E-commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China

Effective Date: 01-01-2019

Source: Website

Chinese Title: 中华人民共和国电子商务法

Presidential Decree No. 7

The E-commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China passed by the Fifth Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress on 31 August 2018 is hereby promulgated and shall be implemented with effect from 1 January 2019.

31 August 2018

E-commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China

Passed by the Fifth Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress on 31 August 2018

Chapter 1 General Principles

Article 1 This Law is formulated for the purposes of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of various entities in e-commerce, standardising e-commerce conduct, safeguarding market order, and promoting continued and healthy development of e-commerce.

Article 2 This Law shall apply to e-commerce activities in the People’s Republic of China.E-commerce referred to in this Law shall mean business activities of sale of goods or provision of services through Internet and other information network.

Where the laws, administrative regulations stipulate on sale of goods or provision of services, such provisions shall prevail. This Law shall not apply to financial products and services, as well as provision of service in terms of news information, audio and visual programs, publishing and cultural products etc using information network.

Article 3 The State encourages development of new e-commerce format, innovates business model, promotes e-commerce technology research and development and promotion of application, promotes development of e-commerce creditworthiness system, creates a market environment which is beneficial for innovative development of e-commerce, optimises the important roles of e-commerce in promoting high quality development, satisfying growing needs of the people for a better life, and building an open economy.

Article 4 The State treats online and offline commerce activities equally, promotes online and offline integrated development; all levels of People’s Government and the relevant departments shall not adopt discriminatory policies and measures, and shall not abuse administrative powers to eliminate or restrict market competition.

Article 5 E-commerce business operators engaging in business activities shall adhere to the principles of “voluntary participation, equality, fairness and integrity”, comply with laws and business ethics, participate in market competition fairly, perform the obligations of consumer rights protection, environmental protection, intellectual property protection, cyber security and protection of personal information etc, undertake product and service quality responsibilities, and accept government and public supervision.

Article 6 The relevant State Council departments shall, based on division of work, take charge of promoting development of e-commerce, supervision and administration thereof etc. All levels of People’s Government of county level and above may, based on the actual conditions of the locality’s administrative region, determine division of duties among authorities overseeing e-commerce within their administrative region.

Article 7 The State establishes a coordinated administration system which satisfies e-commerce characteristics, and promotes the formation of an e-commerce market governance system jointly participated by the relevant departments, e-commerce industry organisations, e-commerce business operators, consumers etc.

Article 8 E-commerce industry organisations shall carry out industry self-governance pursuant to their articles of association, establish and improve upon industry specifications, promote development of industry creditworthiness, supervise and guide the business operators in the industry to participate in market competition fairly.

Chapter 2 E-commerce business operators

Section 1 General Provisions

Article 9 E-commerce business operators referred to in this Law shall mean natural persons, legal persons and other non-legal-person organisations that engage in business activities of sale of goods or provision of services through Internet and other information network, includinge-commerce platform operators, business operators using the platform, and e-commerce business operators engaging in sale of goods or provision of services through their self-built website or other network services.

E-commerce platform operators referred to in this Law shall mean legal persons or non-legal-person organisations who provide online business premises, transaction matching, information dissemination services etc for both parties or multiple parties in e-commerce transactions, so as to facilitate both or multiple parties in transactions to carry out transaction activities independently.

Business operators using the platform referred to in this Law shall mean e-commerce business operators selling goods or providing services through an e-commerce platform.

Article 10 E-commerce business operators shall complete market entity registration formalities pursuant to the law, except for individuals selling self-produced agricultural products and home-made handicraft products, and individuals using their own skills to engage in convenient labour activities and sporadic small transactions for which licensing is not required by law, as well as e-commerce business operators who are not required to register pursuant to the laws and administrative regulations.

Article 11 E-commerce business operators shall perform tax payment obligations pursuant to the law, and enjoy tax incentives pursuant to the law.E-commerce business operators who are not required to complete market entity registration formalities pursuant to the preceding Article shall, upon occurrence of tax payment obligation for the first time, complete tax registration formalities pursuant to the provisions of laws and administrative regulations on administration of tax levying and collection, and declare and pay tax truthfully.

