Vertriebsrecht
Distribution in China
Der Vertrieb oder Absatz von Waren und Dienstleistungen nach und von China spielt im internationalen Maßstab eine zunehmend wichtige Rolle.
Von praktischer Relevanz sind gute Vorbereitung und rechtssichere Verträge. Wir stellen Ihnen hier einige sinnvolle und bewährte Vertragsmuster zur Verfügung, die Sie gegen eine kleine Schutzgebühr erwerben können. Siehe unten. Die hier angebotenen Muster sind natürlich verdeckt formatiert. Die Originale müssen Sie bei Interesse schon bestellen.
Vertragsmuster
Alleinvertretervertrag (deutsch/chinesisch)
Alleinvertretungsvertrag im Interesse des Herstellers (deutsch/chinesisch)
Vertrag über die Provinz- oder Bezirksvertretung (deutsch/chinesisch)
Handelsvertretervertrag (deutsch/chinesisch)
Kommissionsvertrag (chinesisch/deutsch)
Konsignationslagervertrag (chinesisch/deutsch)
Reisevertretervertrag (chinesisch/deutsch)
Erstattung von....
Ausgleichszahlungen könnten z.B. so geregelt werden:
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Vertriebsverträge
Vertriebsvertrag I - chinesische Version (deutsch/chinesisch)
Vertragshändlervertrag - (deutsch/chinesisch)
Vertragliche Übernahme des Inkassos(chinesische Version)
Vertrieb über Hong Kong
Handels- und Vertriebsrechte nach dem CEPA-Abkommen
Durch das am 29.07.2003 zwischen Hongkong und China vereinbarten "Closer Economic Partnership Argement (CEPA) privilegiert die Volksrepublik China die wirtschaftliche Tätigkeit von Hongkonger Unternehmen auf den Gebieten Handel, Vertrieb und Servicedienstleistung. Die Regelungen geht weit über das hinaus, was China im Zusammenhang mit seinem WTO-Beitritt an Liberalisierung zugesagt hat.
Hongkonger Unternehmen können danach 100 %ige Tochtergesellschaften in den Bereichen Großhandel, Einzelhandel und Franchising errichten, wobei die Kapitalausstattung erheblich unter den bisher für Joint-Ventures in China geltenden Bestimmungen und Regelungen liegen.
Zur Vermeidung von Missbräuchen sieht das Abkommen jedoch vor, dass der jeweilige Hongkonger Investor zu mindestens eine dreijährige Tätigkeit in Hongkong nachweisen muss. In Hongkong registrierte, aber nicht "genutzte" sogenannt Off-shore-Gesellschaften bieten sich in diesem Zusammenhang als Mittel an, dass Gebot entsprechend zu umgehen. Problematisch ist es allerdings, wenn keine Bilanzen nachgewiesen werden können. Als weitere Beschränkung ist vorgesehen, dass mindestens 50 % des gesamten Personals in Hongkong beschäftigt werden müssen und sowohl die Steuerbezahlung als auch ein existentes Mietverhältnis in Hongkong nachgewiesen werden müssen.
Schutzgebühr
Die hier für Sie auszugsweise zusammengestellten Aufsätze, Vertragsmuster, Formulare oder Dokumente können, soweit Sie von uns selbst in der Praxis entwickelt und damit urheberrechtlich geschützt wurden, gegen Schutzgebühr bestellt und erworben werden.
Bitte senden Sie uns hierzu ein einfaches Fax mit Ihren Wünschen.
Beherzigen Sie allerdings den folgenden Hinweis:
Die Verwendung von Vertragsmustern kann als Arbeitshilfe sinnvoll, als abschließende Lösung einer konkreten Vertragsfrage jedoch höchst gefährlich sein. Eine kompetente fachliche Beratung durch einen in der Praxis erfahrenen Berater ersetzt sie nicht.
Eberhard J. Trempel, Trempel & Associates Berlin
Direktvertrieb
Für den Direktvertrieb nach und in China bestehen beachtliche Sonderregeln. Grundsätzlich ist der grenzüberschreitende Vertrieb unzulässig und von Genehmigungs- und Zulassungsvoraussetzungen abhängig:
Direct Sales Management Rules
Decree No. 443 of the State Council of the People¡ s Republic of China
The Direct Sales Management Rules, reviewed and adopted at the 101st Standing Meeting of the State Council on August 10, 2005, is now released and shall enter into force as of December 1, 2005.
