The regulations on the discretion of administrative penalties for market supervision and administration were issued!

the Discretion of Administrative Penalties for

Market Supervision and Administration (promulgated by Decree No.129 of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration on October 8, 2026, which came into effect on January 1, 2027)

, in order to regulate the implementation of administrative penalty discretion by market supervision and administration departments, the market supervision and administration departments shall, in accordance with Article 1 of the Regulations on Administrative Penalty Discretion for Market Supervision and Administration. These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Administrative Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and administrative regulations to protect the legitimate rights and interests of natural persons, legal persons and other organizations.

Article 2 These Provisions shall apply to the implementation of administrative penalty discretion by market supervision and management departments. Article

3 The term "administrative penalty discretion" as mentioned in these Provisions refers to the discretion and measurement of whether to impose administrative penalties and the types and extent of administrative penalties imposed by market supervision and management departments at all levels in accordance with the provisions of laws, regulations and rules, taking into account the facts, nature, circumstances and degree of social harm of illegal acts. The

fourth market supervision and management departments shall adhere to the following principles when implementing administrative penalty discretion:

(1) The principle of legality. According to the statutory authority, abide by the statutory procedures, and comply with the discretionary conditions, types and extent of punishment stipulated by laws, regulations and rules.

(2) The principle of excessive punishment. On the basis of facts, the types and extent of punishment are equivalent to the facts, nature, circumstances and degree of social harm of illegal acts.

(3) The principle of fairness and impartiality. When imposing administrative penalties on illegal acts with basically the same facts, nature, circumstances and degree of social harm, the applicable legal basis, types and extent of penalties are basically the same.

(4) The principle of combining punishment with education. While punishing illegal acts according to law, we should educate natural persons, legal persons and other organizations to consciously abide by the law.

(5) Principle of comprehensive discretion. We should comprehensively consider the subjective and objective factors related to illegal acts, take into account the economic and social development of the region, and achieve the unity of political, legal and social effects. Article

5 The State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration shall guide provincial market supervision and administration departments to establish and improve administrative penalty discretion benchmarks, and may formulate discretion benchmarks for specific market supervision and administration administrative penalty matters.

Provincial market supervision and management departments shall formulate administrative penalty discretion benchmarks in accordance with these Provisions and in light of the actual situation in the region. Municipal market supervision and management departments

with districts shall formulate administrative penalty discretion benchmarks for administrative penalties for market supervision and management set by local laws and regulations and local government regulations; In light of the actual situation of the region, the administrative penalty discretion benchmark within the administrative region may be formulated in accordance with the laws, regulations, rules and the administrative penalty discretion benchmark formulated by the market supervision and management department at a higher level. Article

6 Market supervision and management departments shall follow legal procedures in formulating administrative penalty discretion benchmarks and make them public to the public on their own initiative. Article

7 The criteria for administrative penalty discretion shall include illegal acts, legal basis, discretion levels, applicable conditions and specific standards. To

formulate the administrative penalty discretion benchmark, the following contents can be refined and quantified:

(1) Where laws, regulations and rules stipulate that it is optional to decide whether to impose administrative penalties, the specific circumstances of whether to impose penalties shall be specified;

(2) Where laws, regulations and rules provide that the types of administrative penalties may be selected, the specific circumstances applicable to different types of penalties shall be clearly defined;

(3) Where laws, regulations and rules provide that the range of administrative penalties may be selected, the levels of discretion shall be clearly defined and the specific circumstances applicable to different levels shall be determined;

(4) Where laws, regulations and rules stipulate that administrative penalties may be imposed separately or concurrently, the specific circumstances of the administrative penalties shall be clearly stipulated;

(5) Where laws, regulations and rules stipulate corresponding penalties for minor, minor, serious or serious circumstances, the specific applicable circumstances shall be clearly defined. Article

8 Where the market supervision and management department makes a decision on administrative penalty by applying ordinary procedures, it shall specify the basis, facts and reasons for the discretion in the decision on administrative penalty; if there is a discretion benchmark for administrative penalty, it shall also specify the application of the discretion benchmark. Article

9 When the market supervision and management department imposes administrative penalties, if the application of the administrative penalty discretion benchmark may be obviously improper or unfair, or if the objective situation of the application of the administrative penalty discretion benchmark changes, the application may be adjusted according to the provisions after collective discussion and decision by the person in charge of the department. The record of collective discussion shall be included in the administrative penalty files for filing and preservation. Article

