Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of the Consumers' Rights and Interests
Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of the Consumers' Rights and Interests
(July 21,2022)
No.118
(Adopted at the 44th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on October 28, 2002; amended in accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on Amending the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of the Consumers' Rights and Interests adopted at the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on November 20, 2014; revised and adopted at the 42nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 15thShanghai Municipal People's Congress.)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
With a view to protecting the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, upholding the social and economic order, promoting the healthy development of a socialist market economy, serving the country’s unified big market, and advancing the construction of a central city for the international consumers, these Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.
Article 2
Where consumers purchase and use commodities or receive services within the administrative areas of this Municipality for their living and consumption needs, their legitimate rights and interests shall be protected by these Regulations. The business operators who provide consumers with the commodities they produce and sell or with their services shall abide by these Regulations, unless otherwise provided by laws and administrative regulations.
Article 3
The protection of the consumers' legitimate rights and interests shall follow the principle of combining the operators' legal business operation, the consumers' legal safeguarding of their rights, State protection, self-discipline of the industries, and public supervision.
The trading between the operators and the consumers shall follow the principle of voluntariness, equality, fairness, and good faith.
The protection of the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests shall facilitate them to exercise their rights and suit the level of the social and economic development.
Article 4
This Municipality shall advocate the consumption modes that are thrifty and moderate, green and low-carbon, civilized and healthy, opposing waste, and promoting sustainable consumption.
Article 5
The people's governments at all levels of this Municipality shall strengthen their leadership in the work of protecting the consumers’ rights and interests, organize, coordinate and urge the relevant administrative departments to properly implement these Regulations, and clarify various parties’ duties for the protection of the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests.
The municipal and district people’s governments shall establish the mechanisms for deliberating and coordinating the protection of the consumers' rights and interests, coordinate and study the major policies on the protection of the consumers’rights and interests, coordinate and handle the major issues in consumption. The market regulation administrative departments shall be responsible for the routine work of the aforesaid mechanism.
The member units of the mechanisms for deliberating and coordinating the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests may rely on the expert consultation committees to conduct research on the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests and carry out consultation and feasibility study on the major, difficult and complicated consumer rights protection activities.
Article 6
The state organs of this Municipality shall adopt measures according to their respective duties to legally protect the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests from being infringed upon.
The market regulation administrative departments at all levels and other relevant administrative departments shall strengthen their supervision of the operators, and investigate and handle the acts infringing upon the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests.
Article 7
The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses shall strengthen their supervision of the implementation of these Regulations through such forms as hearing and deliberating on special work reports, organizing enforcement checks, and inquiring and questioning.
The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses shall give full play to the roles of the deputies at all levels, organize the deputies to conduct special-theme investigations, inspection, etc., and urge the relevant parties to do well the various tasks of protecting the consumers’ rights and interests.
Article 8
The municipal and district councils of protection of the consumers’ rights and interests (hereinafter referred to as the “consumer protection councils”) are statutory public-benefit organizations that exercise social supervision of commodities and services and protect the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, and they shall perform the functions mandated to them by the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers.
Other legally established consumer organizations shall conduct their activities of protecting the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests in accordance with laws, rules and their articles of association.
Article 9
This Municipality shall promote coordination of the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests in the Yangtze River Delta Region (hereinafter the Yangtze Delta), launch the Yangtze Delta Satisfactory Consumption Action, explore the return and replacement of commodities in different places and at different shops, make joint investigation on the major consumption events, jointly publish typical cases of infringement upon the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, and promote coordination of the major policies on the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests in the Yangtze Delta and optimize the consumption environment.
Chapter II The Rights of Consumers
Article 10
When purchasing and using commodities or receiving services, consumers have the rights to protection of their personal and property safety from being infringed upon.
Consumers have the rights to request that the commodities and services provided by the operators meet the requirements for protecting their personal and property safety. Consumers have the rights to request the operators to publish the standards for their commodities and services. Where there are compulsory state standards for commodities and services, such standards shall be followed; where there are no relevant standards, the safety and health requirements generally recognized by the public shall be met.
Consumers have the rights to ask the operators to provide safe consumption facilities, premises and environment.
Article 11
When purchasing and using commodities or receiving services, consumers have the rights to inquire about and learn the actual conditions of the commodities or services and the trading terms, and they have the rights to ask the operators to provide the necessary information and materials.
Article 12
Consumers have the rights to independently select the operators that provide the commodities or services, independently select the kinds of commodities or the modes of services, and independently decide whether to purchase any commodity or not, or whether to accept a service or not.
When independently selecting commodities or services, consumers have the rights to make comparison, assessment and choice.
Article 13
Consumers have the rights to fair trading.
When purchasing commodities or receiving services, consumers have the rights to fair trading terms such as guaranteed quality, reasonable prices and accurate measurements, and the rights to refuse the operators’ compulsory trading.
Article 14
When purchasing and using commodities or receiving services, consumers have the rights to have their dignity and ethnic customs and habits respected, and have the rights to have their individual information protected according to law.
Article 15
Consumers have the rights to acquire knowledge about the protection of the consumers' rights and interests, including the consumers' rights, the operators' obligations and the modes of settling consumption disputes.
Article 16
Consumers have the rights to form social organizations in accordance with law to protect their own legitimate rights and interests.
Article 17
When purchasing and using commodities or receiving services, consumers have the rights to claim damages from the operators in accordance with law if their personal rights and interests such as the right to life, body right, right to health, right of name, right of portrait, right of reputation, right of honor, and right of privacy, etc. are infringed upon.
When purchasing and using commodities or receiving services, if the consumers’ properties have been damaged, they have the rights to claim compensations from the operators in accordance with law.