Article 12 E-commerce business operators which are required by law to obtain the relevant administrative licensing for their business activities shall obtain the requisite administrative licensing pursuant to the law.

Article 13 Sale of goods or provision of services by e-commerce business operators shall comply with the requirements for protection of personal safety and property security and the requirements for environmental protection; goods or services prohibited by laws and administrative regulations from being traded shall not be sold or provided.

Article 14 E-commerce business operators selling goods or providing services shall issue proof of purchase of goods or services such as hard copy invoice or electronic invoice pursuant to the law. Electronic invoices and hard copy invoices shall have equal legal validity.

Article 15 E-commerce business operators shall display, prominently and continuously on their homepage, their business licence information, administrative licensing information relating to their business operation, and information that they are not required to complete market entity registration pursuant to the provisions of Article 10 of this Law, or hyperlinks of the aforesaid information.Where there is any change to the information stipulated in the preceding paragraph, the e-commerce business operators shall promptly update and announce the information.

Article 16 Where an e-commerce business operator ceases to engage in e-commerce business, it shall announce the relevant information prominently and continuously on its home page 30 days in advance.

Article 17 E-commerce business operators shall disclose information of goods or services fully, truthfully, accurately and promptly, and protect consumers’ right to know and right to choose. E-commerce business operators shall not use false transactions, fabricated user review etc to conduct false or misleading business promotion, so as to defraud or mislead consumers.

Article 18 Where an e-commerce business operator provides consumers with search results for goods or services based on consumers’ preference or consumption habit, it shall also provide consumers with options which are not targeted at their personal characteristics, to respect and equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.E-commerce business operators sending ads to consumers shall comply with the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 19 E-commerce business operators bundling goods or services shall highlight prominently to consumers’ attention, and shall not put the bundled goods or services as default option.

Article 20 E-commerce business operators shall deliver goods or services to a consumer in accordance with the method and deadline committed or agreed with the consumer, and bear the risks and liability for transportation of goods, except where the consumer separately selects a courier service provider.

Article 21 Where an e-commerce business operator collects a deposit from a consumer as agreed, it shall clearly state the method and procedures for refund of deposit, and shall not impose unreasonable conditions for refund of deposit. When a consumer applies for refund of deposit and satisfies the criteria for refund of deposit, the e-commerce business operator shall promptly refund.

Article 22 Where an e-commerce business operator has market dominance due to its technological technical advantages, number of users, control over related industries, and other business operators’ reliance on the said e-commerce business operator in terms of transactions, the e-commerce business operator shall not abuse its market dominance position to eliminate or restrict competition.

Article 23 E-commerce business operators collecting and using personal information of their users shall comply with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations on protection of personal information.

Article 24 E-commerce business operators shall state clearly the method and procedures for enquiry, correction and deletion of user information as well as for user account cancellation, and shall not impose unreasonable conditions for enquiry, correction and deletion of user information as well as for user account cancellation.When an e-commerce business operator receives an application for enquiry or correction, deletion of user information, it shall, upon verification of identity, promptly provide the information, or correct or delete the user information. For cancellation of user account, the e-commerce business operator shall forthwith delete the user’s information; where the laws or administrative regulations stipulate on retention of information or if both parties have agreed so, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 25 Where the relevant competent authorities require e-commerce business operators to provide the relevant e-commerce data information pursuant to laws or administrative regulations, the e-commerce business operators shall provide. The relevant competent authorities shall adopt the requisite measures to protect the security of data information provided by the e-commerce business operators, and shall keep strict confidentiality for personal information, privacy and commercial secrets therein, and shall not divulge, sell or provide such information illegally to others.

Article 26 E-commerce business operators engaging in cross-border e-commerce shall comply with laws and administrative regulations on supervision and administration of importation and exportation, andthe relevant provisions of the State.

