Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation

(Promulgated by the Order No. 390 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on September 3, 2003, amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending Certain Administrative Regulations on February 6, 2016, and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council to Amend and Repeal Certain Administrative Regulations on November 29, 2020)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 The present Regulations are hereby formulated for the purpose of regulating the certification and accreditation activities, improving the quality of products and services and the level of administration, as well as promoting the economic and social development.  

Article 2 The “certification” as mentioned in the present Regulations refers to the assessment activities carried out by the certification bodies to testify whether the products, services, and management systems are in conformity with the relevant technical regulations and their compulsive requirements or standards.

The “accreditation” as mentioned in the present Regulations refers to the assessment activities carried out by the accreditation bodies to recognize the capabilities and qualifications of the certification bodies, inspection bodies and laboratories, and practicing personnel engaging in such certification activities as the appraisal and examination, etc.  

Article 3 The present Regulations shall be observed when the certification and accreditation activities are undertaken within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.  

Article 4 The State shall implement a uniform certification and accreditation supervision system.  

The State shall apply the working mechanism on certification and accreditation under which all the relevant departments shall implement the work together under the uniform administration, supervision and comprehensive coordination of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council.

Article 5 The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council shall strengthen the supervision over the activities of the certification training institutions and certification consultation institutions.

Article 6 The principles of objectiveness and independence, openness and justice, and good faith shall be followed in carrying out the certification and accreditation activities.

Article 7 The State encourages the international mutual recognition activities of certification and accreditation to be carried out on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, which shall not impair the national security and public interests.

Article 8 The organizations and persons engaging in the certification and accreditation activities shall have the duty of keeping confidential for the state secrets and commercial secrets learned.

Chapter II Certification Bodies

Article 9 To be qualified as a certification body shall be subject to the approval of the certification and accreditation administrative department of the State Council, and certification activities shall be conducted within the approved scope.

No entity or person may undertake certification activities without approval.

Article 10 For qualification as a certification body, the following conditions shall be met:

(1) Having the legal person status;

(2) Having a fixed location and necessary facilities;

(3) Having management rules in conformity with the requirements of certification and accreditation;

(4) Having registered capital of not less than RMB three million yuan; and

(5) Having ten or more full-time certification staff members in the corresponding fields.

Certification bodies engaging in product certification activities shall possess such technical capability for examination and inspection fitting in with the relative product certification activities in addition.

Article 11 The procedures for the application for and approval of qualification as a certification body shall be as follows:

(1) The applicant for qualification as a certification body shall file a written application with the certification and accreditation administrative department of the State Council and submit supporting documents in conformity with the conditions as prescribed in Article 10 of this Regulation.

(2) The certification and accreditation administrative department of the State Council shall, within 45 days of acceptance of the application for qualification as a certification body, make a decision on whether to approve the application. If the responsibilities of the relevant departments of the State Council are involved, the opinions of the relevant departments of the State Council shall be solicited. If a decision to approve the application is made, an approval document shall be issued to the applicant; or if a decision to disapprove the application is made, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the decision with an explanation of the reasons for the disapproval.

The certification and accreditation administrative department of the State Council shall publish a directory of enterprises legally qualified as certification bodies.

Article 12 A representative office established within the territory of the People’s Republic of China by a foreign certification body may conduct promotional activities related to the business scope of the foreign certification body only after undergoing the registration formalities with the market regulatory department according to the law but may not carry out any certification activity.

The registration of a representative office established within the territory of the People’s Republic of China by a foreign certification body shall be handled under the relevant foreign investment laws and administrative regulations and the relevant provisions issued by the state.

Article 13 The certification bodies may not have interests’ relations of any kind with the administrative departments.

The certification bodies are prohibited from accepting any grants that may influence the objectiveness and justice of the certification activities; and are prohibited from undertaking any such activities that may influence the objectiveness and justice of the certification activities as the development and sale of the products, etc.

The certification bodies may not have interests’ relations of any kind with the certification clients in such aspects as capital and management.

Article 14 The persons engaging in the certification activities shall practice in one certification body and may not practice in more than two certification bodies at the same time.

