(Revised and Promulgated by the State Environmental Protection Administration on December 23, 2001)

Chapter I General Principles

Article 1 These Measures are formulated in order to increase investment efficiency in environmental protection, push forward the technological progress of environmental protection industry, promote the development of domestic and foreign environmental technological trade and effectively launch the certification of environmental protection products.

Article 2 The certification of environmental protection products (hereafter abbreviated "certification"), which is based on the technological requirements of environmental product certification and standard of product quality,  is an activity to prove certain product which conforms with the corresponding standard and environmental protection requirement. The certified product shall be issued a certificate and a label of environmental protection product by the certification authority.

Article 3 The environmental protection products in this Measures refer to the equipment for prevention of environmental pollution, improvement of ecological environment and protection of natural resources, instruments specially for environmental monitoring and agents and  materials related to environmental protection.

Article 4 The environmental protection products shall be certified by the third party and shall be based upon voluntary, open, fair, transparent and indiscriminate principles. The domestic and foreign enterprises or their agents could voluntarily apply for the certification for all the products listed in the catalogue of certification types of environmental protection products.

Article 5 In accordance with the need of environmental protection, the competent administrative department of the State Council for environmental protection shall issue the guidelines on certification, technological requirements and catalogue of certification types of environmental protection products, stipulate figure pattern of certification label, direct and supervise the certification work of environmental protection products.

Chapter II Certification Authorities and Testing Organs

Article 6 The competent administrative department of the State Council for environmental protection carries out the examination system of qualifications for the certification organizations and testing ones of environmental protection products.

Article 7 The certification organizations shall be the publicly recognized  third-parties and shall be independent from supply parties and purchase ones and should conform to the following basic conditions:
(1) Being an independent legal person qualification;
(2) Having the professional technicians who engage in certification of environmental protection products; and
(3) Having funds, facilities, fixed working places and other working conditions necessary for the activities of certification of environmental protection products.

Article 8 The testing organizations should meet the following basic conditions:
(1) Being legal person organizations or their branches:
(2) Conforming to the legal requirements on testing organizations and qualified for issuing fair testing data; and
(3) Having the testing instruments, equipment and personnel for the certification of environmental protection products and integrated quality management system.

Chapter III Conditions of Applying for Certification

Article 9 The enterprises which apply for the certification of environmental protection products should meet the following conditions:
(1) Having an independent legal person qualification;
(2) Having sufficient production conditions and necessary testing means;
(3) Having competent quality management system of enterprises;
(4) Production process meets the requirements of environmental protection; and
(5) Within the year prior the application, the enterprises have not been punished by the competent local administrative departments for environmental protection.

Article 10 Products that have been applied for certification should meet the following conditions:
(1) Being included in the catalog of certification types of environmental protection products;
(2) Conforming to the requirements of certification technology and standard of product quality;
(3) Capable of normal mass production, with a stable technological index;
(4) Conforming with the national industrial policies, and the products shall not be subject to restriction or shall not be phased out in the near future; and
(5) The products enjoy clear industrial property rights and technological rights.

Chapter IV Procedure of Certification

Article 11 The enterprises applying for certification should submit written applications to the certification organizations according to the catalogue of certification types and the following materials:
(1) A copy of valid business license examined and issued by the department of industrial and commercial administration;
(2) Documents on the clear industrial property rights or special technological rights of products applying for certification;
(3) A copy of current standard of products applying for certification:
(4) The directory of users of products applying for certification and users' comments;
(5) The testing report of products within a year issued by the qualified testing organization;
(6) The certificate issued by the local competent administrative department for environmental protection stating that the enterprise had not been punished within a year prior the application; and
(7) Other applicant materials.

The applications and materials submitted by the overseas enterprises or their agents should be Chinese-English bilingual.

Article 12 The certification organization should examine application materials within 30 days and issue a notice of accepting the certification applications to the enterprises.

Article 13 The certification organizations could examine the enterprises applying for certification on the spot, take a random sample of application products and send it to the testing organization for test.

Article 14 The testing organization should test the samples according to the certification technological requirements or standards of environmental protection products and submit the testing report to the certification organization.

Article 15 The certification organizations should examine the enterprises' applicant materials, on-the-spot check-up reports and testing reports of products, sign and issue certificates of environmental protection products that passed certification, and report to the competent administrative department of the State Council for environmental protection for record.

Article 16 Where certain products have not been accepted and have not passed the certification, the certification organization should, within 30 days, so notify the applicant enterprise and give reasons.