Premier WEN Jiabao
August 23, 2005.
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1. This set of rules is formulated to standardise direct sales, strengthen the administration over direct sales, prevent cheating, and protect the lawful rights of consumers and social and public benefits.
Article 2. This set of rules shall be applicable to acts of direct sales inside the People¡ s Republic of China.
Scope of products open for direct sales shall be identified and published by the commerce authority of the State Council in consultation with the administration of industry and commerce of the State Council in view of the development situations of the sector of direct sales and needs of consumers.
Article 3. Direct sales mentioned in this set of measures refers to a way of distribution whereby enterprises engaged in the direct sales recruit employees who sell products directly to the end users (hereinafter referred to as ¡ consumers¡ ) away from fixed business sites.
Direct sales enterprises mentioned in this set of measures refers to enterprises engaged in the sales of products by means of direct sales in line with the provisions of this set of measures.
Persons engaged in the direct sales (hereinafter referred to as ¡ agents¡ ) refer to those people selling products directly to consumers away from fixed locations.
Article 4. Enterprises set up inside the People¡ s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as ¡ enterprises¡ ) may, in line with the provisions of this set of regulations, apply to become direct sales enterprises, selling products produced by themselves or their parent companies and shareholding companies.
Direct sales enterprises may obtain trading rights and distribution rights according to law.
Article 5. Direct sales enterprises and their staff shall not cheat, mislead or undertake other similar kinds of promotion and publicity acts in their direct sales.
Article 6. The commerce authority of the State Council in consultation with the administration of industry and commerce of the State Council should, in line with their division of power and the provisions of this set of measures, be responsible for the regulation and administration over direct sales enterprises, their employees and their acts of direct sales.
Chapter II Establishment and Modifications
of Direct Sales Enterprises and Their Branches Article 7. When applying to become a direct sales enterprise, the following terms and conditions shall be met:
1. investors have sound business reputation and no record of major illegal operational acts for 5 consecutive years before submitting applications; in the case of foreign investors, they should have more than 3 years of experience in direct sales outside China;
2. actually paid-in capital being no less than RMB 80 million;
3. have paid the deposit in full amount to the designated banks as per this set of regulations;
4. have set up information reporting, disclosure and record filing system in line with this set of measures.
Article 8. When applying to become a direct sales enterprise, the applicant shall fill in the application form and submit the following application documents and materials:
1. testifying documents that conform to the provisions of article 7 of this set of measures;
2. articles of association of the enterprise, and in the case of Chinese-foreign joint equity or cooperative enterprises, the contract of joint venture or cooperation should be provided as well;
3. report of market planning, including plan of service outlets in areas open to direct sales formulated in line with the provisions of article 10 of this set of measures and having been recognized by the local people¡ s governments at or above the county level;
4. product specifications conforming to the national standards;
5. sample promotion contract to be signed with persons directly undertaking direct sales;
6. report of capital assessment issued by an accounting firm;
7. agreement reached between the enterprise and the designated bank, granting consent to the use of deposits in line with the provisions of this set of measures.
Article 9. The applicant shall submit its application through the commerce authority of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the State Council where it is located to the commerce authority under the State Council. The commerce authority of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the State Council shall, within 7 days upon the receipt of the application documents and materials, submit them to the commerce authority under the State Council, which shall, within 90 days upon receiving the complete set of application documents, make a decision of whether or not to approve, in consultation with the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council. Those that are approved will be issued a permit to conduct direct sales by the commerce authority under the State Council.
Applicants who hold a permit to conduct direct sales issued by the commerce authority under the State Council shall apply to the Administration of Industry and Commerce for change of registration.
When examining and issuing a permit to conduct direct sales, the commerce industry under the State Council shall take into consideration the country¡ s safety, the benefits to society and the development circumstances of the direct sales industry, etc.
Article 10. Direct sales enterprises shall, in order to conduct their business, set up branches (hereinafter referred to as ¡ branches¡ ) that are responsible for direct sales in the administrative regions of the province, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the State Council where they intend to engage in direct sales.
Direct sales enterprises shall set up service outlets in regions where they intend to engage in direct sales that are convenient for obtaining knowledge of product price, exchange and return of goods by consumers and direct sales agents and the provision of other services offered by the enterprises according to law. The setup of service outlets shall conform to the requirements of the local people¡ s governments at or above the county level.