Article 15 The inspection bodies and the laboratories that issue to the public the data and results, which have the function of verification, shall possess the basic conditions and capabilities as required by the relevant laws and administrative regulations, and may carry out the relative activities after being recognized in accordance with the law. The results of the accreditation shall be publicized by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council.

Chapter III Certification

Article 16 The State shall popularize the certification on products, services and management systems in conformity with the requirements of the economic and social development.

Article 17 The certification bodies shall carry out the certification activities in accordance with the basic certification standards and certification rules, which shall be formulated by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council; in case the standards and rules have to do with the functions of the relative departments of the State Council, they shall be formulated by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council together with the relative departments of the State Council.

If the certification is in a new field, and no corresponding certification rules have been formulated by the departments as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the certification bodies may make certification rules by themselves, which shall be put on records at the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council.

Article 18 Any legal entity, organization or individual may entrust a legally established certification body of his own accord to make the certification on products, services and management systems.

Article 19 No certification bodies shall refuse to provide the certification services within the business scope of their own certification bodies for the reason that the clients fail to take part in the certification consultation or certification training, etc., nor shall they put forward to the clients the requirements or restricted conditions irrespective to the certification activities.

Article 20 The certification bodies shall make public such information as the basic certification standards, certification rules and charging standards, etc.

Article 21 The certification bodies and the inspection bodies in relation to certification, as well as the laboratories shall, when carrying out the certification activities and inspection and examination activities in relation to certification, complete the procedures as prescribed in the basic certification standards and certification rules, so as to ensure the integrity, objectiveness and truthfulness of the certification, inspection and examination, no procedures shall be increased, reduced, or omitted.

The certification bodies and inspection bodies in relation to certification, as well as the laboratories shall make full records on the process of certification, inspection and examination, which shall be kept on file for future reference.

Article 22 The certification bodies and their personnel shall make the certification conclusions in time and ensure the objectiveness and truthfulness of the certification conclusions, which shall then be subscribed by the person in charge of the certification bodies after being signed by the certification personnel.

The certification bodies and their personnel shall be responsible for the certification conclusions.

Article 23 In case the products, services, and the management systems are certified as in conformity with the requirements of certification by the certification conclusions, the certification bodies shall issue the certificate to the clients in time.

Article 24 Those who have obtained the certificates shall use the certificates and certification marks within the certification scope. No entity shall, by using the product and service certificates, certification marks and the relative characters and symbols, mislead the public to believe that their management systems have acquired the certification; or mislead the public to believe that their products and services have acquired the certification by using the administration system certificates, certification marks and the relative characters and symbols.

Article 25 A certification body may develop its certification marks independently. The style, words or characters, or name of the certification marks developed by a certification body independently shall not violate the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, shall not be identical with or similar to the certification marks promoted by the state, shall not impede social administration, and shall not impair social morals or good social climates.

Article 26 The certification bodies shall implement effective following-up investigations on the products, services and management systems that have been certified by them. In case the products, services and management systems that have been certified fail to meet the requirements of the certification continuously, the certification bodies shall suspend their use and even revoke the certificates and make that known to the public.

Article 27 In order to safeguard the national security, prevent fraudulent acts, protect the health or safety of human body, safeguard the life or health of animals and plants, and protect the environments, no products, which shall be certified as prescribed by the State, may be delivered, sold, imported or used in other business activities until after being certified and labeled with the certification marks.

Article 28 The State shall unify the catalogues of products, the compulsive requirements, standards and conformity assessment procedures of the technical regulations, and the marks, as well as the charging standards for those products that shall be certified.

The uniform catalogues of products (hereinafter refers to as the Catalogues) shall be formulated and adjusted jointly by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council and the relevant departments of the State Council, and shall be publicized by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council, and implemented together with the relative departments and institutions.

Article 29 The products listed in the Catalogues shall be certified by the certification bodies as confirmed by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council.

The certification marks of the products listed in the Catalogues shall be prescribed uniformly by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council.

Article 30 If the products listed in the Catalogues have to do with the catalogues of the import and export commodities inspection, the inspection procedures shall be simplified when the import and export commodities inspections are made on them.