Article 18
Consumers have the rights to make assessments, comments and suggestions on the quality, prices and measurements of the operators' commodities and services and on their service attitude, and have the rights to report to the relevant administrative departments against their illegal acts, and the rights to truthfully report the relevant circumstances to the mass media.
Consumers have the rights to make comments and suggestions on the industry rules, relevant standards and model contract texts as formulated by the industry organizations, or on the contents of the protection of the consumers' rights and interests in the agreements reached among the operators.
Consumers have the rights to make comments and suggestions on the work of the consumer protection councils and other consumer organizations to protect the consumers’ rights and interests.
Consumers have the rights to make criticisms and suggestions to the state organs on their work of protecting the consumers' rights and interests as well as the rights to report and sue the state organs and their staff for any violation of law or neglect of duties in their work of protecting the consumers' rights and interests.
Chapter III The Obligations of Operators
Article 19
The operators who provide consumers with commodities or services shall perform the obligations prescribed by laws and rules.
Where the operators have reached agreements with the consumers, they shall perform their obligations according to the agreements, which however, shall not violate the provisions of laws and rules.
If the operators have made commitments to consumers on the quality and prices of their commodities or services and their after-sale obligations in publicity forms such as commercial advertisements, product descriptions, and product samples, or through notices, statements and shop-premises announcements, then the quality and prices of the commodities or services the operators provide and their after-sale obligations shall be identical with their commitments. The consumers who are led by the above commitments into purchasing commodities or receiving services may require the operators to include such commitments in the agreements between them.
If the operators use such forms as standard clauses, notices, statements or shop-premises announcements when providing consumers with commodities or services, they shall use conspicuous methods to call the consumers' attention to the contents of the aforesaid forms that are related to the consumers’ major interests, and give explanations upon consumers' requests. Such forms of the operators shall not contain provisions unfair and unreasonable to the consumers that eliminate or restrict the consumers' rights, alleviate or exempt the operators' liabilities, or impose heavier liabilities on the consumers, and the operators shall not use standard clauses or technical means for compulsory trading.
The standard clauses, notices, statements or shop-premises announcements containing the contents mentioned in the preceding Paragraph shall be void.
Article 20
The operators shall guarantee that the commodities, services, facilities and premises they provide meet the requirements for the protection of the consumers’ personal and property safety.
The operators shall give consumers accurate explanations and explicit warnings of their commodities, services, facilities and premises that may endanger personal and property safety, and describe and indicate the correct ways of using such commodities, facilities and premises or receiving such services, and ways of preventing harms.
The operators engaged in adventurous recreation, sports and entertainment business shall have proper technical conditions, service equipment and necessary protection and rescue facilities that will ensure the consumers’ personal safety, and shall formulate emergency schemes in advance.
Article 21
The operators who process the consumers' personal information shall follow the principle of legality, justification, necessity and good faith, clearly indicate the purpose, method and scope of their processing of the information, and obtain the consumers' consents in accordance with law; they shall not engage in the consumers' personal information processing activities that violate the laws and rules, exceed the scope of the consumers’ consents, or have nothing to do with the serviceable. The proofs that the operators have performed the obligation of clear indication and obtained the consumers’ consents shall be kept for at least three years.
The operators shall establish and improve information privacy and security management systems, formulate emergency pre-install for information safety, so as to guarantee the information safety, and prevent disclosure and loss of the consumers’ personal information. In circumstances where the information disclosure or loss has occurred or may occur, the operators shall take immediate remedy measures, start the emergency plans, and promptly inform the departments in charge of personal information protection and notify the consumers.
Article 22
When providing commodities or services, the operators shall provide consumers with truthful introductions and explanations in clear and explicit terms or language, and reply to the consumers’ inquiries truthfully and unequivocally.
When providing commodities or services, the operators shall, in line with the provisions of laws and rules, or the operator-consumer agreements, or the trading practice, take the initiative to inform the consumers of the following details or show them clearly the price, place of origin, manufacturer, use, performance, specifications, grade, main components, net content, production date, effective period, certificate of inspection, instructions on use, use skills, after-sale service of the commodities; or the contents, specifications, costs, and standards of the services, and the relevant testing or inspection reports or maintenance service records. In the case of commercial houses, the operators shall inform the customers of or show them the certificates of ownership, building structure and area composition.
Where the operators use Internet media to promote their commodities or services in the forms of Internet advertisements such as bidding rank, they shall clearly mark such promotion as “advertisements” in accordance with law.
Article 23
The operators who adopt the modes of the Internet, television, telephone, and mail order to provide commodities or services, and the operators who provide training service and such financial services as securities, insurance and banking shall, supply the consumers with information on their business address, contact details, the quality and quantity of the commodities or services, the prices or costs, the period and way of performance, safety tips, risk warnings, after-sale service, civil liabilities, etc. Where commodities or services are actually provided by other operators, their names, business addresses, contact information, etc. shall also be provided to the consumers.
In the case of major information such as the interest, fees, earnings and risks, the financial service providers shall mark them in a manner sufficient to draw the consumers’ attention and give them explanations, and they shall also use appropriate methods to ensure that the consumers have received the information in full.
Where laws, rules and department regulations provide otherwise for the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests in financial services such as securities, insurance and banking, such provisions shall apply.
Article 24
The marks of the operators' commodities or the information of their services shall conform to the provisions of laws and rules.
Where the commodities provided by the operators fail to reach the standard grades, but still have use values and can be sold according to the provisions, such information shall be marked at conspicuous places and indicated in the purchase vouchers for consumers. Those who sell imported commodities as agents shall indicate on the commodities the names and addresses of the agents, importers and distributors.