Chapter V Use and Management of Certificate and Label 

Article 17 The enterprises which have gained certificates shall not alter, abuse and transfer their certificates and labels. Within the valid period they may use the certificates and labels on packaging, product specifications and advertisements.

Article 18 When the certification label is used, the number of certificate should be printed under the label figure. In printing the figure of certification label, the scale of the label can be enlarged or reduced, but its shape and color cannot be changed.

Article 19 The valid period of certificate is three years. The certified enterprises might apply to the certification organizations for an extension 90 days before the expiry of their certificates. The certification organization could issue new certificate to the qualified products after re-examination.

Article 20 In case the certificate has been beyond the valid period or there are other reasons for the certified enterprises to re-apply for certification, the re-application procedure is the same as that of first application for certification.

Article 21 Where the certified enterprises have one of the following circumstances, the certification organization should temporarily suspend their certifications and labels and order them to rectify the misconduct within a definite time:
(1) The certified products failed to be guaranteed to conform to the requirements of certification technology of environmental protection products and standards of product quality; or
(2) The certificate is transferred.

Article 22 When the certified enterprises have one of the following cases, the certification organization should revoke the certificates and order the enterprises to cease to use the certificate label:
(1) Within the temporary suspension of the use of certificate, the certificate owners failed to rectify the misconduct as required;
(2) The certificate owners alter, misuse their certificates, or practise fraud, forge papers and materials;
(3) The certificate owners have ceased to manufacture the certified environmental protection products, or they have changed the types and specifications of the certified products; or
(4) The certificate owners have registered new trade mark or used name for the certified product.

Chapter VI Supervision and Management

Article 23 All the local competent administrative departments for environmental protection shall not duplicate the certification for or collect fee on the certified products under other excuse.

Article 24 The enterprises which have gained certificates should conduct good post-sale service. where they fail to meet the technological requirements and product quality for the certified products, they should take the responsibility to improve and change these products or compensate for the corresponding losses. Otherwise, the certification organizations should suspend their use of certificates or revoke the certificates of their products.

Article 25 When the consumers of certified products meet with the quality problems in their use, they may make complaint directly to the enterprises and put forward their requirements of improvement. Where the enterprises refuse to take the responsibility, the consumers may also make complaint to the certification organizations. The certification organizations should, within 30 days, investigate into the cases, very the facts and then deal with the complaints.

Article 26 The certification organizations and their staffs should strictly observe the provisions of these Measures, persist in fair, open and scientific principles and seriously fulfill their duties.

Article 27 The testing institutions and their staffs should persist in scientific, accurate and serious principles, and conduct testing according to the stipulated testing method, procedure and scope.

Article 28 The certification organizations and testing institutions shall collect fee in accordance with the related provisions, and they are not allowed to put forward any requirements to the applicant enterprises beyond the working scope.

Article 29 Where the certification organizations, the testing institutions or their staffs engage in malpractice for personal gains, practise fraud, fail to maintain fairness, divulge technological secrets of the certified products or illegally take advantage of the technological achievements of applicants, the high-level competent departments shall, in accordance with the seriousness of the cases, order them to rectify within a definite time or stop their work related to the certification. Where the cases constitute crimes, the cases shall be transferred to the judicial organs to investigate for criminal liabilities.

Article 30 Where there is one of the following circumstances, the enterprises and consumers may appeal to the certification organizations:
(1) The application conforms to the requirements of certification conditions, but the certification organizations failed to accept the application;
(2) The enterprises have objections toward inspection, test or temporary suspension, cancellation of certificate;
(3) The certification organizations and testing institutions have committed acts of irregularity;
(4) The fee collection for certification violates relevant provisions; or
(5) The consumers have objections to the certified products.

Article 31 The certification organizations should investigate into, deal with the appeals and then reply to the appellants. Where there are still objections to the investigation results, the appellants may make complaints to the competent administrative department of the State Council for environmental protection.  

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 32 The collection of fees for the certification of environmental protection products shall conform to the Measures on the Administration of Fee Collection for Product Quality Certification (Ji Jia Ge No. 1610 [1999]) by the State Planning Development Commission and the State Administration for Quality and Technological Supervision.

Article 33 The competent administrative department of the State Council for environmental protection shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Measures.

In order to ensure the implementation of these Measures, the corresponding detailed rules could be formulated.

Article 34 These Measures will be implemented as of January 1, 2002.