Article 31 The accreditation bodies, in relation to certification, and the laboratories confirmed by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council to engage in the certification of products as listed in the Catalogues (hereinafter referred to as the confirmed certification bodies and laboratories) shall be those who have been engaging in the relative businesses for a long time, have no bad records, and have obtained the accreditation and possess the ability to carry out the relative certification activities in accordance with the present Regulations. When the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council is confirming the certification bodies that are to engage in the activities of product certification as listed in the Catalogues, it shall ensure that at least two institutions meeting the requirements of the present Regulations are confirmed in each field of products as listed in the Catalogues.

When the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council is confirming the certification bodies, and laboratories as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, it shall publicize, in advance, the relative information and organize the recognized experts in the relative fields to form an expert evaluation committee to make evaluations on the certification bodies and laboratories meeting the requirements of the preceding paragraph; after the evaluation is made and the opinions of the relative departments of the State Council is solicited, it shall make the decisions according to the principles of making full use of the resources, fair competition, convenience and effectiveness within the time limit of publication.

Article 32 The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council shall publicize the directories of the confirmed certification bodies and laboratories, as well as the confirmed business scopes.

No certification body or laboratory may engage in the certification of the products listed in the catalogue and inspection and testing activities relating to certification without being designated.

Article 33 All producers or sellers, and importers of products as listed in the Catalogues may entrust confirmed certification bodies by themselves to make the certifications.

Article 34 The confirmed certification bodies and laboratories shall provide convenient and timely services on certification, examination and inspection within the confirmed business scope. They may not delay, discriminate and create difficulties for the clients, or seek for improper interests.

No confirmed certification bodies may transfer the confirmed certification business to other organizations.

Article 35 The confirmed certification bodies and laboratories shall carry out the international mutual recognition activities within the framework of international mutual recognition agreements signed between the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council or the relevant authorized departments of the State Council and the foreign countries.

Chapter IV Accreditation

Article 36 The accreditation bodies confirmed by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council (hereinafter referred to as the “accreditation bodies”) shall carry out the accreditation activities independently.

No entity other than the accreditation institution may undertake the accreditation activities directly or in a disguised form, the accreditation result concerned is invalid.

Article 37 The certification bodies, inspection bodies, and laboratories shall keep their abilities of certification, examination and inspection meeting the requirements of accreditation continuously and steadily, through the accreditation made by the accreditation bodies.

Article 38 The persons engaging in such certification activities as the appraisal and examination, etc., may carry out the certification activities accordingly after being registered by the accreditation bodies.

Article 39 The accreditation bodies shall have the quality system fitting in with their scope of accreditation and establish the internal examination system to ensure the implementation of quality system effectively.

Article 40 The accreditation bodies may, pursuant to the requirements of accreditation, select and retain persons engaging in the accreditation evaluation activities, who are experts in the relative fields, familiar with the relative laws, administrative regulations and accreditation rules and procedures, and have good moral character, special knowledge and business ability required for making the evaluation.

Article 41 In case the accreditation bodies entrust others to complete the specific appraisal business in relation to accreditation, they shall be responsible for the appraisal conclusion.

Article 42 The accreditation bodies shall make public such information as the conditions, procedures of the accreditation, and the charging standards.

The accreditation bodies are prohibited from proposing requirements or restricted conditions irrespective to the accreditation activities, when accepting the accreditation applications.

Article 43 The accreditation bodies shall complete the evaluation on the certification bodies, inspection bodies and laboratories within the time limit publicized, pursuant to the State standards and the provisions of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council, and make decisions on whether to grant the accreditation, as well as make full reports on the accreditation process and put them on record. The accreditation bodies shall ensure the objectiveness, justice, integrity and effectiveness of the accreditation, and shall be responsible for the accreditation conclusions.

The accreditation bodies shall issue the accreditation certificates to the certification bodies, inspection bodies and laboratories that have obtained the accreditation, and have the directories of them publicized.

Article 44 The accreditation bodies shall, according to the State standards and the provisions of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council, make examinations on the persons engaging in such certification activities as evaluation and examination, and make registration for those who pass the examination.

Article 45 The accreditation certificates shall include the scope, standards and fields of accreditation and the period of validity.

Article 46 The organizations who have obtained the accreditation shall use the accreditation certificates and marks within the scope of the accreditation obtained. In case the organizations that have obtained the accreditation use the accreditation certificates and marks improperly, the accreditation bodies shall suspend the use of the accreditation certificates or even revoke them, and publicize the circumstance concerned.