Section 2 E-commerce Platform Operators

Article 27 E-commerce platform operators shall require business operators who apply to sell goods or provide services on the platforms to provide their identity information, address, contact details, administrative licensing information etc for verification and registration, establish registration files, and verify and update regularly.E-commerce platform operators providing services for non-business users who enter the platforms for sale of goods or provision of services shall comply with the relevant provisions of this Section.

Article 28 E-commerce platform operators shall submit identity information of business operators using their platform, to the market supervision and administration authorities pursuant to the provisions, remind business operators which have not completed market entity registration formalities to complete registration formalities, and based on e-commerce characteristics, cooperate with the market supervision and administration authorities in providing convenience for business operators who should complete market entity registration formalities.E-commerce platform operators shall, pursuant to the provisions of laws, administrative regulations on administration of tax collection and levying, submit identity information of business operators using their platform and tax payment-related information to the tax authorities, and shall remind e-commerce business operators who are not required to complete market entity registration formalities as stipulated in Article 10 of this Law, to complete tax registration formalities pursuant to the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 11 of this Law.

Article 29 Where an e-commerce platform operator discovers that the information of goods or services on its platform violates the provisions of Article 12 or Article 13 of this Law, it shall take the requisite action pursuant to the law and report to the relevant competent authorities.

Article 30 E-commerce platform operators shall adopt technical measures and other requisite measures to ensure secured and stable operation of their network, prevent cybercrime activities, deal with cyber security incidents effectively, and ensure the security of e-commerce transactions.E-commerce platform operators shall formulate cyber security incident emergency plans, and forthwith trigger the emergency plans upon occurrence of a cyber security incident, adopt the corresponding remedial measures, and report to the relevant competent authorities.

Article 31 E-commerce platform operators shall record and retain information of goods and services and transaction information listed on their platforms, and ensure the integrity, confidentiality and availability of such information. Theinformation of goods and services and transaction information listed on their platforms shall be retained for not less than three years with effect from the date of completion of transaction; where the laws, administrative regulations stipulate otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 32 E-commerce platform operators shall adhere to the principles of transparency, fairness and equitableness, formulate platform service agreement and transaction rules, and specify the rights and obligations pertaining to accessing and exiting the platform, quality assurance for goods and services, consumer rights protection, protection of personal information etc.

Article 33 E-commerce platform operators shall continuously announce, prominently and continuously on their home page, the information on the platform service agreement and transaction rules or the hyperlinks of the aforesaid information, and ensure that the business operators and the consumers can read and download such information conveniently and fully.

Article 34 E-commerce platform operators who intend to revise their platform service agreement and transaction rules shall openly invite opinions at a prominent spot on their home page, and adopt reasonable measures to ensure that the relevant parties can express their opinions promptly and adequately. The revision contents shall be announced at least seven days prior to implementation.Where a business operator using the platform does not accept the revision contents and intends to exit the platform, the e-commerce platform operator shall not stop the business operator, and shall bear the relevant liability in accordance with the pre-revision service agreement and transaction rules.

Article 35 E-commerce platform operators shall not make use of their service agreement, transaction rules and technology etc to impose unreasonable restrictions or unreasonable conditions on transactions of the business operators using the platform carried out on the platform, the transaction price and transactions with other business operators, nor collect unreasonable fees from the business operators using the platform.

Article 36 Where an e-commerce platform operator imposes measures such as warning, suspension or termination of service etc in accordance with the platform’s service agreement and the transaction rules, on a business operator using the platform who has violated laws and regulations, the e-commerce platform operator shall promptly make an announcement.

Article 37 Where an e-commerce platform operator conducts self-operated business on its platform, it shall distinguish and mark its self-operated business from the businesses of the business operators using the platform in a prominent manner, and shall not mislead consumers.The e-commerce platform operator shall bear civil liability of a commodity seller or service provider for the business marked as self-operated, pursuant to the law.