When applying to set up a branch, a direct sales enterprise shall provide testifying documents and materials in line with the provisions of the previous paragraph and submit their applications in line with the procedures set forth in paragraph 1 of article 9 of this set of measures. Upon obtaining approval, the applicant shall proceed with the Administration of Commerce and Industry registration formalities according to law.
Article 11. In cases where a direct sales enterprise experiences major changes with regard to items listed in article 8 of this set of measures, it shall submit applications for approval to the competent authority under the State Council in accordance with the procedures set forth in paragraph one of article 9 of this set of measures.
Article 12. The commerce authority under the State Council shall publish the names of direct sales enterprises and their branches on its official website, and update them in a timely manner.
Chapter III Recruiting and Training of Direct Sales Agents
Article 13. Direct sales enterprises and their branches may recruit persons to conduct direct sales and no other units or individuals are allowed to do so.
The lawful promotion activities of direct sales agents are not subject to investigation and punishment as required by those conducting business without a business license.
Article 14. Direct sales enterprises and their branches shall not publish an advertisement of the remunerations of direct sales agents. Nor shall they condition the recruitment of persons of direct sales on the payment of fees or purchase of commodities.
Article 15. Direct sales enterprises and their branches shall not recruit the following persons
as direct sales agents:
1. persons aged less than 18 years;
2. persons without civil act capacity or with restricted civil act capacity;
3. full-time students;
4. teachers, medical persons, civil servants, and men and women in uniform;
5. regular staff of direct sales enterprises;
6. overseas people;
7. persons that are not allowed to hold concurrent jobs as specified in laws and administrative regulations.
Article 16. When recruiting persons for the position of direct sales agent, direct sales enterprises and their branches shall sign promotion contracts with them and ensure that the said persons only engage in direct sales in an administrative region of a province, autonomous region or municipality under the State Council where one of their branches has set up a service outlet. Persons that have not signed promotion agreements with direct sales enterprises and their branches are not allowed to engage in direct sales by any means.
Article 17. Direct sales agents may be released from promotion contracts at any time within 60 days, starting from the day of signing the promotion contract. Once the 60-day period expires, direct sales agents intending to cancel the promotion contract shall notify the direct sales enterprises 15 days in advance.
Article 18. Direct sales enterprises should conduct on-the-job training and examinations over direct sales personnel to be recruited. Persons passing examinations will be granted a direct sales agent certificate. Nobody is allowed to engage in direct sales without the said certification.
Direct sales enterprises shall not collect any fee from professional training and examinations for persons to conduct direct sales training.
No units and individuals other than direct sales enterprises shall organise professional training for direct sales agents.
Article 19. Lecturing staff providing professional training to direct sales agents shall be regular employees of direct sales enterprises and meet the following terms and conditions:
1. have worked for the enterprises for more than a year;
2. have bachelor or above degree and related legal or marketing knowledge;
3. have no record of being subject to criminal punishments due to intentional crimes;
4. have no record of major law-breaking operations.
Direct sales enterprises shall issue a certificate of trainer of direct sales to lecturing staff conforming to the provisions of the previous paragraph and report the names of persons that have obtained such certificates to the commerce authority under the State Council for record filing. The commerce authority under the State Council shall publish the names on its official website.
Overseas people are not allowed to engage in the training of persons to conduct direct sales.
Article 20. The certificate of direct sales agent and certificate of trainer of direct sales issued by direct sales enterprises shall be printed according to the format and pattern specified by the commerce authority under the State Council.
Article 21. Direct sales enterprises shall be responsible for the legality of professional training to persons engaged in direct sales, order of training and safety of training sites.
Direct sales enterprises and their trainers shall be responsible for the legality of the contents of the lectures with regard to the professional training provided to direct sales agents.
Detailed measures governing the professional training of direct sales agents shall be worked out separately by the commerce authority and administration of industry and commerce under the State Council, jointly with related departments.
Chapter IV Activities of Direct sales
Article 22. Direct sales agents shall abide by the following rules when promoting products to consumers:
1. produce a certificate of direct sales agent contract;
2. not enter into the residence of consumers to force the promotion of products without the consent of the consumers, In cases where the consumers request them to stop promotion activities, they should stop immediately and leave the residence of the consumers;
3. give detailed explanation of the system of return of goods of the enterprises to the consumers before striking a deal;
4. after the transaction is completed, providing consumers with an invoice and proof of sales of products issued by the direct sales enterprise that contains information including system of return of goods and address and phone numbers of the local service outlets of the direct sales enterprise.
