With the rapid development and construction of the national economy, the wire and cable industry is flourishing. Adjustments to national policies and economic development strategies have brought new insights to the industry. The proposal of the "Belt and Road," the rapid development of the high-speed rail industry, the push for energy-saving and environmental protection, and the integration of the internet industry have all set directions for the wire and cable sector, bringing new vitality and ideas to its growth.
As we approach 2018, some cable companies are busy rushing to meet year-end quotas and expedite orders. It's crucial not to be complacent, as the national supervision special inspection plan for electrical wires and cables is still ongoing, and environmental protection regulations are being tightened further. Since the fourth quarter, there have been some new changes in policies regarding inspections, environmental protection, and permits, which have had a significant impact on the cable industry. **** is incredibly important!
Cable quality inspections to undergo major adjustments: No re-inspection within 6 months.
The national supervision special inspection plan for the quality of wire and cable products in 2017, which began in September, is ongoing and will continue until the end of December, with a total of 1,400 batches scheduled to be inspected. With the last half month remaining, the preliminary results released so far indicate that the inspection intensity remains unchanged. At the same time, significant adjustments will be made to the management of cable quality inspections.
The National Quality Supervision and Inspection Administration recently revised the "Administrative Measures for Quality Supervision and Random Inspection of Products (Draft for Comments)." Compared to the previous version, the draft for comments introduces several new changes, including clarifying the "double random" mechanism, the "separation of sampling and inspection" principle (where the inspection institution may not participate in sampling), and four scenarios where re-inspection within 6 months is prohibited and inspected enterprises can refuse the inspection, among others.
Random Sampling and Random Inspection
The department responsible for organizing spot checks should randomly select the enterprises to be inspected in accordance with relevant regulations and match them with inspection agencies at random.
Random Inspection Separation
Quality supervision and random inspections are conducted separately. Sampling is carried out at the manufacturing facilities, with the quality supervision department of the location responsible for the implementation. Technical institutions conducting the inspections are not allowed to participate in the sampling process.
【Eligible Exceptions for Refusing Sampling】
When sampling in production facilities or markets, if any of the following situations occur, the sampled enterprises may refuse to accept the inspection:
(One) Sampling personnel fewer than two.
Sampling personnel are unable to provide a supervision and random inspection notice, copies of relevant documents, or valid identification.
(3) Require enterprises to pay for inspection fees or any other charges.
(Four) Companies sampled had names that did not match the supervision inspection notice.
No Duplicate Inspections Conducted
If a product passes the quality supervision and random inspection by the superior department, within 6 months from the date of sampling, the subordinate department shall not conduct another supervision and random inspection on the same product of the enterprise, except for the supervision and random inspection conducted in accordance with relevant regulations to respond to emergencies.
The newly revised "Anti-Unfair Competition Law" went into effect on January 1, 2018.
The Third Session of the 12th National People's Congress voted to pass the revised version of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law." The current "Anti-Unfair Competition Law" was implemented on December 1, 1993, and this is the first revision in 24 years.
The newly revised "Anti-Unfair Competition Law" will take effect from January 1, 2018, which is expected to suppress many unfair competition phenomena in the cable industry.
The new law has been amended and improved in the following aspects:
1. Enhanced the definition of "operator." Removed the requirement for profitability, broadening the scope of applicability of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law."
2. New clause added addressing unfair competition practices utilizing technological means in the internet sector.
3. Enhanced regulation against "organized false transactions." In the future, aiding others in fake ordering, manipulating reviews, fabricating transactions, and conducting false honor rankings will be subject to investigation and punishment.
4. Revised and improved regulations on counterfeit and confusing acts. Provisions have been made for the names, packaging, decorations, corporate names, titles, and标识 behaviors of commercial activities that may have some influence on others, and these provisions are organically connected with the "Trademark Law."
5. More rationally define commercial bribery.
6. Enhanced legal liability provisions and increased penalties for unfair competition practices, with fines of up to 3 million yuan for severe violations.
Two significant changes to the cable production license have been announced.