Article 47 The accreditation bodies shall implement effective following-up supervision over the organizations or persons that have obtained the accreditation and make re-evaluation periodically on the organizations that have obtained the accreditation, so as to validate their continuous conformity with the accreditation requirements. Once an organization or person that has obtained the accreditation no longer meets the accreditation requirements, the accreditation bodies shall revoke their accreditation certificates and publicize that.

The changes in relation to the accreditation requirements as the practicing personnel and the person in charge of the organizations that have obtained the accreditation, their facilities, certification rules formulated by themselves, etc., shall be timely notified to the accreditation bodies.

Article 48 No accreditation bodies shall accept any grants that may influence the objectiveness and justice of the accreditation activities.

Article 49 The certification bodies, inspection bodies and laboratories within China, who have obtained the accreditation from foreign accreditation bodies, shall put that on record at the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council.

Chapter V Supervision and Administration

Article 50 The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council shall supervise the certified enterprises by way of organizing the experts of the same industry to appraise through discussion, soliciting opinions from the certified enterprises, and making spot-check on the certification activities and certification results, as well as demanding the certification bodies, inspection bodies, and laboratories in relation to certification to make report on their business activities. In case any act in violation of the present Regulations is found, it shall be investigated into and solved in time, if the illicit act has to do with the function of the relative departments of the State Council, the relative departments shall be informed in time.

Article 51 The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council shall make supervisions over the confirmed certification bodies and laboratories, and conduct inspections periodically or aperiodically on their certification, examination and inspection activities. The confirmed certification bodies and laboratories shall submit reports periodically to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council and shall be responsible for the authenticity of the report. There in the report shall be explanations on the conditions of certification, inspection and examination on the products listed in the Catalogues.

Article 52 The accreditation bodies shall submit reports periodically to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council and shall be responsible for the authenticity of the report; such conditions shall be explained in the report as the implementation of accreditation systems by the accreditation bodies, the undertaking of the accreditation activities and the work done by the practicing personnel.

The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council shall make appraisal on the report submitted by the accreditation bodies and make supervisions over the accreditation bodies by way of referring to the file data of accreditation and inquiring the information from the relative persons.

Article 53 The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council may, in accordance with the needs of supervision of the certification and accreditation, ask the persons in charge of the accreditation bodies, certification bodies, inspection bodies, and the laboratories for information about the relative matters, and give them instructions to correct, and the relative personnel shall cooperate actively.

Article 54 The market regulatory department of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation, conduct supervision and administration of certification activities within the scope of authorization of the certification and accreditation regulatory department of the State Council.

The market regulatory department of the local people’s government at or above the county level authorized by the certification and accreditation regulatory department of the State Council is hereinafter referred to as the “local certification regulatory department”.

Article 55 Any entity or person is entitled to file an accusation on the illicit acts of certification or accreditation to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council and the local certification administration departments, who shall then make investigations into and handle them in time and keep confidential for the person making the report.  

Chapter VI Legal Liabilities

Article 56 Any entity or person engaging in the certification activities without approval shall be banned and imposed upon a fine of more than RMB 100 thousand and less than RMB 500 thousand, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated if any.

Article 57 A representative office established within the territory of the People’s Republic of China by a foreign certification body without undergoing registration shall be banned and fined not less than RMB 50,000 nor more than RMB 200,000.

Where a representative office established by a foreign certification body after undergoing registration engages in any certification activity within the territory of the People’s Republic of China, it shall be ordered to take corrective action and fined not less than RMB 100,000 nor more than RMB 500,000, with its illegal income confiscated if any; and if the circumstances are serious, the approval document shall be revoked, which shall be published.

Article 58 If the certification bodies accept grants that may influence the objectiveness and justice of the certification activities, or engage in such activities as the development and sales of the products, etc. that may influence the objectiveness and justice of the certification activities, or have interests relations in capitals or management with the certification clients, they shall be ordered to suspend operation for rectification, if the circumstance is serious, the documents of approval shall be revoked, and the punishment shall be publicized; and the illegal gains shall be confiscated if any; if it constitutes a crime, their criminal liabilities shall be prosecuted for.