Article 23. Direct sales enterprises should specify clearly the prices on products for direct sales, and the said prices shall be the same as those for products on display in service outlets. Direct sales agents shall promote products to consumers strictly following the prices specified.
Article 24. Direct sales enterprises shall pay remunerations to persons conducting direct sales at least monthly, the remunerations thus paid shall only be calculated according to the income generated from the products sold to consumers by the direct sales agents and the total remunerations (including commissions, bonus, rewards in various forms and other economic benefits) paid to a direct sales agent shall not exceed 30% of the sales income that person makes by selling directly to consumers.
Article 25. Direct sales enterprises shall develop and implement a complete system of return and exchange of goods.
Consumers may, within 30 day of the purchase of direct sales products and provided that the goods have not been unpacked, ask for exchange and return of goods with the direct sales enterprises and their branches, local service outlets or direct sales agents on the strength of invoices or proof of sales of products issued by the direct sales enterprises. Direct sales enterprises and their branches, local services outlet and direct sales agents shall handle the exchange and return of products according to the prices specified in the invoice or proof of sales of products within 7 days upon receiving the request for exchange and return of products from consumers.
Direct sales agents may, within 30 days upon the purchase of products of direct sales and provided that the products have not been unpacked, handle the exchange and return of products with the direct sales enterprises and their branches, local service outlets on the strength of the invoices or proof of sales of products issued by direct sales enterprises. Direct sales enterprises and their branches and local service outlets shall handle the exchange and return of products according to the prices specified in the invoice or proof of sales of products within 7 days upon receiving the request for exchange and return of products from direct sales agents.
In cases where consumers and direct sales agents request exchange and return of products, which do not fall within the circumstances specified in the previous two paragraphs, the direct sales enterprises and their branches, local service outlets and persons conducting direct sales shall handle the exchange and return of products according to the provisions of related laws and regulations or agreement of contract signed.
Article 26. In cases where disputes arise between direct sales enterprises and direct sales agents, direct sales enterprises and their direct sales agents versus consumers with regard to exchange or return of products, the first group shall be responsible for providing proof.
Article 27. Direct sales enterprises shall be held liable for associated responsibility for acts of direct sales conducted by their direct sales agents, unless there is clear evidence that the acts of the said persons are not related to the enterprises.
Article 28. Direct sales enterprises shall follow the regulations of the commerce authority and the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council and develop and implement a complete system of information reporting, record filing and disclosure.
Content, ways and related requirements of information reporting, record filing and disclosure by direct sales enterprises shall be worked out separately by the commerce authority and the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council.
Chapter V Deposits
Article 29. Direct sales enterprises shall open specific accounts and deposit accounts with banks designated jointly by the commerce authority and the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council.
The amount of the initial deposit at the time when the direct sales enterprise is being established is RMB 20 million, and this should be modified on a monthly basis and maintained at the level of 15% of the total income from direct sales during the previous month after the enterprises have started operations. The minimum and maximum amount is between RMB 20 million and RMB 100 million. Interest accrued from the deposits belongs to the direct sales enterprises.
Article 30. Under any of the following circumstances, the commerce authority and the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council may decide jointly to activate the deposits:
1. direct sales enterprises fail to pay remunerations to direct sales agents or fail to pay back money for return of products to direct sales agents or consumers without justifiable reasons;
2. direct sales enterprises experiencing cessation of business, merger, dissolution, transfer, bankruptcy and others and unable to pay remunerations to direct sales agents or money for return of products to direct sales agents or consumers;
3. having caused losses to consumers due to problems with the direct sales products and being subject to compensation according to law, and the direct sales enterprises refuses to, or is unable to compensate without justifiable reasons.
Article 31. Once deposits have been used in accordance with the provisions of article 30 of this set of measures, direct sales enterprises shall make up for the deficiency of the deposits to the level specified in paragraph 2 of article 29 of this set of measures within one month.
Article 32. Direct sales enterprises shall not use their deposits to provide guarantee or for payment of debts in violation of this set of measures.
Article 33. Direct sales enterprises no longer wishing to continue their business in the sector may withdraw their deposits from banks on the strength of proof issued jointly by the commerce authority and the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council.
Article 34. The commerce authority and the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council hall be responsible jointly for the daily regulation of the deposits.
Detailed measures governing the payment and use of deposits shall be worked out jointly by the commerce authority and the administration of industry and commerce under the State Council in consultation with other related departments under the State Council.
