工商消字[2004]第35号

（Issued by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on 12 March 2004.）

颁布日期：20040312 　实施日期：20040312 　颁布单位：国家工商行政管理总局

　　Article 1　Business operators providing commodities or services shall fulfil their obligations in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations， the agreement with consumers， and the undertakings² they make to consumers.

　　Where a business operator has an agreement with or makes an undertaking¹ to a consumer， and the content of such agreement or undertaking is beneficial to the protection of the lawful³ rights and interests of the consumer and complies with the mandatory⁴ provisions of laws and regulations， it shall be performed in accordance with the agreement or undertaking. Where the content of the agreement or undertaking is not beneficial to the protection of the lawful rights and interests of the consumer and does not comply with the mandatory provisions of laws and regulations， it shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations.

　　Article 2　If a business operator discovers that a commodity or service it provides has a major defect and may endanger personal or property safety even if such commodity or service is used or received properly， it shall immediately halt the sale of commodities that have not yet been sold or the provision of services， and shall report thereof to the relevant administrative⁵ departments such as the administration for industry and commerce. Apart from reporting to the relevant administrative departments such as the administration for industry and commerce on the commodities already sold or services already provided， it shall inform consumers through effective means such as the public media， shop notices as well as telephone， facsimile and short message service， and shall recall such commodities or take appropriate remedial measures on services already provided.

　　If a business operator does not fulfil its obligations stipulated⁶ in the preceding paragraph， the administration for industry and commerce shall order rectification⁷ within its scope of authority， and shall record the matter in the market entity⁸ credit regulatory information.

　　Article 3　The standard contracts， circulars， announcements and shop notices drafted by business operators shall not contain the following contents that are unfair or unreasonable⁹ to consumers： let consumers assume obligations that should be assumed by the business operator； increase the obligations of consumers； remove or restrict the rights of consumers to alter or dissolve the contract according to law； and remove or restrict the statutory rights of consumers such as request for payment of liquidated¹⁰ damages， compensation for damages， and institution of an action according to law.

　　If a standard contract， circular， announcement and shop notice drafted by a business operator contains the aforementioned contents， and lessens¹¹ or eliminates the civil liability it should undertake for harming the lawful rights and interests of consumers， the administration for industry and commerce shall order rectification， and shall record the matter in the market entity credit regulatory information.

　　Article 4　If， after accepting the commodities or services provided by a business operator， a consumer demands for proof of purchase such as an invoice¹²， receipt， sale card， service card and maintenance guarantee， the business operator must provide such proof of purchase and shall not charge any fee.

　　Where a consumer demands for an invoice， the business operator shall not substitute the invoice with a receipt， sale card， service card or maintenance guarantee. If there is proper reason for not issuing an invoice immediately， the business operator shall deliver the invoice according to the time and location as consulted with the consumer， or agree that the consumer shall collect the invoice at a designated location. If a business operator agrees that the consumer shall collect the invoice at a designated location， it shall reimburse¹³ the consumer for reasonable travel costs.

　　If a business operator fails to fulfil its obligations as stipulated in the preceding paragraph， the administration for industry and commerce shall order rectification， and shall record the matter in the market entity credit regulatory information.

　　Article 5　Business operators providing commodities or services through means such as mail order， direct selling on television， direct selling on the internet and telephone sale shall provide such commodities and services in accordance with the agreement. If they do not do so， they shall perform the agreement or refund¹⁴ the price of the commodity in accordance with the request of the consumers， and shall also bear the reasonable fees such as the communications fees paid by the consumers for that and the postal¹⁵ fees for returning the commodities that do not comply with the stipulated conditions， etc.

　　Article 6　Where a business operator providing commodities or services causes harm to the personal or property safety of a consumer， it shall， in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations， the agreement with the consumer， and the undertakings it makes to the consumer， assume its civil liability by way of repair， re-doing， replacement¹⁶， return， making up the quantity of the commodity， refund of the price of the commodity and service fees， or compensation for damages， etc.

　　Where a consumer has evidence to prove that a business operator has， for more than 15 days from the date of its lawful request for assumption of civil liability， refused to assume civil liability twice or more without proper reason， such refusal to assume civil liability shall be regarded as deliberate delay or refusal without reason， except where the business operator is able to prove that its exceeding the time limit is due to reasons of force majeure.

　　Where a business operator deliberately¹⁷ delays or unreasonably¹⁸ refuses the lawful requests of a consumer， the administration for industry and commerce shall impose penalties in accordance with Article 50 of the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers Law.