国家工商行政管理总局令第9号

（Promulgated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on 10 June 2004 and effective as of 1 July 2004.）

颁布日期：20040610 　实施日期：20040701 　颁布单位：国家工商行政管理总局

PART ONE　GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1　These Provisions have been formulated in accordance with the Administrative Licensing Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations in order to standardize enterprise registration and enhance the efficiency of registration.

Article 2　These Provisions apply to the registration of establishment， change of registration and deregistration of enterprises and the preliminary verification and approval of enterprise names.

Article 3　An enterprise registration authority shall examine the completeness and compliance with the statutory format of the application materials in accordance with the law. Where there is a need to verify the substantive contents of the application materials in accordance with the statutory conditions and procedures， verification shall be carried out in accordance with the law.

Article 4　An enterprise registration authority shall set up an enterprise registration venue to handle enterprise registration matters in a uniform manner.

Qualified enterprise registration authorities shall set up an enterprise registration website to accept enterprise registration applications， and to make it convenient for applicants to download standard texts for application， submit application materials and inquire enterprise registration status and administrative provisions on enterprise registration， etc.

Article 5　The working staff of an enterprise registration authority shall， within their scope of duties and responsibilities， examine enterprise registration applications， and render decisions on whether or not to accept applications and approve registration on behalf of the enterprise registration authority.

PART TWO　APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION

Article 6　To apply for enterprise registration， an applicant or the agent it appoints may submit the application by：

1. going to the enterprise registration venue directly； or

2. postal mail， facsimile， electronic data interchange， electronic mail， etc.

If an application is submitted by such means as facsimile， electronic data interchange or electronic mail， the contact method and the correspondence address of the applicant or its agent shall be provided. Where the application is accepted by the enterprise registration authority， the applicant shall， within 15 days of the date of receipt of the Acceptance Notice， submit the original application materials that are consistent with the contents of the facsimile， electronic data interchange or electronic mail and that comply with the statutory format.

Article 7　An applicant shall submit the application based on the standard texts for application formulated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce， and shall provide the relevant materials according to the provisions of the laws and administrative regulations on enterprise registration and the rules of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

If the application involves an item for which licensing prior to enterprise registration is required under laws， administrative regulations or the decisions issued by the State Council， the applicant shall provide a licence or approval document in the statutory format.

Article 8　An applicant shall truthfully submit the relevant materials and reflect the true circumstances to the enterprise registration authority， and shall assume responsibility for the authenticity of the substantive contents of its application materials.

PART THREE　EXAMINATION， ACCEPTANCE AND DECISION

Article 9　Upon receipt of an application for registration， the registration authority shall examine the completeness and compliance with the statutory format of the application materials.

“Application materials are complete” means all materials that an applicant is required to submit by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce in accordance with laws， administrative regulations and rules on enterprise registration.

“Application materials comply with the statutory format” means that the application materials comply with the statutory time limit， that the matters recorded therein comply with the statutory requirements， and that the document format comply with standards.

Article 10　After examining the application for registration of an applicant， the enterprise registration authority shall render a decision on whether or not to accept the application according to the following circumstances respectively：

1. If the application materials are complete and comply with the statutory format， it shall decide to accept the application.

2. If the application materials are complete and comply with the statutory format but need to be verified， it shall decide to accept the application and， at the same time， notify the applicant in writing of the matters that need to be verified， and the reason and time for such verification.

3. If the application materials contain errors that may be corrected on the spot， it shall permit correction by the person with the authority to make corrections， who shall sign or seal at the corrected spots and indicate the date of correction； and， upon confirmation that the application materials are complete and comply with the statutory format， it shall decide to accept the application.

4. If the application materials are incomplete or do not comply with the statutory format， it shall， on the spot or within five days， notify the applicant in one notice of all the contents that need to be supplemented and corrected by the applicant. At the time of such notification， it shall return the application materials to the applicant and decide not to accept the application. If the notification is made within five days， it shall accept the materials and issue a receipt therefor.

5. If the matter is not within the scope of enterprise registration or the jurisdiction of registration of the authority， it shall immediately decide not to accept the application and shall notify the applicant to apply to the relevant administrative authority.

If the application is submitted by such means as postal mail， facsimile， electronic data interchange or electronic mail， it shall render a decision on whether or not to accept the application within five days of receipt thereof.

For the purposes of these Provisions， a “person with the authority to make corrections” means the applicant or a person handling the application that has been expressly authorized by the applicant to make corrections to the relevant items， texts and contents related to the application materials.

Article 11　If the enterprise registration authority deems it necessary to verify the substantive contents of the application materials， it shall assign two or more of its working personnel to verify the application materials. After verification， an “application materials verification report” shall be submitted， and a decision on whether or not to grant registration shall be rendered on the basis of the verification.

Article 12　In regards to applications for registration that the enterprise registration authority has decided to accept， it shall render a decision on whether or not to grant registration within the stipulated time period according to the particular circumstances：

1. If the application is accepted upon submission by the applicant or the agent it appoints at the enterprise registration venue， a decision to grant registration shall be rendered on the spot.

