Full text of the new "Regulations on the Administration of Certification Bodies" released

  Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies

(Promulgated by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China Order No. 193 on November 14, 2017, revised according to the State Administration for Market Regulation Order No. 31 on October 23, 2020)

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 　In order to strengthen the supervision and administration of certification bodies, regulate certification activities, and improve the effectiveness of certification, these measures are formulated in accordance with the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Certification and Accreditation Regulations") and other relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 2 　The certification body referred to in these measures means a legally qualified legal entity that has obtained qualifications according to law and independently conducts conformity assessment on whether products, services, and management systems meet standards and relevant technical specifications.

Article 3 　These measures apply to certification bodies and their supervision and administration engaged in certification activities within the territory of the People's Republic of China.

Article 4 　The certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council is responsible for the qualification approval and supervision and administration of certification bodies.

The local certification supervision and administration departments at or above the county level are responsible for the supervision and administration of certification bodies engaged in certification activities within their respective jurisdictions in accordance with these measures.

Article 5 　Certification bodies engaged in certification activities shall follow the principles of fairness, openness, objectivity, independence, honesty, and credibility, and maintain the social credit system.

Article 6 　Certification bodies and their personnel have confidentiality obligations regarding state secrets and trade secrets they learn in the course of their certification activities.

Chapter 2 Qualification Approval

Article 7 　To obtain certification body qualifications, approval must be obtained from the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council. No unit or individual may engage in certification activities without approval.

Article 8 　To obtain certification body qualifications, the following conditions must be met:

(1) Obtain legal entity status;

(2) Have fixed office premises and necessary facilities;

(3) Have management systems that meet certification and accreditation requirements;

(4) Registered capital shall not be less than RMB 3 million;

(5) Have more than 10 full-time certification personnel in the corresponding fields.

Certification bodies engaged in product certification activities shall also have technical capabilities such as testing and inspection appropriate to the related product certification activities.

       Article 9 　Qualification approval procedures for certification bodies:

(1) Applicants for certification body qualifications (hereinafter referred to as applicants) shall apply to the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council, submit relevant supporting documents that meet the conditions stipulated in Article 8 of these measures, and be responsible for their authenticity, validity, and legality.

(2) The certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council shall conduct a preliminary review of the documents submitted by the applicant and make a written decision on acceptance or non-acceptance within 5 days from the date of receipt. If the application materials are incomplete or do not meet the legal form, the applicant shall be informed once of all the contents that need to be corrected.

(3) The certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council shall make a decision on whether to approve the certification body qualification within 45 days from the date of acceptance of the application. If approved, a "Certification Body Approval Certificate" shall be issued to the applicant. If not approved, the applicant shall be notified in writing with reasons.

If expert evaluation of the applicant's certification, testing, inspection, and other technical capabilities is required, the expert evaluation period shall not exceed 30 days. The evaluation period is not included in the approval time limit.

Article 10 　The certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council shall formulate, adjust, and publish the certification field catalog. Certification bodies shall engage in certification activities within the approved certification fields in accordance with basic certification norms and certification rules.

If it belongs to a new certification field and the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council has not yet formulated certification rules, certification bodies may formulate certification rules themselves and report relevant information of the certification rules to the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council for record within 30 days after the certification rules are issued.

Article 11 　If a certification body has any of the following situations, it shall apply to the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council for the change of the "Certification Body Approval Certificate" within 30 days from the date of change:

(1) Narrowing the approved certification fields;

(2) Changing the nature of the legal entity, shareholders, or registered capital;

(3) Merging or splitting;

(4) Changing the name, address, or legal representative.

Expanding the certification fields shall be handled by the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of these measures.

Article 12 　The validity period of the "Certification Body Approval Certificate" is 6 years.

Certification bodies that need to extend the validity period of the "Certification Body Approval Certificate" shall apply to the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council 30 days before the expiration of the certificate.

The certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of the State Council shall conduct a written review of the certification body applying for extension in accordance with the qualification conditions and approval procedures stipulated in these measures, and make a decision on whether to allow the extension before the expiration of the "Certification Body Approval Certificate."

Chapter 3 Code of Conduct

Article 13 　Certification bodies shall establish risk prevention mechanisms, take reasonable and effective measures against risks and liabilities that may arise from their certification activities, and assume corresponding social responsibilities.

Certification bodies shall not engage in certification activities beyond the approved scope.

Article 14 　Certification bodies shall establish and improve the management system for certification personnel, regularly train certification personnel, and ensure their capabilities continuously meet the national requirements for professional qualifications of certification personnel.

Certification bodies shall not employ personnel prohibited or restricted by national laws, regulations, and policies from engaging in certification activities.

Article 15 　Certification bodies shall publish the following information through their websites or other forms and ensure its authenticity and validity:

(1) Self-declaration of legally conducting certification activities;

(2) Certification fields, certification rules, certification certificate styles, and certification mark styles;

(3) Names, addresses, and certification activity contents of branches established to undertake their certification activities;

(4) Certification fee standards;

(5) Status of certification certificates including valid, suspended, canceled, or revoked.

Mandatory product certification bodies shall also publish information related to mandatory product certification in accordance with relevant regulations of the State Council's certification and accreditation supervision department.

Article 16 　Certification bodies engaged in certification activities shall comply with the procedural requirements stipulated by basic certification standards and certification rules, ensure the certification process is complete, objective, and truthful, and shall not add, reduce, or omit procedural requirements.

Article 17 　When conducting certification activities, certification bodies shall verify the following conditions of the certification object:

(1) Possession of relevant statutory qualifications and credentials;

(2) The products, services, management systems entrusted for certification comply with relevant laws and regulations;

(3) Not listed on the serious illegal and untrustworthy list.

If the certification object does not meet the above requirements, the certification body shall not issue a certification certificate to it.

Article 18 　Certification bodies and their certification personnel shall promptly make certification conclusions, ensure their objectivity and truthfulness, and bear corresponding legal responsibilities.

Certification bodies and their certification personnel shall not issue false or seriously inaccurate certification conclusions. The following circumstances constitute issuing false or seriously inaccurate certification conclusions:

(1) Certification personnel fail to enter the site for audit, inspection, or review as required by certification rules;

(2) Impersonating other certification personnel to conduct audit, inspection, or review;

(3) Forging certification files, records, and materials;

(4) Certification certificate contents are seriously inaccurate;

(5) Selling or transferring certification certificates to certification objects that have not passed certification.

Article 19 　If the certification conclusion meets the certification requirements, the certification body shall promptly issue a certification certificate to the certification object.

Certification bodies shall provide the public with methods to verify the validity of certification certificates through their websites or other forms.

Article 20 　Certification bodies shall require certification objects to correctly use certification certificates and certification marks, and take effective corrective measures for those who do not use them as prescribed.

Article 21 　Certification bodies shall implement effective follow-up supervision of the products, services, and management systems they have certified.

If the certification requirements are no longer continuously met, the certification body shall suspend the corresponding certification certificate of the certification object within 5 days after confirming the relevant situation. If the requirements are still not met after the suspension period, the corresponding certification certificate shall be revoked.

The suspension period shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the certification rules.

Article 22 　Certification bodies shall make complete records of the certification process and retain corresponding certification materials.

Certification records and materials shall be true and accurate, archived for at least 2 years from the expiration, cancellation, or revocation of the certification certificate validity period, and certification records shall be in Chinese.

During the validity period of the certification certificate, certification records and materials stamped or signed by all parties involved in the certification activities shall be preserved as legally effective originals.

Article 23 　Certification bodies shall promptly submit the following information to the State Council's certification and accreditation supervision department and ensure its authenticity and validity:

(1) Certification plan information;

(2) Information on certification activities, certification personnel, and certification objects related to certification results;

(3) Information on the valid, suspended, canceled, or revoked status of certification certificates;

(4) Information on branches established to undertake their certification activities.