The operators providing services shall put up at conspicuous places of their business premises the service information, which shall contain the following:
1. the service contents, quality standards and charge rates;
2. points for attention, restrictions and necessary cues in services; and
3. other service contents that shall be indicated.
Article 25
When providing commodities or services, the operators shall clearly mark their prices as required, to the extent that the list of prices is complete, the price tags are genuine and unambiguous, the words are legible, the marks are eye-catching, and the price tags match the commodities or services. When the prices of the commodities or services change, the price tags shall change promptly and correspondingly.
When the operators mark the prices, they shall mark them clearly at conspicuous places by such effective means as price tags (including electronic price tags), price cards, price lists (catalogs), demonstration boards, electronic screens, commodities proper, commodity models, and pictures.
The operators shall not sell commodities or provide services at prices higher than marked, nor collect any charges that are not marked.
Article 26
The operators shall display their business licenses at conspicuous places in their domicile or main business premises. The e-commerce operators shall continuously display their business licenses and proofs of the relevant administrative permission, or links to such information on their home pages.
The operators shall display their true names and logos. The positions, character fonts and colors indicating the operators’ names shall be easy for consumers to identify and make inquiries.
Where the operators lease the others' counters or places to run business, their true names and logos shall also be indicated.
The operators who conduct commercial franchise operations by alliance shall indicate the true names and logos of the franchisers and the franchisees.
Article 27
The business managers of the commodity trading markets and the lessors of counters or premises shall verify such materials as the business licenses and administrative permits of the floor traders or lessees, keep copies of such materials, and provide the aforesaid truthful information if consumers inquire about the floor traders or lessees.
The business managers of the commodity trading markets and the lessors of counters or premises shall put up bulletin boards at conspicuous places on the trading floors to publicize matters related to the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests such as the designation (name) of the floor traders and the lessees, the period of the business operation (lease), and the business items.
Article 28
If the operators' sale of commodities or provision of services is settled on the basis of quantity, the statutory measurement units shall be indicated, and measurement appliances that are appropriate to their commodities or services shall be provided and used.
The commodities provided by the operators shall not be short in quantity, the weight of the packing shall not be included in the pricing of their commodities, and they shall not refuse the customers' request to verify the measurements.
Article 29
When purchasing commodities, the operators shall keep all the original invoices, bills and other documents that can prove the origins of the commodities they purchased, and establish the day-to-day accounts therefor in accordance with law.
When providing commodities or services, the operators shall provide the consumers with purchase vouchers or service documents in line with the state provisions or trade practices; upon the consumers’ request of purchase vouchers or service documents, they must provide them as required.
Where consumers request a list of charges in addition to the purchase vouchers and service documents, the operators must provide them as required.
Article 30
The operators shall undertake the obligations to repair commodities they sold, and the periods of such obligations shall not be less than six months, except for the low-value consumables. In the case of commodities such as commercial houses and automobiles, if the State and this Municipality provide otherwise, such provisions shall be followed.
Where the operators' commodities or services fall below the quality standards, consumers may return the commodities in accordance with the state provisions or the stipulations agreed upon by the parties concerned, or the consumers may require the operators to undertake the obligations of replacing, remaking or repairing the commodities or cutting the prices. If there are no state provisions and no agreements between the parties concerned, the consumers may return the commodities within seven days from the date of receiving the commodities; after seven days, consumers may return the commodities in time if the conditions are met for terminating their contracts according to law; and if not, they may require the operators to undertake the obligations of replacing, remaking or repairing the commodities or cutting the prices.
The operators shall perform the obligations prescribed in the preceding Paragraph within the periods they promise or the periods prescribed by the State. In the case of return, replacement, remaking or repairing of the commodities according to the preceding Paragraph, the operators shall bear the necessary expenses including the transportation costs.
Article 31
If the operators find in the commodities or services they have provided any defect that endangers personal and property safety, they shall immediately report to the relevant administrative departments and inform the consumers, and shall adopt the measures of terminating the sale of such commodities, giving warnings, recalling the commodities, giving them innocent treatment, destroying them, and/or ceasing the production or services. The operators shall bear the necessary expenses incurred by the consumers because of the recall of the commodities.
Where the relevant administrative departments find and confirm what is described in the preceding Paragraph, they shall immediately order the operators to adopt the corresponding measures as required, and the operators shall immediately carry out the orders.
Article 32
Where the operators provide commodities or services to consumers by promotional means such as prizes and gifts, on the condition that the consumers purchase their commodities or receive their services, they shall not be exempted from their obligations for the return, replacement, remaking, repairing, etc. of the prize-and-gift commodities and services.
Article 33
Where the operators have to stop providing statutory or agreed commodities or services because of their own reasons, they shall inform the consumers in advance and make appropriate arrangements in accordance with the provisions of laws and rules, or what is agreed on, and the trading practices.
If the operators of public utilities will stop provision of their commodities or services for the reasons such as consumers’ failure to pay the fees, they shall inform the consumers in advance, and allow them the necessary time to get prepared.
Article 34
When providing commodities or services, the operators are prohibited from the following acts:
1. insulting or slandering consumers;
2. searching the bodies of the consumers or the things they carry with them;
3. infringing on the consumers' personal freedom; or
4. other acts infringing on consumers' personal rights and interests.
In the case of special properties of personal significance, the operators who provide the commodities or services shall be obliged to be prudent, and they shall bear the liabilities according to law if the special properties are permanently destroyed or damaged.
Article 35
If the operators do not have the consumers' consents or requests, or the consumers expressly decline, they shall not send them commercial information.
Where consumers agree that the operators send them commercial information, the operators shall not increase the costs of the consumers unless otherwise agreed on by the two parties.
