Provisions on the protection of geographical indication products

(promulgated by order No. 78 of the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and Quarantine on June 7, 2005 and effective as of July 15, 2005)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the law of the people's Republic of China on product quality, the standardization law of the people's Republic of China, the law of the people's Republic of China on import and export commodity inspection and other relevant provisions in order to effectively protect China's geographical indication products, standardize the use of geographical indication product names and special signs, and ensure the quality and characteristics of geographical indication products.

Article 2 the term "geographical indication products" as mentioned in these Provisions refers to products produced in specific regions, whose quality, reputation or other characteristics essentially depend on the natural and human factors of the place of origin, and which are named by geographical names after examination and approval. Geographical indication products include:

（1） Planting and breeding products from this region.

（2） Products whose raw materials are all from this region or some from other regions and are produced and processed in this region according to specific processes.

Article 3 These Provisions are applicable to the acceptance, examination and approval of applications for geographical indication products, the registration, supervision and administration of special geographical indications.

Article 4 the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and Quarantine of the people's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "AQSIQ") shall uniformly administer the protection of geographical indication products throughout the country. Local entry exit inspection and quarantine bureaus and quality and technical supervision bureaus (hereinafter referred to as local quality inspection institutions) carry out the protection of geographical indication products in accordance with their functions.

Article 5 an application for the protection of geographical indication products shall be examined and approved in accordance with these provisions. The use of special marks for geographical indication products must be registered in accordance with these provisions and subject to supervision and administration.

Article 6 the protection of geographical indication products shall follow the principles of voluntary application, acceptance and approval of publicity.

Article 7 products applying for the protection of geographical indications shall meet the requirements of safety, hygiene and environmental protection. Products that may cause harm to the environment, ecology and resources shall not be accepted and protected.

Chapter II Application and acceptance

Article 8 an application for the protection of geographical indication products shall be submitted by the application institution for the protection of geographical indication products designated by the local people's government at or above the county level or the associations and enterprises recognized by the people's Government (hereinafter referred to as the applicant) and solicit the opinions of relevant departments.

Article 9 if the products applied for protection are within the scope of the county, the people's government at the county level shall put forward a proposal on the scope of origin; In case of cross county areas, the people's governments at the prefecture and municipal levels shall put forward suggestions on the scope of origin; If the scope of production is across prefectures and cities, the people's government at the provincial level shall put forward suggestions on the scope of production.

Article 10 the applicant shall submit the following materials:

（1） Suggestions of relevant local governments on delimiting the scope of origin of geographical indication products.

（2） Documents related to the establishment of application institutions or recognition of associations and enterprises as applicants by local governments.

（3） Certification materials of geographical indication products, including:

1. Application for protection of geographical indication products;

2. Description of product name, category, origin range and geographical characteristics;

3. Description of the physical, chemical, sensory and other quality characteristics of the product and its relationship with the natural and human factors of the place of origin;

4. Product production technical specifications (including product processing technology, safety and health requirements, technical requirements of processing equipment, etc.);

5. Product popularity, product production, sales and historical origin;

（4） The technical standards of the geographical indication products to be applied for.

Article 11 an application for the protection of geographical indication products of an export enterprise shall be submitted to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine department within its jurisdiction; The application for the protection of geographical indication products and other geographical indication products submitted by Region shall be submitted to the local (county-level or above) quality and technical supervision department.

Article 12 the Provincial Bureau of quality and technical supervision and the entry exit inspection and Quarantine Bureau directly under it shall, according to the division of labor, be respectively responsible for putting forward preliminary examination opinions on the protection application of geographical indication products to be declared, and submitting relevant documents and materials to the AQSIQ.

Chapter III Review and approval

Article 13 The AQSIQ shall conduct formal examination on the applications received. If it passes the examination, the AQSIQ shall issue an acceptance announcement to the public on the AQSIQ bulletin, government website and other media; If the applicant fails to pass the examination, he shall be informed in writing.

Article 14 If any unit or individual concerned has any objection to the application, it may submit it to the AQSIQ within 2 months after the announcement.

Article 15 the AQSIQ shall, in accordance with the characteristics of geographical indication products, set up corresponding expert review committees to be responsible for the technical review of applications for the protection of geographical indication products.