Article 38 Where an e-commerce platform operator is or should be aware that the goods sold or the services provided by a business operator using the platform do not comply with the requirements for protection of personal safety and property security, or have infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, but it fails to adopt the requisite measures, it shall bear joint and several liability with the said business operator using the platform pursuant to the law.For goods or services which relate to the life and health of consumers, where an e-commerce platform operator fails to perform the obligation of verifying the qualification of the business operator using the platform, or fails to perform the safety assurance obligation towards consumers, causing consumers to suffer damages, it shall bear the corresponding liability.

Article 39 E-commerce platform operators shall establish and improve upon their creditworthiness review system, announce their creditworthiness review rules, and provide an avenue for consumers to review the goods sold or services provided on the platform.E-commerce platform operators shall not delete reviews by consumers on the goods sold or services provided on their platform.

Article 40 E-commerce platform operators shall, based on the price, sales, creditworthiness etc of the goods or services, display search results for goods or services to consumers via various methods; for products or services ranked according to bids, the word “advertisement” shall be stated prominently.

Article 41 E-commerce platform operators shall establish rules for intellectual property protection, strengthen cooperation with intellectual property right holders, and protect intellectual property pursuant to the law.

Article 42 An intellectual property right holder asserting that his/her/its intellectual property is being infringed upon shall have the right to notify the e-commerce platform operator to adopt measures such as deleting, shielding or removing the hyperlink, terminating transaction and services etc. The notice shall include the preliminary evidence for the infringement.Upon being notified, the e-commerce platform operator shall promptly adopt the requisite measures, and shall forward the notification to the business operators using the platform; where the e-commerce platform operator fails to adopt the requisite measures promptly, it shall bear joint and several liability with the business operator using the platform for the escalated portion of the damages.

Where a notification mistake causes the business operator using the platform to suffer damages, the intellectual property right holder shall bear civil liability pursuant to the law. Where the notification mistake is made maliciously and the business operator using the platform suffers damages as a result thereto, the intellectual property right holder shall bear double compensation liability.

Article 43 Upon receipt of the forwarded notification, the business operator using the platform may submit a statement of non-infringement to the e-commerce platform operator. The statement shall include the preliminary evidence of non-infringement.Upon receipt of the statement, the e-commerce platform operator shall forward the statement to the intellectual property right holder which issues the notification, and inform the intellectual property right holder that it may lodge a complaint with the relevant competent authorities or file a lawsuit with a People’s Court. Where the e-commerce platform operator is not notified, within 15 days from forwarding the statement to the intellectual property right holder, that the intellectual property right holder has lodged a complaint or filed a lawsuit, it shall promptly terminate the measures it has adopted.

Article 44 E-commerce platform operators shall promptly announce notification, statement and handling outcome stipulated in Article 42 and Article 43 of this Law.

Article 45 Where an e-commerce platform operator is or should be aware that a business operator using the platform has infringed upon intellectual property, it shall adopt the requisite measures such as deleting, shielding or removing the hyperlink, terminating transaction and services etc; where the e-commerce platform operator fails to adopt the requisite measures promptly, it shall bear joint and several liability with the infringor.

Article 46 Except for the services stipulated in the second paragraph of Article 9 of this Law, e-commerce platform operators may, based on the platform service agreement and transaction rules, provide warehousing, logistics, payment and settlement, delivery and collection services for e-commerce between the business operators. The services provided by the e-commerce platform operatorfor e-commerce between the business operators shall comply with laws, administrative regulations and the relevant provisions of the State, and shall not carry out transactions by way of centralised transaction methods such as centralised bidding, market maker etc, and shall not carry out standardised contract transactions.

Chapter 3 Conclusion and Performance of E-commerce Contracts

Article 47 The provisions of this Chapter and the General Rules of Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Electronic Signature Law of the People’s republic of China etc shall apply to conclusion and performance of contracts by e-commerce participants.

Article 48 E-commerce participants using automated information system to conclude or perform contracts shall be legally binding on the parties using the said system.E-commerce participants shall be deemed to possess the corresponding capacity for civil conduct, except where there is evidence to the contrary to subvert.