2. If the application is accepted upon submission by postal mail， a decision to grant registration shall be rendered within 15 days of the date of acceptance.

3. If the application is submitted by facsimile， electronic data interchange or electronic mail， and the originals of the application materials are submitted at the enterprise registration venue by the applicant or the agent it appoints， a decision to grant registration shall be rendered on the spot. If the originals of the application materials are submitted by postal mail， a decision to grant registration shall be rendered within 15 days of the date of receipt of the originals of the application materials. If the originals of the application materials submitted by the applicant are not consistent with those for the accepted application， a decision not to grant registration shall be rendered. If the originals of the application materials are submitted as a new application， the application shall be handled in accordance with Articles 9， 10， 11 and 12. If the enterprise registration authority has not received the originals of the application materials within 60 days of the date of issue of the Acceptance Notice， it shall decide not to grant registration.

If it needs to verify the application materials， it shall render a decision on whether or not to grant registration within 15 days of the date of acceptance.

Article 13　If an application for enterprise registration is to be examined by a lower level enterprise registration authority before it is submitted to a higher level registration authority for decision according to law， the lower level enterprise registration authority shall give an examination opinion within 15 days of the date of acceptance.

Article 14　Where a local people‘s government stipulates that enterprise registration applications shall be accepted centrally by the enterprise registration authority， which shall then notify the relevant authorities to carry out inter-related examination and approval， the examination and approval procedures and time limit shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the local people's government.

Article 15　Except where a decision to grant registration is rendered pursuant to Item （1） of Article 12 hereof， the enterprise registration authority shall issue an Acceptance Notice where it decides to accept an application. If it decides not to accept an application， it shall issue a Non-acceptance Notice and state therein the reasons for not accepting the application.

Article 16　If the enterprise registration authority grants preliminary verification and approval to an enterprise name， it shall issue a Notice of Preliminary Verification and Approval of Enterprise Name. If it grants registration of establishment of an enterprise， it shall issue a Notice of Grant of Establishment Registration and notify the applicant to obtain a business licence within 10 days of the date of decision. If it grants registration of change in enterprise， it shall issue a Notice of Grant of Change of Registration and notify the applicant to obtain a business licence within 10 days of the date of decision. If it grants deregistration of an enterprise， it shall issue a Notice of Grant of Deregistration and collect the business licence.

If the enterprise registration authority decides not to grant registration， it shall issue a Notice of Rejection of Registration and state therein the reasons for not granting registration， and shall notify the applicant of its rights to apply for administrative review or institute an administrative action according to law.

PART FOUR　DEREGISTRATION FOR CANCELLATION AND REVOCATION

Article 17　In any of the following circumstances， registration may be cancelled by the enterprise registration authority or its superior authority at the request of an interested party or on the basis of its authority：

1. the decision to grant registration has been rendered through abuse of authority or dereliction of duties；

2. the decision to grant registration has been rendered ultra vires；

3. the decision to grant registration has been rendered to an applicant that does not qualify to apply or does not meet the statutory conditions； or

4. other circumstances in which the decision to grant registration may be cancelled in accordance with the law.

If registration is obtained by a licensee through fraud， bribery or other improper means， it shall be cancelled.

If cancellation of registration pursuant to the two preceding paragraphs may result in material damage to public interests， registration shall not be cancelled but an order of correction and rectification shall be issued.

Article 18　If the registration of establishment of an enterprise is cancelled or if its business licence is revoked according to law， the enterprise shall cease business activities and organize liquidation according to law. The liquidation organization shall， within 30 days of the completion of liquidation， apply for deregistration according to law.

Article 19　If the registration of establishment of an enterprise is cancelled or if its business licence is revoked according to law， the non-legal person branches established by the enterprise shall cease business activities and complete its deregistration according to law. Affiliated enterprises invested in and established by the enterprise shall complete change of registration or deregistration according to law.

PART FIVE　PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE OF REGISTRATION

Article 20　The enterprise registration authority shall publicize the following particulars at the enterprise registration venue：

1. registration items；

2. basis for registration；

3. conditions for registration；

4. registration procedure and time limit；

5. list of application materials to be submitted；

6. registration fee standards and basis； and

7. model application forms.

The enterprise registration authority shall state and explain the contents in the public notice specified in the preceding paragraph at the request of applicants.

Article 21　The enterprise registration authority shall set up an enterprise register for public inspection.

If the registration materials of an enterprise involve State secrets， trade secrets or personal privacy， the enterprise registration authority shall not disclose such information to the public.

PART SIX　SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 22　For the purposes of these Provisions， the term “enterprises” include all types of enterprises and their branches.

Article 23　The registration of enterprise groups， resident representative offices of enterprises from foreign countries （regions） and enterprises from foreign countries （regions） that engage in business activities in China shall be carried out with reference to these Provisions.

Article 24　These Provisions shall be implemented as of 1 July 2004.