Chapter VI Regulation and Supervision
Article 35. The administration of industry and commerce is responsible for the daily supervision and regulation of direct sales enterprises and their employees conducting direct sales as well as the acts of direct sales. It may take the following measures to conduct on-the-spot inspection:
1. enter related enterprises to conduct inspection;
2. request related enterprises to provide relevant documents, materials and evidencing documents;
3. enquire into parties concerned, interested parties and other related people, requesting them to provide related materials;
4. consult, copy, seal, and detain materials and illegal property and articles of related enterprises that are relevant to acts of direct sales;
5. inspect the certificate of trainers of direct sales, certificate of direct sales agents and other identification documents of related persons.
In the case of on-the-spot inspection as mentioned in the previous paragraph, the number of persons conducting inspection on behalf of the administration of industry and commerce shall not be fewer than two and they should produce their lawful certification. In the case of sealing or detaining documentation, approval from the main persons responsible for the administration of industry and commerce above the county level shall be obtained.
Article 36. In cases where in the course of implementing daily supervision and regulation, the administration of industry and commerce discovers that related enterprises are suspected of violating the provisions of this set of measures, it may request the said enterprises to stop related operations temporarily on the strength of approval from the main persons responsible for the administration of industry and commerce above the county level.
Article 37. The administration of industry and commerce should open a telephone line and publish the number, through which it can accept reports and complaints with regard to acts in violation of this set of measures, and conduct investigations without delay.
The administration of industry and commerce shall keep the information about those reporting incidents confidential and provide rewards according to the related regulations of the State to those persons that have contributed to the reporting of acts in violation of this set of measures.
Chapter VII Legal Liabilities
Article 38. In cases where related departments and their working staff that are responsible for the regulation and supervision of direct sales enterprises and their direct sales personnel as well as the acts of direct sales fail to implement their duties by granting permits to applications that do not conform to the provisions of this set of measures or fail to implement their roles of supervision and regulation, persons directly responsible and others directly involved shall be subject to administrative sanctions according to law. In cases where crimes have been constituted, the criminal liabilities of these people will be investigated. Permits granted to those applications that do not conform to the provisions of this set of measures shall be written off by the related authorities that are responsible for making decisions of granting permits.
Article 39. Parties engaging in activities of direct sales without approval in violation of the provisions of articles 9 and 10 of this set of measures shall be requested to rectify their wrongdoings by the administration of industry and commerce, be subject to confiscation of direct ales products and illegal sales income, and a fine between RMB 50,000 and RMB 300,000 In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 300,000 and RMB 500,000 shall be imposed and the acts of direct sales shall be requested to stop according to law. If crimes have been constituted, the criminal liabilities of these people will be investigated.
Article 40. In cases where applicants obtain permits in accordance with the provisions of articles 9 and 10 of this set of measures by means of cheating or bribery, the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for confiscating direct sales products and illegal income thus generated, and imposing a fine between RMB 50,000 and RMB 300,000. The commerce authority under the State Council is responsible for revoking the corresponding permit, and the applicants are not allowed to file another application. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 300,000 and RMB 500,000 shall be imposed and the acts of direct sales shall be requested to stop according to law. In cases where crimes have been constituted, the criminal liabilities of these people will be investigated.
Article 41. Direct sales enterprises being found to have violated provisions of article 11 of this set of measures shall be requested to rectify by the administration of industry and commerce and pay a fine between RMB 30,000 and RMB 300,000. For those that are no longer conforming to the terms and conditions of conducting direct sales, the commerce authority under the State Council shall revoke their permit to conduct direct sales.
Article 42. In cases where direct sales enterprises violate this set of rules by selling products beyond the scope approved, the administration of industry and commerce shall be responsible for confiscating the products of direct sales and illegal income thus earned, and imposing a fine between RMB 50,000 and RMB300,000. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 300,000 and RMB 500,000 shall be imposed, and the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for revoking the business license of the branches of the direct sales enterprises that are suspected to be guilty of illegal operations. The commerce authority under the State Council may revoke the permit to conduct direct sales of such enterprises in cases where the wrongdoings are serious.