When the operators send popup advertisements to consumers, they shall clearly indicate the close icon and ensure that the advertisements can be shut up with just one click.
Article 36
When providing commodities or services, the operators shall not infringe upon the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests by such fraudulent practices as passing fake for genuine and inferior for superior commodities, selling adulterated commodities, using false price tags, and fabricating service contents.
Article 37
The operators shall not force consumers to purchase commodities or accept services, sell commodities or services on a tie-in basis, or attach other unreasonable conditions against the will of the consumers. Before the operators provide alternative commodities or services, they shall first solicit the consumers’ opinions and secure their consents.
Article 38
Where the operators use the consumers' personal information to make automated decisions, they shall ensure the decision-making is transparent and the result is fair and just, and they shall not exercise unreasonably different treatments for the consumers in trading terms such as trading prices.
Article 39
Where the operators sell commodities by such means as the Internet, television, telephone, mail order and door-to-door sales, the consumers have the rights to return the commodities within seven days upon receipt of the commodities without any reasons, except the following commodities:
1. those made by order of the consumers;
2. those fresh and perishable;
3. digital commodities including audio/video products and computer software downloaded online or opened by consumers; and
4. the delivered newspapers or periodicals.
For the commodities unsuitable to be returned because of their nature besides those listed in the preceding Paragraph, the operators shall notify the consumers via conspicuous means such as setting up prompt programs and using technical methods, so that the consumers can make confirmation before purchase settlement.
When the consumers return the commodities, they shall keep them in good condition, and return the prizes and gifts as well if there are prizes and gifts, or return the money equivalent to the prizes and gifts in value. The operators shall, within seven days upon receipt of the returned commodities, give back the money paid by the consumers. The costs of transport incurred therefrom shall be borne by the consumers; where the operators and the consumers have otherwise agreed on, such agreements shall apply.
If the commodities unpacked by the consumers for check and tryout are not smeared or damaged, they are regarded as in good condition as prescribed in the preceding Paragraph, unless otherwise prescribed by the State.
The physical store operators are encouraged to commit to accept, without the consumers’ reasons, returned commodities that were purchased offline.
Article 40
Where the operators adopt the ransom sampling methods to sell to consumers commodities or offer them services within a special scope, they shall publicize in a conspicuous way, according to the provisions, such key information as the sampling rules, distribution of the commodities or services, the quantities of the commodities or services provided, and the probability of winning an award.
The actual commodities the operators put into the market shall be consistent with the publicity contents mentioned in the preceding Paragraph, and they shall not falsify the award-wining probability or change the sampling results.
Random sampling sales shall not violate the provisions of laws and rules, or offend the public order or good morals. The sampling sales operators are encouraged to protect the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests by such means as providing a minimum guarantee mechanism.
Article 41
The operators who sell commodities or provide services via the Internet, television, telephone, mail order, etc. shall ensure that the quality and performance of the commodities or services are in conformity with the advertisements, and shall provide the commodities or services in accordance within the promised time limits.
The operators who sell commodities from door to door shall secure the consents of the consumers they visit. The sales persons shall produce the documents of authorization and their ID, and shall inform consumers in writing of the functions, characteristics, model numbers, prices, after-sale service of their commodities and their business addresses.
The operators shall not use such forms as meetings, lectures and consultations to conduct false or misleading publicity about the commodities including health food they are selling or the services they are providing so as to cheat or mislead consumers. If the premises or other facilities provided by other persons may probably cause misunderstanding, the operators shall perform their obligations of reasonably notifying the consumers of the true circumstances.
The financial service providers conducting marketing activities shall meet the state requirements on qualification licensing, marketing channels, code of conduct, etc.
Article 42
The online game operators shall perform their obligations of protecting the minors, and when providing the minors with service of games, they shall meet the requirements of laws, rules and state provisions on the time, period, consumption restrictions, and contents of games.
The online game operators shall use technology such as electronic identity authentication to require the minors to register and log into the online games with their genuine ID information.
Article 43
The live webcast marketing platforms shall conduct ID authentication of the live webcast studio operators and the live webcast marketing agents.
The live webcast marketing platforms shall strengthen their information safety administration on their studios’ service of jumps via internal links, QR codes, etc. and guard against information safety risks. If the consumers have disputes over the commodity they purchase or the service they receive on another platform to which they jumped via the studio’s internal links, QR codes, etc., then the live webcast marketing platforms shall assist them in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, and provide the relevant records and other necessary information and data. The studio operators shall indicate the actual operators of the commodities or services to which customers can jump via the studio’s internal links, QR codes, etc. If the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests are infringed upon because they jumped via the studio’s internal links, QR codes, etc. to another platform to purchase commodities or receive services, then the studio operators shall bear the corresponding responsibilities if they did not indicate the actual operators thereon. Where laws and administrative rules provide otherwise for the responsibilities of live webcast marketing platforms and live webcast studio operators, these provisions shall apply.
If what the webcast studio operators or webcast marketing agents publish constitutes a commercial advertisement, they shall perform their obligations as an advertisement publisher, advertising agent, or advertising endorser and bear the corresponding responsibilities.
Article 44
The cross-border e-commerce retail import operators shall bear the corresponding responsibilities for the quality safety of the commodities, and perform the obligations of the protection of the consumer rights and interests and commodity information disclosure and notification.
The cross-border e-commerce retail import operators shall entrust corresponding eligible domestic service providers to undertake the obligations of truthful declaration, and subject themselves to the supervision of the relevant administrative departments. The corresponding domestic service providers are encouraged to make commitments to bear joint and several civil liabilities with the cross-border e-commerce retail import operators.