10 The market supervision and management departments at or above the municipal level with districts shall establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism for the administrative penalty discretion benchmark. If the laws, regulations and rules on which the administrative penalty discretion benchmark is based are amended or the objective situation has changed significantly, it shall be adjusted in time. Article

11 The discretion of administrative penalty is divided into the following five levels:

(1) No administrative penalty means that no administrative penalty is imposed on a specific illegal act for legal reasons;

(2) Mitigation of administrative penalties refers to the imposition of administrative penalties less than statutory types of penalties or less than minimum range of statutory penalties;

(3) a lighter administrative penalty refers to the application of a lighter or lesser type of punishment or a lower range of punishment within the types and ranges of punishment that can be chosen according to law, in which the amount of the fine shall be 30% (including this number) of the lower part of the range from the minimum to the maximum;

(4) General administrative penalties refer to the application of moderate types of penalties or ranges of penalties within the types and ranges of penalties that can be chosen according to law, in which the amount of fines should be 30% to 70% of the range from the minimum to the maximum;

(5) The term "heavier administrative punishment" refers to the application of heavier or more types of punishment or a higher range of punishment within the types and ranges of punishment that can be chosen according to law, in which the amount of fines shall be 30% (including this number) of the higher part of the range from the minimum to the maximum. Article

12 that determination of administrative penalty shall be base on facts, take into comprehensive consideration the following factors:

(1) the age, intelligence and mental health of the party;

(2) the degree of the subjective fault of the party;

(3) The duration and frequency of the illegal act, the area involved and the scope of the object of infringement;

(4) The manner and means of the illegal act;

(5) The harmfulness of the illegal act or the risk of the product or service involved;

(6) The value of the goods involved in the case, the amount of illegal business and the amount of illegal income;

(7) The role played by the parties in the joint illegal act;

(8) The harmful consequences caused by the illegal act;

(9) The correction of the illegal act and the adoption of remedial measures by the party concerned and the effect thereof;

(10) The cooperation of the party concerned in the investigation;

and (11) Other factors that should be considered. Article

13 No administrative penalty shall be impose under any of that follow circumstances:

(1) a minor under the age of 14 has committed an illegal act;

(2) a mentally ill person or a person with intellectual disability has commit an illegal act at a time when he is unable to recognize or control his own conduct;

(3) The illegal act is minor and has been corrected in time without causing harmful consequences;

(4) Except as otherwise provided by laws and administrative regulations, the party concerned has sufficient evidence to prove that he has no subjective fault;

(5) Except as otherwise provided by law, illegal acts involving the safety of citizens' lives, health, and financial security and having harmful consequences have not been discovered within five years, and other illegal acts have not been discovered within two years;

and (6) Other circumstances under which administrative penalties are not imposed according to law. No administrative penalty may be imposed on those who violate the law

for the first time and whose harmful consequences are minor and corrected in time.A minor who

has reach that age of 14 but not the age of 18 has committed an illegal act, and the harmful consequence are minor;

(2) a mentally ill person or a person with intellectual disabilities who has not completely lost the ability to recognize or control his own conduct has committed an illegal act, and the harmful consequences are minor;

(3) being coerced by others to commit an illegal act;

(4) taking the initiative to eliminate the harmful consequences of an illegal act;

(5) Those who voluntarily confess the major illegal acts that the market supervision and management department has not yet grasped;

(6) Those who cooperate with the market supervision and management department in investigating and dealing with illegal acts and have performed major meritorious deeds;

(7) Other circumstances of mitigating administrative penalties according to law. Where

a party is under the circumstances of a lighter administrative punishment as prescribed in Articles 15 and 16 of these Provisions, but the lighter punishment is still too heavy, the administrative punishment may be mitigated upon the collective discussion and decision of the person in charge of the department, except that the party is only under the circumstances prescribed in Item 4 of Article 16. Article

15 in any of that follow circumstances, a light administrative penalty shall be imposed:

(1) a minor who has reached the age of 14 but not the age of 18 has committed an illegal act;

(2) a minor who has been inveigled by another into commit an illegal act;

(3) Those who take the initiative to mitigate the harmful consequences of illegal acts;

(4) Those who take the initiative to confess illegal acts that the market supervision and management department has not yet grasped;

(5) Those who cooperate with the market supervision and management department in investigating and dealing with illegal acts and perform meritorious deeds;

