SMPG D [2023] No. 6

Attention: all District People’s Governments, all Commissions, Offices, and Bureaus (Administrations) of the Municipal People’s Government, and all relevant institutions:

Upon approval of the Municipal People’s Government, we hereby issue to you the Implementation Plan of Promoting the Replacement of Violation Records Certification with the Specialized Credit Report among Market Entities, and request you to implement it conscientiously.

General Office of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government

February 11, 2023

Implementation Plan of Promoting the Replacement of Violation Records

Certification with the Specialized Credit Report among Market Entities

To thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, deepen the initiative of “reducing certification for public convenience”, actively expand the application of credit reporting, and address the complexity and difficulty in violation records issuance, this Implementation Plan is formulated in accordance with the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Social Credit, other relevant laws, rules and regulations, and the requirements for innovating the government big data application service and improving the government’s administrative performance and service efficiency.

I. General Requirements

1. Guiding Philosophy

This Implementation Plan is formulated under the guidance of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, implements the gist of the 20th National Congress of CPC and the Xi Jinping Thought on Rule of Law, and aims to deepen the reform to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation and upgrade services. This Implementation Plan will improve innovation in the government data application and give full play to credit reporting. By following the principles of “guidance by the demand, overall coordination, adherence to laws, rules and regulations, step-by-step progress, risk control and prevention, and replacement for improvement”, this Implementation Plan will vigorously promote the replacement of the law-violating/no-law-violating record (hereinafter “violation record”) certificate with the specialized credit report among market entities so as to substantially lighten the certification burden on them, reduce the institutional transaction costs, and improve the government administration and service, thus promoting data-driven higher-quality economic development, and contributing to the creation of a market-oriented, law-based international first-class business environment.

2. Objectives

From March 1, 2023, the specialized credit report shall be used on a trial basis by market entities in lieu of the violation record certificate in 23 fields (hereinafter referred to as the “first batch of implementation fields”) in the administrative areas of this Municipality.

From July 1, 2023, across this Municipality the Shanghai Compliance Code, in which the market entity will show its Compliance Code, and the institution that needs the proof can scan the Code to check the market entity’s specialized credit report shall be implemented on a trial basis, and this mode shall replace the former mode of the market entity’s provision of its violation record certificate.

From January 1, 2024, the mode of market entities’ use of the specialized credit reports to replace their violation record certificates and their use of Shanghai Compliance Code shall be officially implemented in 41 fields in the administrative areas of this Municipality.

3. Application Scope

For the purposes of this Implementation Plan, the violation records mean the objective accounts on the market entities’ violation of laws, rules and regulations recorded by the administrative departments of this Municipality, organizations with public administrative functions as authorized by laws and rules, departments dispatched to Shanghai by relevant central authorities, and relevant judicial authorities (hereinafter referred to as the “reporting departments”). Except for the valid legal documents that confirm the violation of a market entity, other circumstances shall be deemed as not constituting a violation; if a market entity is exempt from administrative penalties according to law, no violation records shall be entered. In the case of violation of the criminal law by a market entity, the relevant provisions shall apply.

The market entities including corporations, non-corporate legal persons and their branches, sole proprietorships, partnerships and their branches, farmer’s professional cooperatives and their branches, individual industrial and commercial households, and branches of foreign corporations may file for specialized credit reports to confirm their violation/no-violation records in the administrative areas of this Municipality.

The specialized credit reports can be used in finance (including the initial public offering, listing of shares, refinancing, merger and acquisition, bond issuance, and bank loans application), business operations (including the application for bidding, property rights transactions, government procurement, and evaluation and review by third-party agencies) and administrative management (including processing of administrative items, and application for preferential treatment, funding support, and commendation).

II. Main Tasks

1. To consolidate the data basis and launch the specialized credit reporting function. The reporting departments subject to the first batch of implementation fields shall strengthen the verification of the collected and shared data, and ensure that all the information on market entities’ violations after January 1, 2020 will be collected for sharing. The function of providing specialized credit reports will be launched on the Credit China (Shanghai) website (www.credit.fgw.sh.gov.cn), and the service guidelines and procedures will be published simultaneously.