Article 59 If the certification bodies have any of the following circumstances, they shall be ordered to make corrections, and be imposed on a fine of more than RMB 50 thousand and less than RMB 200 thousand, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated if any; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be ordered to suspend operation for rectification or even be revoked of the documents of approval, and the punishment shall be publicized:

(1) Carrying out certification activities out of the scope of approval;

(2) Increasing, reducing, or omitting the procedures as prescribed in the basic certification regulations and rules;

(3) Failing to make following-up investigation on their certification products, services and management systems effectively, or failing to suspend the use of or revoke the certificates and publicize the punishment after finding out that their certified products, services and management systems are unable to meet the requirements of certification; or

(4) Retaining persons who haven’t been registered by the accreditation bodies to undertake the certification activities.

In case the inspection bodies, laboratories in relation to certification increase, decrease or omit the procedures of the basic certification regulations or rules, they shall be punished according to the preceding paragraph.

Article 60 In case the certification bodies have any of the following circumstances, they shall be ordered to make corrections within a certain time limit; if they still haven’t made corrections at the expiry of the time limit, they shall be imposed upon a fine of more than RMB 20 thousand and less than RMB 100 thousand:

(1) Refusing to provide the certification services that fall within their business scope for the reason that the clients haven’t taken part in the certification consultation or certification training, or bringing forward to the clients the requirements or restricted conditions irrespective to certification activities;

(2) The style, character and name of the self-made certification marks are the same as or similar to the certification marks popularized by the State, or disturb social administration or impair social morals or customs;

(3) Failing to make known such information as the basic certification standards and regulations, as well as the charging standards;

(4) Failing to make full records on the certification process and put them on records; or

(5) Failing to issue the certificates to their certified clients in time.

In case the inspection bodies and laboratories in relation to the certification fail to make full records on the inspection and examination process in relation to the certification and put them on record, they shall be punished according to the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

Article 61 In case the certification conclusions provided by the certification bodies are false or seriously inconsistent with the facts, the documents of approval shall be revoked, and the punishment shall be publicized; for the person directly responsible and the certification personnel directly liable, their practicing qualifications shall be revoked; if it constitutes a crime, they shall be prosecuted for criminal liabilities; and the certification bodies shall bear the compensation liabilities for the damage.

In case the confirmed certification bodies have the illicit acts as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, their confirmations shall be revoked at the same time.

Article 62 In case a certification personnel who practices business not within the certification body or at over two certification bodies, he shall be ordered to make corrections, and be imposed upon a penalty of suspension of practicing activities over 6 months and below 2 years, if he still makes no corrections after the punishment, his practicing qualifications shall be revoked.

Article 63 In case the certification bodies and laboratories in relation to the certification undertake the certification of products listed in the Catalogues, or inspections and examinations in relation to the certification without confirmation or approval, they shall be ordered to make corrections and be imposed upon a fine of more than RMB 100 thousand and less than RMB 500 thousand, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated if any.

In case the certification bodies undertake the certification of products listed in the Catalogues without confirmation and approval, their documents of approval shall be revoked, and the punishment shall be publicized.

Article 64 In case the confirmed certification bodies and laboratories carry out the certification of products listed in the Catalogues, or the inspection and examination activities in relation to the certification beyond the confirmed business scope, they shall be ordered to make corrections, and be imposed upon a fine of more than RMB 100 thousand and less than RMB 500 thousand, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated if any; when the circumstances are serious, the confirmation shall be withdrawn or even the documents of approval shall be revoked, the punishment shall be publicized.  

In case the confirmed institutions transfer their confirmed certification businesses, they shall be punished according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 65 In case the certification bodies, inspection bodies, and laboratories who have obtained the accreditation from foreign accreditation organizations fail to put that on record at the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council, they shall be given warnings, the punishment shall be publicized.

Article 66 In case the products listed in the Catalogues are left in the factory, sold, imported or used in other business activities without approval or certification, the certification bodies shall be ordered to make corrections and be imposed upon a fine of more than RMB 50 thousand and less than RMB 200 thousand, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated if any.

