Commercial Information Circulars

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Ref : EIC 631/2/5

10 September 2001

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 140/01

The Mainland of China : Revised Regulations on Printing

The State Council issued State Council Decree No. 311 on 2 August 2001, revising the Regulations on Printing, in order to combat illegal activities in printing industry and to cater for the current needs.

2. Below are the main revisions on the Regulations :

• To cater for the current market needs, the revised Regulations open up the industry by further allowing foreign investors to set up solely own companies to print materials for packaging and decoration. Previously, only sino-foreign joint venture or cooperation are allowed in the printing industry. The detailed implementation rules will be formulated by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Commission and relevant press and publication administration departments.
  

• The revised Regulations also simplify the administration procedures, and combine different kinds of permits into one. The Regulations also require the press and publication administration departments to approve or reject application for running printing business within 60 days.

Moreover, additional management measures are also imposed on printing trademark and professional certificates in the current revision. It has also introduced stiffer penalties for committing illegal printing activities, and extended the period of filing the printed materials to 2 years for later supervision.

3. The said Regulation has become effective since 2 August 2001.

ENQUIRIES

4. If you have any questions on the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at 2398 5680.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Tiffany S M MAK)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

Note : While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.