Article 49 Where the information on goods or services announced by an e-commerce business operator satisfies the criteria for making an offer, the contract shall be deemed established if the user selects the said goods or services and submits an order. Where the parties concerned agree otherwise, such agreement shall prevail.E-commerce business operators shall not use boilerplate clauses etc to stipulate that the contract is not established after a consumer makes payment; where the boilerplate clauses stipulate such contents, the contents shall be invalid.

Article 50 E-commerce business operators shall notify users of the steps for conclusion of contract, points to note, download method etc in a clear, complete and specific manner, and ensure that the users are able to read and download conveniently and fully.E-commerce business operators shall ensure that a user may correct input error prior to submission of an order.

Article 51 Where the subject matter of contract is delivery of goods and the goods are delivered via express courier, the date of acknowledgement receipt shall be the date of delivery. Where the subject matter of contract is provision of services, the date stated in the generated electronic receipt or hard copy receipt shall be the date of delivery; where the aforesaid receipt does not state the date or the date stated does not match the date of actual provision of services, the date of actual provision of services shall be the date of delivery.Where the subject matter of contract is delivered via online transmission, the date of entry of the subject matter of contract into the designated specific system of the transaction counterparty, which can be searched and identified, shall be the date of delivery.

Where the parties to the contract agree otherwise on delivery method or delivery timing, such agreement shall prevail.

Article 52 E-commerce participants may agree on delivery of goods via express courier service.Express courier service providers providing express courier services for e-commerce transactions shall comply with laws and administrative regulations, and shall comply with the committed service specifications and deadline. When an express courier service provider delivers goods, it shall remind the consignee to inspect on the spot; where the goods are received on behalf of the consignee, the consent of the consignee is required.

Express courier service providers shall use environmental friendly packaging materials pursuant to the provisions, and achieve reduction and reuse of packaging materials.

An express courier service provider may, at the time of providing express courier service, be entrusted by the e-commerce business operator to collect payment for the goods.

Article 53 E-commerce participants may agree on use of electronic payment method to make payment.Electronic payment service providers providing electronic payment services for e-commerce transactions shall comply with the provisions of the State, and notify users of the functions of electronic payment services, use method, points to note, the relevant risks and fee rates etc, and shall not impose unreasonable transaction conditions. Electronic payment service providers shall ensure the integrity, consistency, trackability and non-tamperability of electronic payment instructions.

Electronic payment service providers shall provide account reconciliation service and transaction records of the past three years to users free of charge.

Article 54 Where the electronic payment services provided by an electronic payment service provider does not comply with the administrative requirements of the State on payment security, causing users to suffer losses, the electronic payment service provider shall bear compensation liability.

Article 55 Prior to giving a payment instruction, users shall verify the entire information in the payment instruction, including the amount, payee etc.Where there is an error in a payment instruction, the electronic payment service provider shall promptly investigate and identify the reason, and adopt the relevant measures to make correction. Where the error causes the user to suffer losses, the electronic payment service provider shall bear compensation liability, except where it can be proven that the error in the payment instruction is not caused by the electronic payment service provider.

Article 56 Upon completion of electronic payment by the electronic payment service provider, it shall provide information on payment confirmation to the user promptly and accurately in accordance with the agreed method.

Article 57 Users shall keep their security tools such as transaction password, electronic signature data etc properly. When a user discovers that his/her security tools are missing, stolen or that an unauthorised payment is made, he/she shall promptly notify the electronic payment service provider.Losses arising from an unauthorised payment shall be borne by the electronic payment service provider; where the electronic payment service provider is able to prove that the unauthorised payment is due to the user’s fault, it shall not be held accountable.

When an electronic payment service provider discovers an unauthorised payment or is notified by a user of an unauthorised payment, it shall forthwith adopt measures to stop the losses from escalating. Where the electronic payment service provider does not promptly adopt measures to stop the losses from escalating, it shall bear liability for the portion of losses which has escalated.

