To unleash the vitality of enterprise innovation and entrepreneurship and speed up the building of an international business-friendly environment based on the rule of law, on June 13, the launching ceremony of Songshan Lake Pilot for Reform of Separating Operating Permits and Business License was officially held. The first Small Restaurant Recordation Certificate was issued on the spot, signifying the start of the reform of separating operating permits and business license at Songshan Lake High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (hereinafter the “Zone”), the only such pilot in the city.
In the future, Songshan Lake will sort out and standardize all enterprise-related administrative approval items. Some approval items will be cancelled directly and some subject to recordation or notification and commitment. Further, operation management will be optimized and supervision both during and after the process will be strengthened to tackle the prominent problem faced by enterprises (namely, easy to obtain a business license but hard to get an operating permit; access allowed but operation denied) and raise the development quality of the Zone.
Focusing on Addressing the Problem of “Access allowed but operation denied”
“Separating operating permits and business license” means separating all operating permits from the business license other than those involving major public interest, such as national security, public security, ecological safety and public health, by having them cancelled or subjected to recordation or notification and commitment. For administrative approval items that can neither be cancelled for the moment nor subjected to notification and commitment, operation permission management shall be optimized and supervision both during and after the process shall be strengthened.
The reform, a major part of the Central Government’s decision to advance the reform of streamlining administration, delegating power and optimizing services, will concentrate on addressing the key problem of enterprises and improving government services and the business environment. In this way, the government can focus more on post and in-process supervision than on pre-approval.
To implement the arrangements of the Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, Dongguan has decided that reform of separating operating permits and business license be carried out in Songshan Lake ahead of the rest of the city. The reform will help Songshan Lake, the city’s only such pilot so far, to improve its overall efficiency and create a superior business environment.
129 Items Have Been Included in the Reform
It is learned that the trial reform in Songshan Lake includes 129 administrative approval items altogether, touching upon the municipal or higher-level powers, joint provincial-municipal powers and exclusive municipal powers. The heart of the reform is to cancel some approval items, subject some to recordation or notification and commitment and optimize operation permission management to solve the problem of “easy to obtain a business license but hard to get an operating permit”.
Five of these administrative approval items will be cancelled. Songshan Lake will cancel administrative review for such items that can be effectively regulated through market and competitive mechanisms or industry self-regulation by trade associations or intermediaries. As such, enterprises will be allowed to directly carry out related operation activities.
Two of these items will be subject to recordation. Songshan Lake will apply record management on those items for which relevant information must be obtained timely and accurately and used to provide industry guide, formulate industry policies and protect public interests. Enterprises can carry out related operation activities as long as the required materials are submitted to the competent authorities within the Zone, which are no longer required to be approved or permitted by the municipal departments in charge.
Administrative review will be simplified by applying the notification and commitment system on 21 of these items. The said system will be applied to those administrative licensing items that cannot be abolished for the moment but nonconforming acts can be corrected through post and in-process supervision without causing severe consequences.
Operation management of 101 items will be optimized. For those administrative licensing items that may not be abolished for the moment or subjected to recordation or notification and commitment, the departments in charge of various industries will perform compliance supervision instead of approval supervision of the market subject. Through random inspection, self-inspection by industry associations, credit rating and other post and in-process supervision methods, the departments in charge will urge enterprises to strictly follow industry standards and operate according to laws, regulations and keep their words.
Songshan Lake National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone will work vigorously to advance standardized management and online processing, and clearly define acceptance conditions, application materials required, examination and approval procedure, time limit for processing and measures of supervision during and after the process. As for repeated submission and examination of the same application materials, and repeated proving of the same issue, the Zone will move faster to improve the work process, reduce the materials required and carry out parallel examination and simultaneous obtaining of business license and operating permits, thereby improving the transparency, convenience and predictability of administrative review to ensure the reform delivers tangible results.
Extended Reading
The first Small Restaurant Recordation Certificate issued
Yesterday, Ms. Li who had planned to open an eatery at the Songshan Lake National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, was able to enjoy the immediate benefits of the reform to separate operating permits and business license. She received the operating permit for her eatery on the spot, which prepares her for the successful opening of the business.
Formerly, to obtain a food operation permit for an eatery of less than 50 m2, the operator must first get a Business License and then apply to the competent food and drug administration for a Food Operation Permit. After receiving the application, the food and drug administration will conduct an onsite inspection within 20 working days and make a decision based on the actual situation. The whole process, including the time required for obtaining the Business License, generally takes 10 to 30 working days.
Now that the small eatery recordation system has been carried out, the operator only needs to submit the recordation form, the ownership certificate, proof of identify and the corresponding equipment and facilities layout and operation process, and the letter of commitment. The competent food and drug administration will issue a Small Restaurant Recordation Certificate on the spot without performing an onsite inspection. In this way, the operator will receive the food operation permit in one working day.
With simplified procedure and shorter time required, this has effectively helped to reduce the cost of operation on enterprises.