Article 16 the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and Quarantine of the people's Republic of China (AQSIQ) shall organize an expert review committee to conduct a technical review on the application that has no objection or has objection but is rejected. If the application is qualified, the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and Quarantine of the people's Republic of China (AQSIQ) shall issue an announcement approving the product to obtain the protection of geographical indication products.

Chapter IV formulation of standards and use of special signs

Article 17 for geographical indication products to be protected, corresponding national standards, local standards or management norms shall be formulated respectively according to the category, scope, popularity, production and sales of products.

Article 18 the national administrative department for standardization shall organize the drafting and promulgation of national standards for products protected by geographical indications; The standardization administrative department of the provincial local people's Government shall organize the drafting and promulgation of local standards for geographical indication protection products.

Article 19 the quality inspection of geographical indication protection products shall be undertaken by the inspection institutions designated by the provincial quality and technical supervision department and the entry-exit inspection and quarantine department directly under the provincial government. If necessary, AQSIQ will organize re inspection.

Article 20 producers within the scope of origin of geographical indication products shall apply to the local bureau of quality and technical supervision or the entry exit inspection and Quarantine Bureau for the use of special marks for geographical indication products, and submit the following materials:

（1） Application for the use of special signs for geographical indication products.

（2） The certificate issued by the competent department of the local government that the products are produced in a specific region.

（3） Inspection report issued by relevant product quality inspection agency.

After the above application has been reviewed by the Provincial Bureau of quality and technical supervision or the entry exit inspection and Quarantine Bureau directly under the State Administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, and has passed the examination and registration by the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and Quarantine of the people's Republic of China, an announcement will be issued, and the producers can use the special marks for geographical indication products on their products to obtain the protection of geographical indication products.

Chapter V Protection and supervision

Article 21 local quality inspection institutions shall protect the products protected by geographical indications according to law. Unauthorized use or forgery of geographical indication names and special signs; Using the name of the geographical indication product without meeting the requirements of the geographical indication product standards and management specifications; Or the use of names or signs that are similar to the special signs and easy to misunderstand, as well as text or pattern signs that may mislead consumers, so that consumers mistakenly regard the product as a geographical indication to protect the product, the quality and technical supervision department and the entry-exit inspection and quarantine department will investigate and deal with it according to law. Social organizations, enterprises and individuals can supervise and report.

Article 22 local quality inspection institutions shall carry out daily supervision and management on the scope of origin, product name, raw materials, production technology and process, quality characteristics, quality grade, quantity, packaging and identification of geographical indication products, the printing, distribution, quantity and use of special product signs, product production environment, production equipment, product standard compliance, etc.

Article 23 Where a producer who has been approved to use the special marks for geographical indication products fails to organize production in accordance with the corresponding standards and management norms, or fails to use the special marks on the protected geographical indication products within two years, the AQSIQ will cancel the registration of the use of the special marks for geographical indication products, stop its use of the special marks for geographical indication products and make an announcement to the public.

Article 24 those who violate these Provisions shall be subject to administrative punishment by the administrative department of quality and technical supervision and the entry-exit inspection and quarantine department in accordance with the product quality law of the people's Republic of China, the standardization law of the people's Republic of China, the import and Export Commodity Inspection Law of the people's Republic of China and other relevant laws.

Article 25 personnel engaged in the protection of geographical indication products shall be loyal to their duties and act impartially. They shall not abuse their power, abuse their power for personal gain or disclose technical secrets. Those who violate the above provisions shall be given administrative disciplinary sanctions; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Chapter VI supplementary provisions

Article 26 The AQSIQ accepts the registration and protection of foreign geographical indication products in the people's Republic of China. The specific measures shall be stipulated separately.

Article 27 The AQSIQ shall be responsible for the interpretation of these provisions.

Article 28 these Provisions shall enter into force as of July 15, 2005. The provisions on the protection of products in the region of origin promulgated by the former State Administration of quality and technical supervision shall be repealed at the same time. If the contents of geographical indications in the regulations on the administration of marks of origin and the measures for the implementation of the regulations on the administration of marks of origin published by the former State Administration of entry exit inspection and quarantine are inconsistent with these Provisions, these Provisions shall prevail.