs and be imposed a fine of not less than 500 but not more than 1,000yuan ;

(¢ó) Where anyone, in violation of Article 11 of these rules, releases the advertisement out of unity or the advertisements linked together are nor kept integrity, he shall be ordered to make a rectification in limited time and shall be imposed a fine of not less than 500yuan but not more than 1,000yuan; if the rectification fails to be made in the time limit, he shall be order to dismantle the advertisement in limited time; if he fails to dismantle the advertisement in time limit, dismantling shall be compelled, and the publisher shall be responsible for the costs;

(¢ô) Where anyone, in violation of Article 12 of these rules, unauthorized hangs the scrolls and slogans without approve, he shall be ordered to dismantle the advertisement in limited time and be imposed a fine of 1,000 yuan ; if he fails to dismantle the advertisement in time limit, dismantling shall be compelled, and the publisher shall be responsible for the costs;

(¢õ) Where anyone, in violation of Article 13 of these rules, sets up or posts the advertisement in the areas designated by the Municipal Administrative Department for Planning and Land Resources, such as government departments, cultural relic preservation agents and schools and dominated belts all around, and in the districts that advertisements are forbidden to be set up and posted by laws, regulations, rules and provisions of government, he shall be confiscated his illegal gains, be ordered to dismantle the advertisement in limited time and be imposed a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan bur not more than 5,000 yuan; if he fails to dismantle the advertisement in time limit, dismantling shall be compelled, and the publisher shall be responsible for the costs;

(¢ö) Where anyone, in violation of Article 14 of these rules, illegally occupies, demolishes, covers or destroys the outdoor advertisement and its facilities, he shall be ordered to renovate the advertisement in limited time, be responsible for the loses of the damager and shall be imposed a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan bur not more than 5,000 yuan.

Article 20 In case a party is not satisfied with the punishment decision, he may apply for reconsideration to the Municipal Administrative department of Industry and Commerce, or the Municipal Administrative Department of Urban Utilities, or Organization of Administrative Rreconsideration of the People' s Government of Shenzhen; and if the party is still not satisfied with the reconsideration decision, he may bring a suit with the people' s count within 15 days from receipt of the decision.

If a party neither applies for consideration nor complies with the punishment decision within the time limit, the Administrative Department of Industry  and Commerce or the Administrative Department of Urban Utilities shall reqest the people's court to enforce the decision.

Article 21 These rules shall enter into force as of the date of promulgation. The Notice of the General Office of the People' s Government of Shenzhen on reinforcing administration over advertisement shall be avoid in the same time.