Chapter 4 Resolution of E-commerce Disputes

Article 58 The State encourages e-commerce platform operators to establisha goods and services quality assurance mechanism which is conducive to e-commerce development and consumer rights protection.

Where an e-commerce platform operator agrees with the business operators using the platform on establishment of consumer rights protection deposits, both parties shall specifically agree on withdrawal amount, management, use and refund method etc of the consumer rights protection deposits.

Where a consumer requests that the e-commerce platform operator bear compensation liability in advance and that the e-commerce platform operator seeks, after compensation, recourse from the business operator using the platform, the relevant provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers shall apply.

Article 59 E-commerce business operators shall establish a convenient and effective mechanism for receiving complaints and reports, announce information on complain and report methods, promptly accept and deal with complaints and reports.

Article 60 E-commerce disputes may be resolved via negotiation and settlement, mediation by a consumers’ association, an industry association or any other lawfully established mediation organisation, lodgement of a complaint to the relevant authorities, arbitration or litigation etc.

Article 61 In the event of a dispute between a consumer purchasing goods or receiving services on an e-commerce platform and a business operator using the platform, thee-commerce platform operator shall actively assist the consumer to protect his/her legitimate rights and interests.

Article 62 When handling an e-commerce dispute, the e-commerce business operator shall provide the original contract and transaction record. Where the aforesaid materials are lost, forged, altered, destroyed or concealed by the e-commerce business operator or the e-commerce business operator refuses to provide, and the People’s Court, arbitration organisation or the relevant agency is thus unable to verify the facts, the e-commerce business operator shall bear the corresponding legal liability.

Article 63 E-commerce platform operators may establish an online dispute resolution mechanism, formulate and announce dispute resolution rules, and resolve disputes between e-commerce participants fairly and equitably in accordance with voluntary participation principle.

Chapter 5 Promotion of E-commerce

Article 64 The State Council and the People’s Governments of provinces, autonomous regions and centrally-administered municipalities shall include e-commerce development in their economic and social development plans, formulate scientific and reasonable industry policies, and promote innovation and development of e-commerce.

Article 65 The State Council, local People’s Governments of county level and above and their relevant departments shall adopt measures to support and promote environmental friendly packaging, warehousing and transportation, and promote environmental friendly development of e-commerce.

Article 66 The State promotes development of e-commerce infrastructure and logistics network, improves upon e-commerce statistics system, and strengthens development of e-commerce standards system.

Article 67 The State promotes application of e-commerce in various areas of national economy, and supports integrated development of e-commerce and various sectors.

Article 68 The State promotes Internet technology application for agricultural production, processing, circulation phases etc, encourages various social resources to strengthen cooperation, promotes development of rural e-commerce, and optimises the role of e-commerce in precise poverty alleviation.

Article 69 The State safeguards security of e-commerce transactions, protects user information in e-commerce, encourages development and application of e-commerce data, and ensures orderly and free circulation of e-commerce data pursuant to the law.The State adopts measures to promote establishment of public data sharing mechanism, and promotes utilisation of public data by e-commerce business operators pursuant to the law.

Article 70 The State supports creditworthiness evaluation organisations established pursuant to the law to conduct e-commerce creditworthiness evaluation, and provide e-commerce creditworthiness evaluation services to the public.

Article 71 The State promotes cross-border e-commerce development, establishes and improves upon administrative systems pertaining to Customs, tax, inbound and outbound inspection and quarantine, payment settlement which correspond to characteristics of cross-border e-commerce, improves the level of facilitation of various phases in cross-border e-commerce, and supports cross-border e-commerce platform operators etc to provide warehouse logistics, Customs declaration, inspection declaration services etc for cross-border e-commerce transactions.The State supports small and micro enterprises to engage in cross-border e-commerce.