(Six) other cases of lighter administrative punishment according to law. If

a party has a mitigated administrative penalty as stipulated in Article 14 of these Provisions, but the mitigated penalty is too light, the administrative penalty shall be lightened. Article

16 a light administrative penalty may be imposed unde any of that following circumstances:

(1) a mentally ill person or a person with intellectual disability who has not completely lost the ability to recognize or control his own conduct has committed an illegal act;

(2) the illegal act is minor;

(3) The harmful consequences are minor;

(4) Actively cooperate with the market supervision and management department in the investigation;

(5) Play a secondary or auxiliary role in the joint illegal act;

(6) The harmful consequences are caused by multiple factors, and the illegal act plays a secondary role in the harmful consequences;

(7) Other circumstances in which a lighter administrative penalty may be imposed according to law. Article

17 whoever commit one of that following act shall be subject to heavier administrative punishment:

(1) where an illegal act seriously endangers national security or public interests, or seriously undermine economic and social order;

(2) where the violation is flagrant;

(3) The illegal act causes serious harmful consequences such as personal injury or death of others, major property losses, or causes adverse social impact;

(4) Violating emergency response measures during emergencies such as major infectious diseases;

(5) obstructing administrative law enforcement personnel from performing their duties according to law by means of violence or threat;

(6) retaliating against informants, witnesses or administrative law enforcement personnel;

and (7) other circumstances of heavier administrative punishment according to law. Article

18 In any of the following circumstances, a heavier administrative penalty may be imposed:

(1) Having been subjected to criminal punishment for an illegal act of the same nature, or having committed an illegal act of the same nature again within one year from the date on which the market supervision and administration department makes a decision on administrative penalty;

(2) Instigating, coercing or luring others to commit illegal acts;

(3) Refusing to correct the illegal acts after being ordered to do so by the market supervision and management department, except that the circumstances fall within the statutory conditions for the implementation of administrative penalties;

(4) Obstructing or refusing to cooperate with the administrative law enforcement officers in performing their duties according to law;

(5) Concealing, transferring, damaging, using or disposing of the places, facilities or property seized or detained by the market supervision and management department according to law;

(6) Forging, concealing, destroying or transferring evidence;

(seven) other circumstances that may be subject to heavier administrative penalties according to law. Under the circumstances specified in

the preceding paragraph, where laws, regulations and rules provide for heavier administrative penalties, such provisions shall be followed. Article

19 If a party has both a lighter or mitigated administrative penalty and a heavier administrative penalty, or has multiple lighter, mitigated or heavier administrative penalties at the same time, he shall assess the impact of each situation on the illegal act, and comprehensively consider and reasonably determine the level of discretion, the type of punishment and the corresponding amount. If the degree of influence is equivalent, the discretion can be made by means of superposition in the same direction and offset in the opposite direction; if the degree of influence is quite different, the discretion can be made by taking the situation with greater influence as the main consideration factor and taking into account other situations. Article

20 If an illegal act is minor, the following factors may be considered for comprehensive determination:

(1) the subjective fault is minor;

(2) the safety risk of the illegal act is low;

(3) the duration of the illegal act is short;

(4) The products and services involved in the case are qualified, or the safety risk is relatively low;

(5) The value of the goods involved in the case, the amount of illegal business is relatively small, or the quantity of the products and services involved in the case is relatively small;

(6) There is no illegal income or the amount of illegal income is relatively small;

(7) Take the initiative to stop or correct the illegal act before the market supervision and management department discovers the illegal act;

(8) Other factors that can reflect the minor illegal act. Article

21 If the harmful consequences are minor, the following factors may be taken into account for comprehensive determination:

(1) The degree of harm is relatively minor;

(2) The scope of harm is relatively small;

(3) No obvious adverse social impact has been caused;

(4) The harmful consequences are easy to be eliminated or mitigated;

(5) The understanding of the injured party is obtained;

(6) Other factors that can reflect the minor harmful consequences. Article

22 If an illegal act does not harm the interests of the state or the public, does not cause personal injury or property loss to others, and does not cause adverse social effects, it may be deemed that there are no harmful consequences. Article

23 The first violation of the law refers to the first violation of the nature committed by the party concerned within two years; if the violation involves the safety of life, health and finance of citizens and has harmful consequences, the above-mentioned period shall be five years.

