State Council, Administration of Printing Industry Regulations

Promulgated: August 2 2001
Effective: as of date of promulgation
Applicability: The Regulations apply to the business of printing publications, printed decorative packaging and other printed matter. For the purpose of the Regulations, "publications" includes newspapers, periodicals, books, maps, New Year's pictures, pictures, wall calendars, picture albums and covers of audio and video products; "printed decorative packaging" includes trademarks, publicity materials and printed paper, metal and plastic packaging decoration; "other printed matters" includes documents, informational materials, instruments, identity documents and name cards; and "printing" includes typesetting, plate making, printing, binding and copying (Article 2).

Main contents: According to the Regulations, setting up of a printing business is subject to two licensing procedures in addition and prior to the regular business licensing procedure with an industry and commerce administrative department; namely a printing business licence from a publication administrative authority at the provincial level or, in the case of an enterprise exclusively engaged in the printing of name cards, the county level, and a special business licence from a public security department (Article 9). No individual is allowed to engage in the business of printing publications or decorative packaging (Article 9). However, the Regulations permit the establishment of Sino-foreign joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises in the printing industry (Article 12). Under the Regulations, the printing of publications, decorative packaging and other printed matters which have reactionary, obscene or superstitious content or other content expressly banned by the State is prohibited (Article 3). The Regulations set out the obligations that a printing enterprise must perform when accepting orders for printing publications, decorative packaging and other printed matters (Parts Three, Four and Five). Particularly, where an order is from overseas, the printing enterprise shall obtain the approval from or file a record with a provincial level publication administrative authority and the product completed under the order must be completely shipped out of the country and not to be sold in the domestic market (Articles 19, 27 and 32).
Repealed legislation: State Council, Administration of Printing Industry Regulations, Mar 8 1997