2. To actively carry out the pilot initiatives. After this Implementation Plan comes into effect,  market entities may apply for the specialized credit reports online or offline on their own to prove their violation/no-violation records in the relevant fields in the administrative areas of this Municipality. Such matters as disagreement with, and correction, updating and restoring of the information in the specialized credit report shall be carried out in accordance with the  Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Social Credit and the Administrative Measures of Shanghai Municipality on Collecting and Using Public Credit Information. Based on the actual needs of the application scenarios, market entities may designate the time period and fields when applying for specialized credit reports. If a report-requesting institution needs details of the violation recorded in the specialized credit report, the Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau shall coordinate with relevant municipal and district departments to provide the details, and such departments shall cooperate in a timely manner.

3. To launch the Shanghai Compliance Code and expand its applications. The functions of the Shanghai Compliance Code and the specialized credit reports will be made available to market entities on the “Government Online-Offline Shanghai” service platform. From July 1, 2023, the Shanghai Compliance Code will be launched simultaneously as a pilot initiative. By the end of December 2023, the collection and sharing of data in the second batch of implementation fields will be completed.

4. To conduct official implementation. From January 1, 2024, the mode of market entities’  use of the specialized credit reports in 41 fields in the administrative areas of this Municipality to replace their violation record certificates and their use of the Shanghai Compliance Code shall be officially implemented. The items that cannot be validated by the specialized credit reports shall be handled according to relevant provisions of law. In the event that an institution requiring proof has the authority according to law to inquire about a market entity’s violation information, the relevant departments and institutions shall share their data.

5. To explore the application scope. The application scope of the specialized credit reports shall be actively expanded to provide convenience for more types of social entities. Efforts will be made to explore how to replace violation record certificates with specialized credit reports among market entities in the Yangtze River Delta. Studies will be conducted to promote data sharing with provinces and cities outside of the Yangtze River Delta so that the specialized credit reports can cover market entities’ violation records in these provinces and cities.

III. Organizational Guarantee

1. To further clarify responsibilities. The Municipal Bureau of Justice and the Municipal Development & Reform Commission shall coordinate to promote this Implementation Plan across this Municipality, guide and urge all districts and municipal departments and relevant institutions to carry it out, and shall study and resolve the major issues at the municipal level. All districts and municipal department and relevant institutions shall attach greater importance, define their respective responsible departments and persons, and, according to the principle of “whoever generates and provides the records shall be held responsible”, be responsible for prompt collection and sharing of the violation records of the market entities in each district, system and institution, which shall ensure the thoroughness, authenticity and accuracy of the data they have provided. The Municipal Public Credit Information Service Center and the Municipal Big Data Center shall define the responsible departments and persons and provide technological guarantee for launching the specialized credit reports and Shanghai Compliance Code and the data collection and sharing across this Municipality. All districts shall establish a coordinating mechanism consisting of the district development & reform commission, the district bureau of justice and the district big data center to organize and guide the relevant district departments, sub-district offices and towns to implement the relevant requirements, and shall coordinate the solving of problems therein. All relevant institutions shall strictly comply with the systems and regulations of the State and this Municipality on data security to truly safeguard the data.

2. To strengthen straining and publicity. The Municipal Bureau of Justice and the Municipal Development & Reform Commission shall organize professional training sessions in this Municipality to keep all districts and municipal departments and relevant institutions well informed of the working requirements, and shall carry out publicity initiatives on policy interpretation to ensure market entities well informed for greater convenience. All districts and municipal departments and relevant institutions shall strengthen their training programs, adopt various forms of publicity to increase public awareness, and create a congenial environment for this Implementation Plan.

3. To establish long-term mechanisms. The Municipal Development & Reform Commission, the Municipal Bureau of Justice and the Municipal Public Credit Information Service Center should establish a regular inspection and review mechanism on data collection and sharing as applicable across this Municipality. The Municipal Development & Reform Commission and the Municipal Bureau of Justice shall track and evaluate the implementation of this Implementation Plan, extensively solicit opinions and suggestions, keep improving the implementation institutions and mechanisms, optimize and expand the functions, and make continuous efforts for more standardized operations and greater convenience.

This Implementation Plan shall be effective as of March 1, 2023.