After inquiring the party concerned and inquiring the state enterprise credit information publicity system and the law enforcement case handling system, if no illegal act of the same nature is found within the time limit prescribed in the preceding paragraph, it shall be deemed to be the first violation of the law. The time limit stipulated in the preceding paragraph refers to the time interval between the date of the decision on the disposal of the previous illegal act and the date of the occurrence of the current illegal act. The illegal act of the

same nature refers to the illegal act that the market supervision and management department applies the same legal provisions to deal with.The applicable legal basis of the two illegal acts is different, but the object infringed by the illegal acts and the mode of conduct are basically the same, and the applicable legal basis has the relationship between the upper law and the lower law, the general law and the special law, the administrative violation and the criminal offence, which can be identified as the same nature of illegal acts. Article

24 Active elimination or mitigation of the harmful consequences of illegal acts means that the parties take active measures to basically eliminate or mitigate the harmful consequences of illegal acts before the end of the investigation of the case and produce practical results, including active recall of the products involved, return of illegal income, compensation for losses, elimination of the impact, etc.

In the process of statement, defense or hearing, if a party provides evidence to prove that he has taken the initiative to eliminate or mitigate the harmful consequences of the illegal act after the investigation of the case is completed, it may be determined in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. Article

25 Correction refers to stopping or correcting illegal acts or making production and operation activities meet legal requirements through rectification, including removing products involved, stopping providing services involved, fulfilling legal obligations, and improving relevant management systems to prevent the recurrence of illegal acts.

Timely correction means that the party concerned takes the initiative to correct the illegal act before the market supervision and management department discovers the illegal act or orders it to be corrected. If the party concerned corrects the illegal act in time after the market supervision and management department points out the illegal act, it may be regarded as a timely correction. Article

26 The subjective fault of a party includes intention and negligence, and the degree of intentional fault is greater than that of negligence. Whether

the party has subjective fault and the degree of subjective fault can be determined comprehensively by considering the following factors:

(1) whether the party knows or should know the illegal act;

(2) whether the party has the ability to control the illegal act and its consequences;

(3) Whether the parties concerned have fulfilled their legal responsibilities for production and operation;

(4) Whether the parties concerned have obtained the commodities involved in the case through proper channels and at fair prices;

(5) Other factors that can reflect the subjective state of the parties concerned. If the

party concerned claims that there is no subjective fault and provides relevant evidence, the market supervision and management department shall verify it and confirm it in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. Article

27 Meritorious service refers to reporting or exposing other people's illegal acts in the field of market supervision or providing key clues or evidence for investigating and dealing with other people's illegal acts in the field of market supervision, which are verified to be true.

Major meritorious service refers to reporting or exposing other people's major illegal acts in the field of market supervision or providing key clues or evidence for investigating and dealing with other people's major illegal acts in the field of market supervision, which have been verified to be true.

Major illegal acts refer to illegal acts that are suspected of committing crimes or should be subject to administrative penalties such as ordering suspension of production and business, ordering closure, revoking licenses, restricting production and business activities, restricting employment, and imposing large amounts of fines and confiscations. Where there are other provisions in laws and regulations, such provisions shall prevail. Article

28 If the violation is serious, the following factors may be taken into consideration:

(1) The party has intentionally committed an illegal act;

(2) The illegal act lasts for a long time and has a wide scope of influence;

(3) The illegal means are bad;

(4) The object of infringement is minors, the elderly, the disabled and other special groups;

(5) The value of the goods involved, the amount of illegal business or the amount of illegal income is huge;

(6) Other factors that can reflect the seriousness of the violation. Article

29 These Provisions shall apply to the implementation of administrative penalty discretion by the drug regulatory department under the State Council and the drug regulatory department at the provincial level.

Provincial drug supervision and administration departments shall, in accordance with these Provisions, formulate administrative penalty discretion benchmarks for drugs, medical devices and cosmetics, taking into account whether illegal acts affect the safety, effectiveness and quality controllability of drugs, medical devices and cosmetics, as well as other factors listed in these Provisions, and in combination with the actual situation of the region. Article

30 These Provisions shall apply to the implementation of administrative penalty discretion by organizations authorized by laws and regulations to perform the functions of market supervision and management. Article

31 The discretion of administrative penalties for violations of the Anti-monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China shall be implemented in accordance with the special provisions of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration. Where there are no provisions in the special provisions, they shall be implemented with reference to these Provisions. Article

32 These Provisions shall come into force as of January 1, 2027.