Article 45
The cross-border e-commerce third-party platform operators shall formulate platform administrative systems including the trading rules, trading security safeguards, and the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests, and shall examine the main identity of the cross-border e-commerce retail import operators that enter the platforms, and clearly indicate the cross-border e-commerce retail import commodities on the platforms.
Article 46
Where the operators provide commodities or services by means of prepayment, they shall clarify the use and management modes of the prepaid funds, ways of inquiring about the balance, ways of refunding and other matters that shall be clearly indicated according to the state and municipal provisions. Where laws and rules provide otherwise for the management of prepaid funds, the operators shall also observe those provisions.
Where consumers require the signing of written contracts, the operators shall sign such contracts with them. The operators shall keep the contracts and relevant materials of the performance to facilitate the consumers' inquiries and duplication; the relevant materials shall be kept for at least two years after the performance of the contracts are completed.
Where commodities or services provided by means of prepayment involve the issuance of pre-paid cards, the relevant state and municipal provisions shall be observed.
Article 47
The franchisers of commercial franchise operations shall, in the contracts they sign with the franchisees, make clear the contents of the quality requirements for the commodities or services and the measures of warranty, the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests, and the assumption of the liabilities for compensation, and shall strengthen the guidance and supervision on the business operations of the franchisees.
The franchisees shall clearly indicate to consumers the protection contents of the consumers’ rights and interests as defined in the contracts of the franchised commercial operations.
Chapter IV State Protection
Article 48
When formulating local rules, government regulations and policies, and local standards concerning the protection of the consumer rights and interests, the state organs of this Municipality shall solicit the opinions of the consumers and such organizations as the consumer protection councils.
Article 49
The municipal departments of market regulation administration, commerce, education, civil affairs, human resources and social security, housing and urban-rural development, transportation, culture and tourism, sports, intellectual property, press and publications, housing management, telecommunications, postal administration and local financial regulation shall, within the scope of their respective duties, organize and carry out education and guidance on consumption, provide consumers with consultation according to law, accept consumers’ complaints, and investigate and punish illegal acts, so as to protect the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests.
In accordance with the needs, the market regulation administrative departments may, jointly with the relevant administrative departments, establish consumer-rights-protection liaison points (stations) in the centralized areas of living consumption such as shops, markets, tourism scenic sites, communities, and schools as well as within industry organizations, so as to guide the publicity of consumption laws, rules and regulations and consumption knowledge, handle the consumers’ requests for consultation and their complaints, and promote the operators' good faith in business operations.
Article 50
The relevant administrative departments shall, within the scope of their respective duties, make sampling checks on the operators’ commodities and services at regular or irregular intervals, and promptly publicize the results of the sampling checks via such channels as the governmental information networks of the aforesaid departments.
For the commodities and services involving personal health, affecting the national economy and people’s livelihood, and having many consumers’ complaints, the relevant administrative departments shall prioritize them in the annual sampling check plans or organize sampling checks as required in a timely manner.
The mass media shall use the results of the sampling checks in an all-round and objective way, and note the sources.
Article 51
The market regulation administrative departments may exercise the following functions and powers:
1. carrying out on-the-spot checks on places suspected of illegal production and marketing activities that infringe upon the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests;
2. investigating and finding out facts and information from the operators’ legal representatives, the leading managerial personnel and other relevant persons about suspected illegal production and marketing activities that infringe upon the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests;
3. examining and copying the relevant contracts, invoices, account books and other relevant materials; and
4. seizing or detaining the commodities with serious defects if there are grounds to believe that they will endanger the personal and property safety of consumers.
Other administrative departments shall investigate and deal with suspected infringements on the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests in accordance with their respective functions and powers provided by law.
Article 52
The people's courts at all levels of this Municipality shall accept the cases of consumption disputes in accordance with law, and, through the demonstration of the trial of typical cases, promote the whole society's stronger protection of the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, guide consumers to safeguard their rights according to law, and urge operators to operate according to law.
Chapter V Consumer Organizations
Article 53
The consumer protection councils shall consist of consumer representatives and representatives from various walks of life, and perform the following public-benefit functions and duties:
1. publicizing laws, rules, regulations and policies on the protection of the consumers' rights and interests, carrying out education on consumption knowledge, issuing consumption tips and warnings, providing consumers with consumption information and consulting services, and guiding the civilized, healthy, resource-saving and environmental friendly consumption patterns;
2. participating in the formulation of the relevant local rules, government regulations and policies, and the local standards on the consumers' rights and interests;
3. investigating the quality, prices and after-sale services of commodities and services as well as the comments of consumers, making comparative tests of commodities and services and publishing the results so as to guide consumers to rationally select commodities and services, and participating in the relevant administrative departments’ supervision and inspection on commodities and services;
4. making reports, inquiries and suggestions to the people’s governments at various levels, the relevant administrative departments, operators and trade organizations with regard to issues on the consumers' rights and interests;
5. accepting and handling the complaints from consumers, conducting investigation and mediation of the complaints, or putting forward their written opinions and send them to the relevant departments and units for handling; and entrusting the eligible agencies to make assessments where the complaints involve the qualities of commodities and services.
6. supporting the impaired consumers to take legal actions or apply for arbitration with regard to the acts that damage the consumers' legitimate rights and interests;
7. giving the operators and industry organizations warning tips and admonition talks concerning their infringements on the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, and exposing and criticizing the infringements and urging their corrections through the mass media;
8. organizing coordination meetings with the participation of the multiple parties including consumers, operators, industry organizations, professional agencies and relevant administrative departments to study how to cope with the contingencies involving the consumers' legitimate rights and interests;
9. participating in the public hearings about the prices of public utilities, public-welfare services, and commodities of monopoly in nature, and voicing their independent opinions;
10. strengthening exchanges and cooperation in the consumers' rights protection, and facilitating the resolution of trans-border consumption disputes; and
11. other matters prescribed by laws and rules.