Article 43. In cases where direct sales enterprises and their direct sales agents are found to be guilty of cheating, misleading and other similar types of publicity and promotion acts, the enterprises will be subject to a fine between RMB 30,000 and RMB 100,000 imposed by the administration of industry and commerce. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 100,000 and RMB 300,000 shall be imposed, and the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for revoking the business license of the branches of the direct sales enterprises that are found to have illegal operations. The commerce authority under the State Council may revoke the permit to conduct direct sales of such enterprises in cases where the wrongdoings are serious. In terms of direct sales agents, the administration of industry and commerce may impose a fine up to RMB 50,000, and in cases where the wrongdoings are serious, the enterprises will be requested to write off the qualifications of the persons conducting direct sales.
Article 44. In cases where direct sales enterprises and their branches recruit direct sales agents in violation of the provisions of this set of regulations, the administration of industry and commerce will be responsible for requesting rectification and imposing a fine between RMB 30,000 and RMB 100,000. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 100,000 and RMB 300,000 shall be imposed, and the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for revoking the business license of the branches of the direct sales enterprises that are found to have committed illegal operations. The commerce authority under the State Council may revoke the permit to conduct direct sales of such enterprises if the wrongdoings are serious.
Article 45. In he case of engaging in direct sales without holding a direct sales agent certificate in violation of the provisions of this set of measures, the administration of industry and commerce will be responsible for requesting rectification, confiscation of direct sales products and illegal sales income earned, and imposing a fine up to RMB 20,000 onto the violators. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 20,000 and RMB 200,000 shall be imposed.
Article 46. In cases where direct sales enterprises violate this set of measures in the training of persons to conduct direct sales, the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for requesting rectification, confiscation of illegal income earned, and imposing a fine between RMB 30,000 and RMB 100,000. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 100,000 and RMB 300,000 shall be imposed, and the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for revoking the business license of the branches of the direct sales enterprises that are found guilty of illegal operations. The commerce authority under the State Council may revoke the permit to conduct direct sales of the said enterprises in cases where the wrongdoings are serious. Lecturing staff involved shall be subject to a fine up to RMB 50,000 imposed by the administration of industry and commerce. In cases where the lecturing staff trains direct sales agents, the direct sales enterprises will be requested to cancel the qualifications of those who teach direct sales.
Units and individuals other than direct sales enterprises organising professional training for direct sales agents shall be requested to rectify by the administration of industry and commerce, hand in illegal income thus earned, and pay a fine between RMB 20,000 and RMB 200,000.
Article 47. Direct sales agents violating the provisions of article 22 of this set of measures shall have their illegal sales income confiscated by the administration of industry and commerce and pay a fine up to RMB 50,000. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, the direct sales enterprises will be requested to cancel the qualifications of the direct sales agents and pay a fine between RMB 10,000 and RMB 100,000.
Article 48. Direct sales enterprises violating the provisions of article 23 of this set of measures shall be subject to the related provisions of the Price Law.
Article 49. Direct sales enterprises violating the provisions of articles 24 and 25 of this set of measures shall be subject to a fine between RMB 50,000 and RMB 300,000 imposed by the administration of industry and commerce. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 300,000 and RMB 500,000 shall be imposed, and the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for revoking the business license of the branches of the direct sales enterprises that are found to be guilty of illegal operations. The commerce authority under the State Council may revoke the permit to conduct direct sales of such enterprises in cases where the wrongdoings are serious.
Article 50. In cases where direct sales enterprises fail to conduct information reporting, record filing and disclosure according to the related regulations, the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for requesting them to rectify within a specified period of time and imposing a fine up to RMB 100,000. In cases where the wrongdoings are serious, a fine between RMB 100,000 and RMB 300,000 shall be imposed. If the violators refuse to rectify, the commerce authority under the State Council should revoke the violator¡ s permit to conduct direct sales.
Article 51. In cases where direct sales enterprises violate the related provisions of chapter V of this set of measures, the administration of industry and commerce is responsible for requesting them to rectify within a specified period of time and imposing a fine up to RMB 100,000. If the violators refuse to rectify, the commerce authority under the State Council should revoke their permit to conduct direct sales.
Article 52. In cases where illegal acts in violation of the provisions f this set of measures also contravene the provisions of the Measures Prohibiting Pyramid Sales, the related provisions of the Measures Prohibiting Pyramid Sales shall be followed in imposing sanctions.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 53. Direct sales enterprises intending to form associations of their own and other institutions shall obtain approval from the competent authority under the State Council and proceed with the registration formalities on the strength of the approval document.
Article 54. The provisions on foreign investment in this set of measures shall be referred to in the cases of investors from Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan region setting up direct sales enterprises in Mainland China and engaging in direct sales.
Article 55. This set of measures shall enter into force as of December 1, 2005.