Proof before Verification
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine has recently researched and formulated the "Detailed Rules for the Pilot Simplified Approval Process of Industrial Product Production License." The implementation scope of the "license-first, inspection-later" approach has been expanded from the initial six pilot regions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Guangdong to cover major provinces across the country.
After implementing the "application before examination" policy, businesses can now apply for industrial product production licenses by providing just "one application form, one commitment letter, one business license, and one quality report," thereby significantly reducing the time required to obtain the license and streamlining the previous bureaucratic procedures.
"From Province to City: Approval Authority for Cable Production Licenses Gradually Delegated"
Following Jiangsu and other regions, the Shandong Provincial Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine has released relevant reform opinions, delegating a batch of provincial-level administrative permit matters. This includes the authorization of the approval of 19 types of industrial products, such as cables and refractory materials, which are currently under the responsibility of the provincial quality supervision department, to be delegated to municipal quality supervision departments. In line with the spirit of the "decentralization, administration, and service" reform, it is expected that more provinces will further delegate the approval power for industrial product licenses, such as cables, in the future.
New Tendering and Bidding Regulations Issued Successively
The National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration for Market Regulation, and ********* Legal Affairs Office recently jointly issued the "Detailed Implementation Measures for the Fair Competition Review System (Interim)." It explicitly states that it is prohibited to restrict local bidding by out-of-province operators. Key information includes:
One, without legal or regulatory basis or ********* provisions, market access barriers shall not be established or indirectly established in the forms of filing, registration, certification, directory listing, annual inspection, supervision, identification, certification, approval, designation, numbering, certificate replacement, or requiring the establishment of branch offices.
In the bidding process, it is forbidden to restrict bidders based on their location, ownership, or organizational form, thereby excluding or limiting the participation of potential bidders in bidding activities.
Section III: There shall be no exclusion or restriction on potential operators from providing goods and services through the establishment of project libraries, catalogues, or other methods without legal and regulatory basis.
No exclusion or restriction of out-of-area operators from participating in local bidding and tender activities.
No discrimination, restriction, or mandatory establishment of branches or investment by out-of-local operators in the local area.
[Tendering & Bidding Policy Trends]
The National Development and Reform Commission recently issued the "Administrative Measures for the Publication of Bidding Announcement and Public Disclosure Information," which will take effect from January 1, 2018!
The pre-qualification announcement, bidding announcement,公示of shortlisted bidders, and公示of the winning bid results for the bidding project shall be publicly disclosed in accordance with the law, except for information that requires confidentiality or involves commercial secrets.
Ensure that the data messages for publishing tender announcements and public disclosure information are not tampered with, missing, and are traceable for at least 10 years.
The media outlet provides free information release services and allows the general public and market entities to access the complete information of the aforementioned tender announcements and public announcements for free and in a timely manner.
Environmental protection efforts continue to intensify
The "Eco-Friendly Storm" of 2017 continues to intensify. Before the end of the entire heating season (from November 15, 2017, to March 15, 2018), the strength of the shutdown and production reduction orders will only escalate, not diminish.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection recently issued the "Implementation Measures for Restricting and Halting Production for Rectification of Environmental Protection Main Administrators (Draft for Comments)." The new measures stipulate that the deadline for halting production and rectification for situations involving unauthorized discharge, discharge to evade supervision, and repeated over-standard emissions resulting in daily continuous penalties and online automatic monitoring data exceeding standards multiple times is three months. It is important to note that the "Environmental Protection Tax Law of the People's Republic of China" will be officially implemented as of January 1, 2018.
Warm Reminder
The "Measures for the Administration of Unlicensed and Unregistered Business Operations" came into effect on October 1, 2017. Cable enterprises without relevant permits and procedures will also be categorized as "small, scattered, disorderly, and polluting."
Reminder: There are only half a month left for your business license to expire, cable people, please conduct a self-check immediately! According to the "Notice on Implementing the 'Five Certificates into One' Registration System Reform Notice issued by the General Administration of Market Regulation and other five departments," as of January 1, 2018, all enterprises and farmer cooperatives must use business licenses with the unified social credit code. Business licenses that have not been renewed are no longer valid. Enterprises that have not yet replaced their new business licenses are advised to do so by December 31, 2017, to avoid affecting their business operations.