The people's governments at all levels shall guide, support and help the consumer protection councils to perform their functions in accordance with law, and shall give necessary funding support.
Article 54
The consumer protection councils shall play the role of a bridge or link between the operators and consumers, establish and improve a joint-action working mechanism, conduct voluntary service activities for the consumer rights protection with the participation of the public, and promote joint governance by the public so as to advance the development of the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests.
Other consumer organizations are encouraged to undertake or fund public-benefit projects of the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests as well as the relevant research and exchange activities, and to fund or aid the consumers whose rights and interests have been infringed upon.
Article 55
The Municipal Consumer Protection Council shall establish a mechanism of communication with the consumers, operators and industry organizations, in order to promote the constructive interactions between the consumers and operators as well as sound development of the industries.
To develop Shanghai into a central city for international consumers, the Municipal Consumer Protection Council shall give play to the role of the protection platform of the consumers’ rights and interests, create new mechanisms and measures to protect the consumers’ rights and interests, and promote the formation of the internationally advanced standards for commodities and services standards and industry norms and guide the supply of excellent commodities and services through exploring and publishing reports on consumer needs and carrying out activities such as evaluation of new consumption patterns and new business forms.
Article 56
In response to the consumers' complaints and the needs of protecting the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, the Municipal Consumer Protection Council shall conduct annual surveys of several industries or trades, and report the survey results to the Municipal People’s Government and its working departments.
The relevant administrative departments, industry organizations and operators shall render their supports and cooperation for the consumer protection councils, and promptly reply to the councils’ inquiries about the protection of the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests. The relevant administrative departments and industry organizations shall promptly report the information on the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests to the consumer protection councils.
Article 57
The Municipal Consumer Protection Council may, according to law, file public-benefit suits to the people’s courts against the activities infringing upon many consumers’ legitimate rights and interests. The compensation obtained therefrom shall be used to protect the consumers’ rights and interests.
When encountering difficulties in collecting evidence for the public-benefit lawsuits described in the preceding Paragraph, the Municipal Consumer Protection Council may request for assistance from the people’s procuratorates and the relevant administrative departments.
If the people’s procuratorates find the acts that infringe upon many consumers’ legitimate rights and interests in the field of food and drug safety while performing their duties, they may report to the Municipal Consumer Protection Council, and may also file relevant public-benefit suits in accordance with law. Where the Municipal Consumer Protection Council files suits, the people’s procuratorates may support the suits.
Article 58
The consumer protection councils and other consumer organizations shall not engage in business operation of commodities or profit-making services, and shall not recommend commodities and services to the public by collecting fees or by other profit-making means.
The consumption information, investigation reports, and consumer complaints information released by the consumer organizations shall be legal, objective and impartial.
Chapter VI Modes of Dispute Resolution
Article 59
This Municipality shall improve the multiple-channel consumption-dispute resolution mechanisms that connect the administrative departments, people’s mediation organizations, professional organizations, people’s courts and arbitration institutes, and improve and optimize the consumption dispute resolution procedures and the feedback mechanisms.
Where consumers have consumption disputes with the operators, they may settle them through the following channels:
1. negotiating for reconciliation with the operators;
2. requesting mediation by the consumer protection councils or other legally established mediation organizations;
3. lodging complaints with the relevant administrative departments;
4. requesting arbitration institutions to arbitrate on the basis of the arbitration agreements they have reached with the operators; or
5. filing suits with the people's courts.
The municipal and district people's governments, the township/town people's governments, and the sub-district offices shall provide necessary supports for the diversified resolution of the consumption disputes.
In the case of consumption disputes meeting certain conditions, the people’s courts, arbitration institutions, etc. may adopt certain convenient and rapid methods to handle these disputes.
Article 60
This Municipality shall improve the operators' first-inquiry-accountability system in consumption, and urge the operators to assume the responsibilities for protecting the consumers' rights as the first responsible person.
The operators are encouraged to establish, in accordance with law, the mechanisms for convenient and rapid resolution of consumption disputes characterized by advance compensation, online dispute resolution, etc. The operators and consumers are encouraged to solve their consumption disputes through negotiation and conciliation, and the contents of the conciliation agreements shall not contravene the provisions of laws and rules, nor harm the public interests and the others' legitimate rights and interests.
The industry organizations are encouraged to set up the third-party platforms for the consumers' complaints and protection of their rights, and to promote the resolution of disputes between the operators and consumers.
Article 61
The consumer protection councils shall handle the consumers' complaints in time. Upon receipt of the complaints, the consumer protection councils shall promptly carry out mediation, and the operators shall cooperate with them. The mediation shall be completed within 60 days of receipt of the consumers' complaints, but if both sides agree to continue, the mediation periods may be extended. Where the complaints do not fall within the scopes of acceptance, the councils shall make explanation to the consumers.
If agreements are reached as the results of the mediation of the consumer protection councils, the councils may prepare the conciliation agreements upon the requests of both parties to the consumption disputes. Should such mediation efforts fail, the consumer protection councils shall inform the relevant parties of other ways of settlement.
While processing the consumers' complaints, the consumer protection councils may terminate the process if they find that the disputes have been accepted or mediated by other organizations.
While processing the consumers' complaints, if the consumer protection councils discover that the operators are guilty of illegal acts that infringe on the consumers' legitimate rights and interests, the councils may inform in writing the relevant administrative departments thereof, which shall deal with the cases in a timely manner and inform the consumer protection councils in writing of the results of their handling.
