The Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation has worked out the Ten Measures to Facilitate Market Access Registration to implement the city's eighth edition of its action plan to optimize the business environment.

The followings are the 10 measures and interpretations of them.

1. Expand the service scope of the Shanghai Online Business Registration platform and provide whole-process online registration services for overseas enterprises engaged in production and operation activities in China, as well as for permanent representative offices of foreign enterprises.

*The administration will expand the service scope of the platform, provide clear guidance and policy interpretation for applicants and assist them in preparing relevant applications materials.

Applicants may submit registration applications, and complete electronic identity authentications and electronic signatures through the platform before registration authorities issue business licenses online. This move results in zero on-site applications.

2. Promote the digital upgrade of the Shanghai Online Business Registration platform. Also, augment the intelligent pre-filling of application registration forms of corporate changes and cancellations, and the intelligent generation of application materials related to resolutions of corporate shareholders’ meetings, in addition to intelligent pre-reviews of application conditions concerning the qualifications of personnel.

*The administration will promote the digital upgrade of the platform. In response to complex situations related to corporate changes and cancellations. It will leverage core data — submitted by enterprises during the process of handling their affairs — to automatically generate necessary documents for registrations of changes and cancellations for enterprises through intelligent means.

Meanwhile, it will also utilize technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. This will be done to conduct intelligent pre-reviews of application materials around key points of the registrations of corporate changes and cancellations, to quickly identify errors and missing items in the materials and to give timely feedback and guidance to enterprises.

3. Optimize the intelligent system for assisting enterprises in deciding their names. This will rely on large-scale AI models and big data algorithms to intelligently analyze applicant preferences, comprehend their characteristics and demands, recommend available names in real time and help them quickly select "desired" and "available" names.

*The administration will further improve the intelligent system to ensure that the recommended names are those that applicants "want to use" and "can use" by dint of technologies such as large-scale AI models and big data algorithms.

4. Promote the information database for the standardized registration of residence premises and its application throughout the city — and associate standard codes of lease contracts with information on the premises, ridding applicants of the need to submit proof of use of the premises.

*The administration will establish an information database for standardized registration of residence premises — and guide people managing the premises to assign digital codes to lease contracts according to unified standards.

When a business entity rents and registers property included in the database, it only needs to fill in the lease contract code. The registration system will automatically verify the information on the premises and the lease. When the information is verified, the applicant does not need to submit additional proof such as the certificate of ownership of the property and the lease contract.

5. Recommend customized and readable policy guidance to business entities through the "Shanghai special service zone for electronic business licenses" — to precisely match policies on market access with business entities.

*In 2023, Shanghai launched China's first regional online zone for e-business licenses — the "Shanghai special service zone for electronic business licenses" — integrating services such as electronic seals, electronic archives, electronic bidding, bank account opening and broadband processing.

The administration will leverage the special service zone to provide policy services. It will directly recommend policies on market access to legal representatives and relevant company staff through the WeChat or Alipay mini-program on e-business licenses, to boost the high-quality development of enterprises with more accurate policy guidance.

6. Enrich information that can be displayed by scanning "business entity identity codes" ("enterprise QR codes") for more scenarios.

*In 2023, Shanghai took the lead in China to launch a pilot program for "enterprise QR codes". When the public scan an enterprise QR code, information on business registration and permits by market supervision authorities is obtained.

Moreover, various government service systems are linked with "enterprise QR codes" to realize functions that include "scanning codes to fill out forms".

The administration will continue to enrich information that can be displayed by scanning enterprise QR codes. This will conveniently show more public information, that originally needed to be inquired about on the internet.

7. Simplify real-name authentication, electronic signatures and license downloads to further facilitate registration of branch offices of related chain enterprises.

*The administration has launched an "authorized processing" measure, allowing the legal representative of related chain enterprises to authorize a designated person to perform facial recognition and sign relevant registration documents.

It has also introduced a "signing in batches" measure — enabling an individual to sign all registration documents for up to 50 branches under his or her name, with facial recognition conducted only once during the entire online registration process.

In addition, the method for downloading e-business licenses has been optimized. When related chain enterprises appoint the same person in charge of multiple stores, he or she only needs facial recognition once to download the e-business licenses of all the stores under his or her name.

8. Break through regional restrictions and promote cross-regional registration of "one license, multiple locations" business premises to benefit more business entities.

*When an enterprise operates in multiple premises throughout the city, it can apply to the registration authority in its registration place to register all of its business premises in the city.

The administration will expand and optimize the display channels and methods of its service of "one license, multiple locations" filing information. A new method of acquiring information by scanning "enterprise QR codes" will be made available — in addition to obtaining the filing information on the business premises through the Shanghai local channel of the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.

After an enterprise completes the registration of its business premises, the public can directly scan the enterprise QR code to get the relevant information.

9. Strengthen the sharing of information on bankruptcy and other cases with the people's court and continuously streamline the enterprise cancellation process.

*The administration will boost information sharing with the people's court and promptly learn whether an enterprise has entered bankruptcy proceedings. Prior to the termination of bankruptcy liquidation procedures, reorganization, or conciliation proceedings, enterprise registration and filing procedures shall not be processed without the consent of the court or the application of the administrator.

Enterprises can initiate online cancellation procedures of their tax registration and business licenses through the "Shanghai Online Business Registration (Cancellation)" platform — with no need to go to service windows or submit proof of a tax clearance.

10. Build a service matrix featuring notable brand service studios across the city, implement the "second-time rejection ensures active contact" working system for online services and improve the efficiency of online services.

*In recent years, the administration has built a service matrix comprising "Shanghai Online Business Registration", 18 notable brand service studios in districts and sub-district administrations, as well as service stations.

The "second-time rejection ensures active contact" working system will be implemented for online services.

During online processing, when a decision is made on a second-time rejection of an application, the responsible staff member shall actively contact the applicant, explain the reasons for the rejection and provide targeted guidance to help the applicant rectify and improve the applications materials to avoid a further rejection.

 

Source: Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation

Note: The English version of these measures is for reference only; the official Chinese document shall prevail.