Within 10 days from the signing of subcontract agreements with overseas certification bodies for certification results used only abroad within the approved certification fields, certification bodies shall report the information to the State Council's certification and accreditation supervision department.

Article 24 　Certification bodies shall submit the following reports to the Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council before the end of March each year, ensuring their authenticity and validity:

(1) Work report of the previous year: mainly including basic employment situation, personnel, business status, and financial accounting audit reports issued by accounting firms that meet national qualification requirements;

(2) Social responsibility report: mainly including institution overview, core values and development philosophy, social responsibility commitment of the highest management, social responsibility strategy, and social responsibility performance of the institution.

       Article 25 　Certification bodies and certified entities shall cooperate with the supervision and inspection work carried out by the Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council and local certification supervision departments, and truthfully provide relevant materials and information regarding inquiries and investigations.

Chapter 4 Supervision and Administration

Article 26 　The Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council shall supervise and inspect certification bodies' compliance with the "Certification and Accreditation Regulations", these Measures, and relevant departmental rules.

Local certification supervision departments shall, according to their statutory duties, conduct routine supervision and inspection of certification activities and results within their jurisdiction, investigate and handle illegal acts, and establish corresponding coordination mechanisms.

Local certification supervision departments shall promptly report relevant information on the handling of illegal acts to the Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council.

Article 27 　The Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council and local certification supervision departments shall conduct random inspections on certification activities and results of certification bodies, and the inspection results shall be promptly disclosed to the public.

The Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council and local certification supervision departments shall implement classified supervision of certification bodies based on random inspections, administrative penalties, complaints and reports, serious illegal and untrustworthy lists, and big data analysis.

Article 28 　The Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council shall publish the following information on its website:

(1) Directory of certification bodies legally qualified;

(2) Reports submitted by certification bodies in accordance with Article 24 of these Measures;

(3) Random inspection results;

(4) Administrative penalty information for certification bodies and their certification personnel;

(5) Lists of serious illegal and untrustworthy certification bodies and their legal representatives, principal persons in charge, and certification personnel.

       Article 29 　Applicants for certification body qualifications and their legal representatives, principal persons in charge, and certification personnel who are listed in the serious illegal and untrustworthy list shall not have their certification body qualification applications approved.

Certification bodies and their legal representatives, principal persons in charge, and certification personnel listed in the serious illegal and untrustworthy list shall not have their applications for qualification renewal or expansion of certification scope approved.

Article 30 　If any of the following situations are found during supervision and inspection by the Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council or local certification supervision departments, a warning shall be given and correction ordered:

(1) Failure to publish information in accordance with Article 15 of these Measures;

(2) Failure to provide the public with a method to verify the validity of certification certificates in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 19 of these Measures.

Article 31 　The Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council may revoke the "Certification Body Approval Certificate" upon request of interested parties or ex officio in any of the following circumstances:

(1) Issued by staff of the Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council abusing their power or neglecting their duties;

(2) Issued beyond statutory authority;

(3) Issued in violation of legal procedures;

(4) Issued to applicants who do not have application qualifications or do not meet legal conditions;

(5) When the certification body no longer meets or cannot continuously meet legal conditions and capabilities;

(6) Other circumstances where revocation is permitted by law.

If certification body qualifications are obtained through deception, bribery, or other improper means, the Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council shall revoke the "Certification Body Approval Certificate"; the applicant shall not reapply for certification body qualifications within 3 years.

Article 32 　The Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council shall handle the cancellation of the "Certification Body Approval Certificate" in any of the following cases:

(1) The validity period of the "Certification Body Approval Certificate" has expired, and no renewal application was made or renewal was denied after review;

(2) The "Certification Body Approval Certificate" has been legally revoked;

(3) The certification body has applied for cancellation;

(4) The certification body has legally terminated;

(5) Other circumstances where cancellation is required by laws and regulations.

Article 33 　Certification bodies may prove their certification capabilities continue to meet relevant requirements through accreditation by accreditation bodies.