Article 62
The consumers may complain to the relevant administrative departments about their consumption disputes.
Upon receipt of the complaints, the administrative departments shall deal with them and inform the consumers within seven working days. Where the disputes do not fall within the jurisdiction of the departments, they shall inform the consumers in time and make explanations. Where both parties of the consumption disputes agree to mediation, the administrative departments shall organize the mediation, and terminate the mediation within 60 days from the date of accepting the consumers’ complaints. In case of failure to reach a conciliation agreement, the mediation shall be terminated. If the State provides otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.
The relevant administrative departments may notify the consumers of such information as acceptance of the complaints and the results of the mediation in writing, or by phone, short message or other informatization means.
If the relevant administrative departments find, while handling the complaints, that the operators are guilty of certain illegal acts, they shall handle the cases in accordance with law.
Article 63
When filing complaints with the consumer protection councils or the relevant administrative departments, the consumers shall provide their real names and contact information, the respondents’ names and addresses, etc. and shall specify their complaint claims, grounds and related facts.
When the consumer protection councils or the relevant administrative departments conduct mediation, the consumers shall provide proof of their identity, and evidence including the physical commodities, purchase vouchers, service documents, etc. that can prove the consumption relations.
Article 64
If it is necessary to conduct tests or appraisal because of the disputes over the quality of a commodity or service, the consumers and the operators may agree on the testing or appraisal institutions or units. In the absence of such an agreement, the consumer protection councils or administrative departments dealing with the consumption complaints may authorize or designate the qualified testing or appraisal institutions to conduct the tests or appraisal. The time for the tests or appraisal shall not be included in the valid periods for handling the consumers’ complaints.
The expenses of the testing or appraisal shall first be paid in advance by the operators with an equivalent guarantee by the consumers, and shall finally be borne by the liable party, or be shared by both parties in case of equivocal liabilities, unless otherwise provided by laws and rules.
If the consumer protection councils or the relevant administrative departments find it necessary to conduct tests or appraisal when dealing with the consumers’ complaints, the relevant technical institutions shall accept such a request, and provide the testing or appraisal reports truthfully. If it is impossible to conduct the tests or appraisal requested, the technical institutions shall give the reasons.
Article 65
Where the administrative departments have obtained the consents of the parties to the consumption disputes in accordance with law, they may entrust the disputes or transfer them to the people's mediation organizations, the industry organizations or other third-party agencies for mediation.
Article 66
No organization and individual shall be permitted to fabricate facts to frame others, carry out extortion and racketeering, impair the operators' legitimate rights and interests, or interfere with the normal business operation order; no one shall be permitted to abuse his or her rights to lodge complaints, make reports, complain by letters and calls, apply for information disclosure, etc. to interfere with the normal working order of the administrative departments.
The relevant municipal and district administrative departments shall formulate the lists of abnormal complaints and reports, establish the mechanisms of information sharing, and regulate, according to law, the acts of professional for-profit claims-making and professional reporting, and investigate and crack down on the acts of extortion and racketeering under the pretext of striking at fake and substandard products.
Chapter VII Development of the Consumption Environment
Article 67
This Municipality shall advocate government guidance, market orientation and public participation, to create an environment of safe and secure consumption, increase the consumption prosperity, vitality and convenience in an all round way, and enhance the fundamental role of consumption in boosting economic development, thus establishing a globally influential, competitive and reputable central city for international consumption.
Article 68
This Municipality shall endeavor to provide high-quality commodities and services, and exercise prudent yet inclusive supervision on new forms of consumption, in order to attract more internationally and domestically famous business entities and consumption brands to gather in the city, guide and encourage business operators to create new models and forms of consumption, and guide and promote consumption upgrading, thus meeting consumers’ continuous new requirements for consumption.
Article 69
This Municipality shall strengthen comprehensive oversight and governance over such areas as the market order, qualities of commodities and services, and intellectual property protection. It shall establish a system of commodity and service standards characterized by synergetic development and coordinate matching of the standards formulated under the government guidance and the standards formulated by market entities independently, and shall strengthen the research and formulation of standards and norms for new consumption forms.
This Municipality shall improve the evaluation of the consumption environment and the index evaluation of the business integrity, survey the consumers’ satisfaction degree, develop consumption brands more dynamically, foster brand-name culture, and give play to the guiding role of brands.
Article 70
This Municipality shall try to optimize the layout of the city’s commercial facilities, make overall planning for the large commercial facilities and community commercial facilities, and upgrade functions through urban renewal, so as to improve consumption convenience.
This Municipality shall accelerate the construction of barrier-free environments and mother-and-infant facilities, encourage renovations for adaption to the digital and smart applications, and provide a safe, convenient and comfortable consumption environment for the elderly, disabled, children, and mothers-infants.
This Municipality shall enhance the development of the language environment for international exchanges, promote in an orderly way multilingual marks and services in consumption premises, thus elevating the internationalization level of consumption service.
Article 71
The industry organizations shall reinforce their self-discipline, guide and urge the operators of their industries to operate legally, and promote the development of the industry integrity.
The industry rules, relevant standards and model contract texts formulated by the industry organizations shall represent their protection of consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, and the relevant contents thereof shall be submitted to the government competent departments, the consumer protection councils and consumers to solicit their opinions.
This Municipality shall encourage the industry organizations to formulate, jointly with the Municipal Consumer Protection Council, the guidelines on regulatory compliance in the protection of the consumers’ rights and interests, explore and set up the conduct guidelines for avoiding consumption fraud and the conduct guidelines for ensuring consumers to receive legal remedies.