Article 72 The importation and exportation administrative authority of the State shall promote the establishment of an integrated service and regulatory system for Customs declaration, tax payment, inspection and quarantine and other phases in cross-border e-commerce transactions, optimise regulatory process, promote and materialise information sharing, regulatory mutual recognition, law enforcement mutual assistance, and improve service and regulatory efficiency for cross-border e-commerce transactions. Cross-border e-commerce business operators may complete the relevant formalities with the importation and exportation administrative authority of the State using electronic documentation.

Article 73 The State promotes and establishes exchange and cooperation with different countries and regions for cross-border e-commerce, particulates in formulation of international rules for e-commerce, and promotes international mutual recognition for electronic signatures, electronic IDs etc.The State promotes establishment of dispute resolution mechanism for cross-border e-commerce between different countries and regions.

Chapter 6 Legal Liability

Article 74 An e-commerce business operator selling goods or providing services who does not perform contract obligations, or does not perform contract obligations as agreed, or causes others to suffer damages shall bear civil liability pursuant to the law.

Article 75 E-commerce business operators who violate the provisions of Article 12 and Article 13 of this Law and carry out business activities without obtaining the relevant administrative licensing, or sell goods or provide services prohibited by laws and administrative regulations, or fail to perform the obligation of providing information stipulated in Article 25 of this Law, or e-commerce platform operators who violate the provisions of Article 46 of this Law and carry out transactions by way of centralised transaction methods such as centralised bidding, market maker etc or carry out standardised contract transactions, shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 76 E-commerce business operators who violate the provisions of this Law in committing any of the following acts shall be ordered by the market supervision and administration authorities to make correction within a stipulated period, and may be subject to a fine of not more than RMB10,000, and e-commerce platform operators among them shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 81 of this Law:

(1) fail to display, prominently on their home page, their business licence information, administrative licensing information relating to their business operation, or the information that they are not required to complete market entity registration, or hyperlinks of the aforesaid information;

(2) fail to announce, continuously and prominently on their home page, the relevant information on termination of e-commerce business; or

(3) fail to state clearly the method and procedures for enquiry, correction and deletion of user information, as well as the method and procedures for user account cancellation, and impose unreasonable conditions for enquiry, correction and deletion of user information, as well as for user account cancellation.E-commerce platform operators who fail to adopt the requisite measures on business operators using the platform which violate the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be ordered by the market supervision and administration authorities to make correction within a stipulated period, and may be subject to a fine ranging from RMB20,000 to RMB100,000.

Article 77 E-commerce business operators who provide search results in violation of the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 18 of this Law, or who bundle goods or services in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of this Law, shall be ordered by the market supervision and administration authorities to make correction within a stipulated period, their illegal income shall be confiscated, and a fine ranging from RMB50,000 to RMB200,000 may be imposed; in serious cases, a fine ranging from RMB200,000 to RMB500,000 should be imposed concurrently.

Article 78 E-commerce business operators who violate the provisions of Article 21 of this Law and fail to state the method and procedures for refund of deposit, or impose unreasonable conditions for refund of deposit, or fail to refund deposit promptly shall be ordered by the relevant competent authorities to make correction within a stipulated period, and may be subject to a fine ranging from RMB50,000 to RMB200,000; in serious cases, a fine ranging from RMB200,000 to RMB500,000 shall be imposed.

Article 79 E-commerce business operators who violate the provisions of laws and administrative regulations on protection of personal information,or who fail to perform the cyber security protection obligations stipulated in Article 30 of this Law and the relevant laws and administrative regulations shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of the Cyber Security Law of the People’s Republic of China and related laws, administrative regulations.

