Premier Li Keqiang recently signed a State Council order to publicize the Regulations on Administration of Enterprise Investment Project Approval and Registration (the Regulations) which will come into effect on February 1, 2017. The Regulations further standardizes the examination and approval and registration behaviors of the government from four aspects:

 

First is to standardize the project approval behaviors. The approval management will be implemented for enterprise projects relating to the national security, involving the important productivity distribution, strategic resource development and major public interests and the other projects will be subject to the registration management. Enterprises only need to submit the project application and other proof documents stipulated by related laws and administrative regulations as the preconditions. The approval time limit should not exceed 20 working days by principle.

 

Second is to standardize the project registration behaviors. The Regulations stipulates that for the projects subject to the registration management, enterprises should notify the registration authority of the basic information of the enterprise, project name, construction site, construction scale and content, total investment and statement of the project’s conformity with the industrial policies and shall be liable for the authenticity of such information. When the registration authority receives all these information, the project shall be deemed as being registered.

 

Third is to strengthen the in-process and after-process supervision. The Regulations stipulates that the approval authority, registration authority and other related departments should strengthen the in-process and after-process supervision and fulfill their supervision responsibilities; enterprises should honestly submit the basic information of project starting construction, construction schedule and completion; the approval authority, registration authority and other related departments should establish the project information sharing mechanism; the illegal behaviors and treatments of such violations of enterprises in the process of project approval, registration and implementation should be publicized to the public through the national social credit information platform.

 

Fourth is to optimize services. The Regulations stipulates that the project approval and registration should be handled through the government-established project online supervision platform; the approval authority and registration authority should list the industrial policies related to projects on the project online supervision platform, publicize the project approval procedure and handling time and provide related consulting services for enterprises.

 

Fifth is to strictly enforce accountability. The Regulations clearly defines the legal liabilities for enterprises that start construction without going through the project approval procedure or make construction not in accordance with the approved construction site, scale or content, or do not register the project as stipulated or provide false information to the registration authority, or invest in the project that is prohibited by the industrial policies, and for malpractice, abuse of power or illegalities for favoritism of the approval authority, registration authority and their employees.

 

Source: Translated from Invest Guangzhou, December 15, 2016