Article 67 In case the accreditation bodies have any of the following circumstances, they shall be ordered to make corrections; when the circumstances are serious, the person responsible and personnel liable shall be discharged from his office or be dismissed:

(1) Accrediting organizations or persons not meeting the accreditation requirements;

(2) Failing to revoke the accreditation certificates in time and have that publicized, after finding out that the organizations or persons who have obtained the accreditation don’t meet the accreditation requirements; or  

(3) Accepting grants that may influence the objectiveness and justice of the accreditation activities.

The persons in charge of the accreditation bodies and the personnel liable, who have been discharged from their offices or been dismissed, are banned from engaging in the accreditation activities for 5 years from the date of being discharged from the office or being dismissed.

Article 68 In case the accreditation bodies have any of the following circumstances, they shall be ordered to make corrections; and the person responsible and the personnel liable shall be given warnings:

(1) Bringing forward to the applicants the requirements or restricted conditions irrespective to the accreditation activities when accepting the accreditation applications;

(2) Failing to complete the accreditation activities within the period of publication, or failing to make known such information as the accreditation conditions and procedures, as well as the charging standards, etc.;

(3) Failing to suspend the use of accreditation certificates or marks, or revoke the accreditation certificates and have the punishment publicized in time, when finding out that the accreditation bodies improperly use the accreditation certificates and marks; or

(4) Failing to make full records on the accreditation process and put them on record for future reference.

Article 69 In case the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council and the local certification administration departments and their staff members misuse their authority, practice favouritism and irregularities, and neglect their duties, and have any of the following acts, the person directly responsible and other personnel directly liable shall be imposed upon such administrative punishment as being degraded or discharged from his office according to law; if a crime is constituted, he shall be prosecuted for criminal liabilities:

(1) Giving approal and confirmation not in accordance with the conditions and procedures as prescribed by the present Regulations;

(2) Failing to withdraw the documents of approval or confirmation after finding out that the accreditation bodies are no longer in conformity with the conditions of approval or confirmation;

(3) Failing to withdraw the confirmation after finding out that the confirmed laboratories are no longer in conformity with the confirmed conditions as prescribed by the present Regulations;

(4) Failing to investigate and give punishment to the certification bodies, inspection bodies or laboratories in relation to the certification, after finding out that they provide false certification or inspection and examination conclusions in relation to the certification, or the certification and relative inspection and examination conclusions they make are seriously inconsistent with the facts; or

(5) Failing to investigate and deal with the other illicit certification and accreditation acts prescribed in the present Regulations after finding them out.

Article 70 The acts of forging, taking as their own or selling the certification marks or certificates, shall be investigated into and dealt with according to the provisions of the Product Quality Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 71 The administrative punishments prescribed by the present Regulations shall be implemented by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council or their authorized local certification administration departments. In case there are special provisions prescribed by laws and other administrative regulations, they shall be implemented accordingly.

Article 72 The accreditation bodies will no longer accept the registration application of the certification personnel within 5 years since their practicing qualifications are revoked.

Article 73 In case the certification bodies fail to make following-up investigations into their certified products effectively, or fail to suspend or revoke the certificates and demand the stop of using the certification marks when finding out that their products are unable to meet the certification requirements continuously, and thus cause damage to the consumers, they shall bear the joint and several liabilities with the producers and the sellers.  

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 74 The present Regulations are not applicable to the certification of quality administration regulations of the drug production and management enterprises, and the certification of quality conformity of experimental animals, war products, as well as the certification of the laboratories and their personnel engaging in the calibration and examination of war products.

The certification bodies approved pursuant to the present Regulations, which engage in the certification of management systems of mines, dangerous chemicals, and fireworks and firecrackers production and management entities, shall carry out the certification under the organization of the work safety administration departments of the State Council in combination with the special requirements of work safety; the certification bodies engaging in the comprehensive evaluation on work safety of the production and management entities of mines, dangerous chemicals and fireworks and firecrackers, may obtain the accreditation of the accreditation bodies by the recommendation of the work safety administration departments of the State Council.

Article 75 The certification and accreditation charges shall be determined in conformity with the relative provisions of price laws and administrative regulations of the State.

Article 76 The measures for the administration of certification training institutions and certification consultation institutions shall be made by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C department of the State Council.

Article 77 The present Regulations shall be implemented as of November 1, 2003. The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of Product Quality Certification promulgated by the State Council on May 7, 1991 shall be abolished simultaneously.