Accreditation bodies shall effectively monitor accredited certification bodies and promptly report any illegal acts discovered during accreditation supervision to the Certification and Accreditation Supervision and Administration Department of the State Council.

Article 34 　Accreditation associations shall strengthen the industry self-discipline management of certification bodies and certification personnel, and promptly report any illegal acts of certification bodies or certification personnel to the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department.

Article 35 　Any unit or individual has the right to report illegal acts in certification activities to the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department and local accreditation supervision and administration departments. The State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department and local accreditation supervision and administration departments shall investigate and handle in a timely manner and keep the informant confidential.

Chapter 5 Legal Liability

Article 36 　If relevant situations are concealed or false materials are provided when applying for certification body qualifications, the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department shall not accept or approve the application and shall issue a warning; the applicant shall not reapply for certification body qualifications within one year.

Article 37 　If a certification body has any of the following circumstances, the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department shall order it to make corrections within a time limit, issue a warning, and make it public:

(1) Failure to file certification rule related information with the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department in accordance with the provisions of Article 10, Paragraph 2 of these Measures;

(2) Failure to handle change procedures in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of these Measures;

(3) Certification personnel's abilities no longer continuously meet the relevant national professional qualification requirements as stipulated in Article 14 of these Measures, or employing personnel prohibited or restricted by national laws, regulations, and policies from engaging in certification activities;

(4) Failure to submit information and reports to the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department in accordance with the provisions of Articles 23 and 24 of these Measures.

Article 38 　If a certification body has any of the following circumstances, the local accreditation supervision and administration department shall order it to make corrections and impose a fine of 30,000 yuan:

(1) Failure to correct after receiving a reprimand or warning;

(2) Issuing certification certificates to certification objects in violation of the provisions of Article 17 of these Measures;

(3) Discovering that certification objects do not correctly use certification certificates and certification marks and failing to take effective measures to correct in violation of the provisions of Article 20 of these Measures;

(4) Failing to cooperate and assist in supervision and inspection work, refusing, concealing, or not truthfully providing relevant materials and information in violation of the provisions of Article 25 of these Measures.

       Article 39 　If a certification body violates the provisions of Article 16 of these Measures by adding, reducing, or omitting procedural requirements, it shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 60 of the "Regulations on Certification and Accreditation." If the certification body is ordered to suspend operations for rectification, the suspension period shall be six months, during which it shall not engage in certification activities.

If the addition, reduction, or omission of procedural requirements by the certification body is minor and does not affect the objectivity, truthfulness, or validity of the certification conclusion, it shall be ordered to make corrections within a time limit. If corrections are not made within the time limit or still do not meet the requirements after correction, punishment shall be imposed in accordance with the preceding paragraph.

Article 40 　If a certification body violates the provisions of Article 18 of these Measures by issuing false or seriously inaccurate certification conclusions, it shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 62 of the "Regulations on Certification and Accreditation."

Article 41 　If a certification body violates the "Regulations on Certification and Accreditation" and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, it shall be held legally responsible in accordance with relevant provisions.

Article 42 　The State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department, local accreditation supervision and administration departments, and their staff shall supervise certification activities according to law. Those who abuse their powers, engage in favoritism or malpractice, or neglect their duties shall be given administrative sanctions according to law; if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be pursued according to law.

Chapter 6 Supplementary Provisions

Article 43 　The time limit for administrative licensing implemented by the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department in these Measures is calculated in working days, excluding statutory holidays.

Article 44 　Investment enterprises from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions obtaining certification body qualifications in the mainland shall handle procedures in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of these Measures and comply with the provisions of these Measures.

Article 45 　These Measures shall be interpreted by the State Council's accreditation supervision and administration department.

Article 46 　These Measures shall come into effect on January 1, 2018. The "Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies" promulgated by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on July 20, 2011, and the "Decision of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on Amending the Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies" promulgated on May 11, 2015, are hereby repealed simultaneously.