On March 31, 2023, the Notice by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Railway Administration of issuing the Administrative Measures for Railway Product Certification was issued. The Administrative Measures for Railway Product Certification (hereinafter referred to as “the Administrative Measures”) replaced its previous version and came into force on March 31, 2023 (its issuing date).
Full-text translation of the Administrative Measures is below:
The Administrative Measures for Railway Product Certification
Chapter I General provisions
Article 1 The Administrative Measures aim to strengthen the management of railway product certification and ensure the quality and safety of railway products under the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation, Regulation on the Administration of Railway Safety with other relevant laws and regulations.
Article 2 The railway products mentioned in the Administrative Measures refer to railway products that specialize in the safety of railway transport.
Article 3 The State Administration for Market Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “SAMR”) and the National Railway Administration will implement a unified railway product certification system to organize and promote the work of railway product certification. Administration and supervision of the certification process for such railway products will be carried out based on each of the regulators’ responsibilities to promote the adoption of certification results.
Article 4 Railway product certification is a voluntary product certification. The certification directory of railway products shall be jointly issued by the SAMR and the National Railway Administration.
Article 5 All railway products listed in the certification directory shall be certified according to both national standards and sector standards. Moreover, the certification rules for railway products (hereinafter referred to as “the Certification Rules”) shall be issued by the SAMR.
Article 6 The SAMR and the National Railway Administration jointly established the Technical Committee for Railway Product Certification (hereinafter referred to as “the Technical Committee”). The Technical Committee is responsible for putting forward the directory of railway product certification and the draft of certification rules, coordinating technical problems that arise during the certification implementation process, and providing professional technical advice to all corresponding administrative departments and relevant parties.
Chapter II Institutional and Personnel Qualifications
Article 7 Certification bodies engaged with the railway product certification process (hereinafter referred to as “the certification bodies”) shall be established per the rules stipulated in the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation and the Measures for the Administration of Certification Institutions. The certification bodies should not only have the technical ability to engage in railway product certification but must also be approved by the SAMR and the National Railway Administration before pursuing railway product certification.
Article 8 The institutions engaged in inspections and testing pursuits for railway product certification shall obtain qualification accreditation by the law. These institutions must be competent in inspecting and testing railway products from the certification directory. Such institutions can be owned by a certification body or can sign a contract with a certification body to carry out relevant inspection and testing endeavors.
Article 9 The certification body shall establish a sound management system for certification personnel and should regularly train these personnel to ensure that they consistently meet the requirements of national professional qualifications.
Article 10 Institutions and their personnel that are engaged in railway product certification pursuits are obligated to keep commercial and technical confidentiality from their work.
Chapter III Certification Implementation
Article 11 Manufacturers, sellers, or importers of railway products (hereinafter referred to as “the certification clients”) may entrust certification bodies to conduct railway product certification and provide relevant materials per the provisions of the certification rules.
Article 12 The certification bodies should accept and implement the certification work of railway products according to all corresponding national certification and accreditation laws, regulations, standards, and certification rules.
Article 13 The certification bodies should issue a certificate for the certification client with the railway products that meet certification requirements. For railway products that do not meet certification requirements, the certification client will receive a written explanation as to why.
The certification bodies and their related personnel shall be responsible for the certification conclusions.
Article 14 Under the manner and frequency specified in the certification rules, certification bodies should implement effective post-certification supervision on all certified products and their manufacturers, as well as control and verify that the certified products continue to meet requirements.
For the products and manufacturers that fail to meet certification requirements, the certification bodies should not only publicly disclose the case, but should suspend, cancel and revoke their certification certificate in combination with submitting relevant information to the SAMR and the National Railway Administration.
Article 15 The certification bodies should publicize necessary information including certification rules, expense standards, certification results, etc.
Article 16 The certification bodies should not engage in certification consultation, railway product development, and the sales work of railway products.
Chapter IV Certification Certificates and Certification Marks
Article 17 The certificate for railway product certification is valid for 5 years.
The certification body shall, per the certification rules and given varying different circumstances, make timely decisions to change, extend, suspend, cancel, or revoke the certification.
Article 18 Certified railway products should be labeled with unified certification marks pursuant to the requirements of the certification rules. The railway product certification mark consists of an image and certification body identification logo as below:
Article 19 Certified clients can apply the certification mark on the products or the minimum sales package in methods including affixing, printing, molding, etc. The certification mark can also be used in the advertising and other promotional materials of the certified products. Additionally, railway product certification marks can be scaled up or down but must not be deformed.
Article 20 Certified clients should establish a management system for certificate usage and certification marks.
When the certification certificate is suspended, canceled, or revoked, the certification client and the manufacturer should not continue to use the certificate and certification mark from the certification body’s decision and should not issue misleading statements about their products.
The certification body should be proactive towards the supervision of the correct use of the certificate and mark by the certification client and manufacturers.
Article 21 No unit or individual is allowed to forge, alter, falsely use, trade, or transfer the certification certificates and certification marks of railway products.
Chapter V Supervision and Administration
Article 22 The SAMR should supervise and perform inspections on all certification activities for railway products. Discovering inappropriate and illegal behaviors should be punished per the stipulation of the law, and the National Railway Administration should be notified. The SAMR should join with the National Railway Administration to take on the supervision and inspection of certified products if necessary.
Article 23 Regional markets and railway supervision regulators should supervise and administrate the certification activities and use of railway products within their jurisdiction and responsibilities.
Article 24 Any organization or individual has the right to report inappropriate or illegal activities related to railway product certifications and their usage to the local market and railway supervision departments. The market and railway supervision departments should promptly deal with the report and keep the reporting unit/individual’s information confidential.
Article 25 Forgery, alteration, false use, trading, and transfer of certificates and certification marks or other illegal acts in railway product certification activities shall be investigated and punished according to relevant laws and regulations.
Chapter VI Recognition of Certification Results
Article 26 The National Railway Administration and SAMR will actively promote the recognition of certification results and the use of certified railway products to support the construction of a powerful transportation system for their country.
Article 27 Railway and market regulatory departments at all levels should actively promote railway product certification to create a good environment conducive to industrial development.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 28 SAMR and the National Railway Administration shall be responsible for the interpretation of the Administrative Measures.
Article 29 The Administrative Measures will come into force on March 31, 2023. The Administrative Measures for Railway Product Certification that were jointly issued by the former Ministry of Railways and Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R.C. in 2012 will be abolished at the same time.
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