Article 80 E-commerce platform operators who commit any of the following acts shall be ordered by the relevant competent authorities to make correction within a stipulated period; where correction is not made within the stipulated period, a fine ranging from RMB20,000 to RMB100,000 shall be imposed; in serious cases, the e-commerce platform operator shall be ordered to suspend operation and make correction and be subject to a fine ranging from RMB100,000 to RMB500,000 concurrently:

(1) fail to perform verification and registration obligations stipulated in Article 27 of this Law;

(2) fail to submit the relevant information to the market supervision and administration authorities or tax authorities pursuant to the provisions of Article 28 of this Law;

(3) fail to adopt the requisite measures for illegal acts pursuant to the provisions of Article 29 of this Law, or fail to report to the relevant competent authorities; or

(4) fail to perform the obligations of retaining information on goods and services and the transaction information pursuant to the provisions of Article 31 of this Law.Where the laws and administrative regulations stipulate otherwise on punishment for illegal acts stipulated in the preceding paragraph, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 81 E-commerce platform operators who violate the provisions of this Law in committing any of the following acts shall be ordered by the market supervision and administration authorities to make correction within a stipulated period, and may be subject to a fine ranging from RMB20,000 to RMB100,000; in serious cases,a fine ranging from RMB100,000 to RMB500,000 shall be imposed:

(1) fail to announce, continuously and prominently on their home page, the information on the platform service agreement and transaction rules, or the hyperlinks of the aforesaid information;

(2) fail to openly invite opinions at a prominent spot on their home page for revision of transaction rules, fail to announce revision contents beforehand in accordance with the stipulated timeframe, or stop business operators using the platform from exiting the platform;

(3) fail to distinguish and mark its self-operated business from the businesses of the business operators using the platform in a prominent manner; or

(4) fail to provide an avenue for consumers to review the goods sold or services provided on the platform, or delete consumer reviews arbitrarily.

E-commerce platform operators who violate the provisions of Article 40 of this Law in failing to state prominently the word “advertisement” for goods or services ranked according to bids shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 82 E-commerce platform operators which violate the provisions of Article 35 of this Law in imposing unreasonable restrictions or unreasonable conditions on transactions of the business operators using the platform carried out on the platform, the transaction price and transactions with other business operators, or collecting unreasonable fees from the business operators using the platform, shall be ordered by the market supervision and administration authorities to make correction within a stipulated period, and may be subject to a fine ranging from RMB50,000 to RMB500,000; in serious cases, a fine ranging from RMB500,000 to RMB2 million shall be imposed.

Article 83 E-commerce platform operators which violate the provisions of Article 38 of this Law in failing to adopt the requisite measures on a business operator using the platform who has infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, or failing to perform the obligation of verifying the qualification of business operators using the platform, or failing to perform the safety assurance obligation towards consumers, shall be ordered by the market supervision and administration authorities to make correction within a stipulated period, and may be subject to a fine ranging from RMB50,000 to RMB500,000; in serious cases, the e-commerce platform operator shall be ordered to suspend its operation and make correction and be subject to a fine ranging from RMB500,000 to RMB2 million.

Article 84 E-commerce platform operators which violate the provisions of Article 42 and Article 45 of this Law in failing to adopt the requisite measures pursuant to the law against a business operator using the platform who has committed intellectual property infringement shall be ordered by the relevant intellectual property administrative authorities to make correction within a stipulated period; where correction is not made within the stipulated period, a fine ranging from RMB50,000 to RMB500,000 shall be imposed; in serious cases, a fine ranging from RMB500,000 to RMB2 million shall be imposed.

Article 85 E-commerce business operators who violate the provisions of this Law in selling goods or providing services that do not comply with the requirements for protection of personal safety and property security, or carrying out false or misleading business promotion and other unfair competition, abusing market dominance position, or infringing upon intellectual property, consumer rights etc shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of the relevant laws.

Article 86 E-commerce business operators who violate the provisions of this Law shall be recorded in the creditworthiness files pursuant to the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations, and be announced.

Article 87 For officers of the authorities responsible for supervision and administration of e-commerce pursuant to the law, who are guilty of dereliction of duties, abusing official powers, corruption or divulging or selling personal information, privacy and commercial secrets which have come into their knowledge during performance of duties, their legal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

Article 88 For violation of the provisions of this Law which constitutes violation of public security administration, the offender shall be punished for security administration violation pursuant to the law; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

Chapter 7 Supplementary Provisions

Article 89 This Law shall be implemented with effect from 1 January 2019.