Article 72
This Municipality shall develop the system of enterprise and personal credits in consumption, the relevant administrative departments shall publicize such information as administrative permits, administrative penalties, and results of sampling checks, so as to supervise and urge the operators for integrity business operation.
This Municipality shall establish and improve the system of publicizing consumer complaints, promote the graded and categorized credit supervision of such consumption fields as food, culture and tourism, adopt differentiated supervision measures, and improve the evaluation mechanism of social supervision.
Article 73
This Municipality shall encourage and support organizations and individuals to exercise social supervision over the acts infringing on the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests.
The mass media shall do well the publicity of the protection of the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, and exercise public-opinion supervision over the acts infringing on consumers’ legitimate rights and interests.
Chapter VIII Legal Liability
Article 74
In the case of acts in violation of these Regulations, if other laws and rules have provisions for handling, these provisions shall prevail.
Article 75
Where the operators cheat in their provision of commodities or services, they shall increase their compensation according to the consumers’ demands, and the amount of the increased compensation shall be three times the price of the commodities the consumers purchased or the expenses of the services the consumers paid; if the increased compensation is less than 500 yuan, the amount of compensation shall be 500 yuan, unless otherwise provided by law.
If the operators know clearly that there are defects in their commodities or services, but still provide them for consumers and cause death or serious health damage to consumers or other victims, they are entitled to the operators’ compensations in accordance with the provisions of law, and have the rights to claim a punitive compensation less than twice the loss they have incurred.
Article 76
If the operators have any one of the following circumstances, the market regulation administrative departments shall order them to make corrections, and may, separately or cumulatively, give warnings and impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan in accordance with the seriousness of the circumstances; if the circumstances are serious, the departments may order the operators to suspend their business for rectifications. Where laws and rules provide otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.
1. failing to clearly indicate their service information as required, in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 3 of Article 24 of these Regulations;
2. failing to indicate their true names and logos in violation of the provisions of Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article 26 of these Regulations;
3. failing to provide the purchase vouchers or service documents in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 29 of these Regulations;
4. increasing consumers’ expenses without their consents, in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 35 of these Regulations;
5. failing to obtain the consumers’ consents, failure to show the relevant documents or materials, or failing to perform the obligations of informing the consumers in a reasonable way, in violation of the provisions of Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 41 of these Regulations; or
6. failing to mark the cross-border e-commerce import commodities on the platforms in violation of the provisions of Article 45 of these Regulations.
Article 77
If the commodity trading market managers or counter/space lessors, in violation of the provisions of Article 27 of these Regulations, fail to verify the floor traders’ and lessees’ business licenses, permits, etc. or fail to keep copies thereof, and fail to provide true information to the consumers who inquire about the floor traders and lessees, or fail to publicize according to law the designations (names) of the floor traders and lessees, the business (lease) terms, business items, etc., then the market regulation administrative departments shall order them to make corrections, and may separately or cumulatively give warnings, confiscate the illegal gains, impose a fine of not less than one time but not more than five times the illegal gains; and if there are no illegal gains or if the illegal gains cannot be calculated, a fine of less than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed upon them. If laws and rules provide otherwise, such provisions shall apply.
Article 78
If the operators, in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 40 of these Regulations, fails to publicize in a conspicuous way the sampling rules, the distribution of the commodities or services, the quantities of the commodities or services provided, and the probability of winning an award, then the relevant administrative departments shall impose a fine of less than 30,000 yuan, and in a serious circumstance impose a fine of not less than 30,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan.
If the operators falsify the sampling probability and alter the sampling results in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 40 of these Regulations, the relevant administrative departments shall impose penalties in accordance with the provisions of Article 56 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers.
Article 79
If the operators have any one of the following circumstances, the market regulation administrative departments shall order them to make corrections, and may, separately or cumulatively, give warnings, confiscate the illegal gains, and impose a fine of not less than three times but not more than five times the illegal gains in accordance with the seriousness of the circumstances; if there are no illegal gains or if the illegal gains cannot be calculated, a fine of less than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed upon them; if the circumstances are serious, the departments may order the operators to suspend their business for rectifications. Where laws and rules provide otherwise, these provisions shall prevail.
1. being short in the quantity of the commodities or including the weight of the packing in the pricing of the commodities in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 28 of these Regulations;
2. failing to provide the documents to prove the origin of the commodities they purchased in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 29 of these Regulations;
3. forcing consumers to purchase commodities or accept services in violation of the provisions of Article 37 of these Regulations;
Article 80
If the live webcast marketing platforms fail to provide the relevant records and other necessary information and data in violation of the provisions Paragraph 2 of Article 43 of these Regulations, the relevant administrative departments shall order them to make corrections within certain time limits; if they fail to make the corrections within the time limits, the administrative departments shall impose a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000; in a serious case, the departments may order suspension of their business for rectifications and impose a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000.
Article 81
If the relevant units or individuals have acts in violation of these Regulations, the relevant departments shall, in addition to investigating their legal liabilities according to law, send the relevant information to the municipal public credit information service platform and adopt punitive measures in accordance with law.
Article 82
If the market regulation administrative departments,and the related departments and units, and their employees neglect their duties, abuse their powers, play favoritism or commit irregularities in their work of protecting the consumers’ rights and interests, then they shall be subjected to disciplinary sanctions by their own departments/units or the higher competent departments in accordance with law. Those whose wrongful acts constitute a crime shall be prosecuted for criminal liabilities.
Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions
Article 83
Where farmers purchase and use the means of production that are directly used in agriculture, these Regulations shall be applied with reference.
Where purchase and use of commodities and acceptance of services are not meant for living consumption, these Regulations do not apply.
Article 84
These Regulations shall be effective as of August 1, 2022.