1 Purpose

These Rules are formulated to standardize and clarify the conditions and relevant matters for the cancellation, suspension and withdrawal of certificate in the implementation of China Compulsory Certification (CCC), and to ensure consistency in the relevant activities of the designated certification bodies that carry out CCC certification (hereinafter referred to as the certification body).

2 Scope

These Rules shall apply to the activities related to the cancellation, suspension and withdrawal of certificate carried out by the certification bodies in the process of CCC Certification. This document shall prevail in the event of any inconsistency between these Rules and any normative documents developed by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration (hereinafter referred to as CNCA) such as implementation rules for CCC certification prior to the publication of these Rules, as well as any relevant technical and procedural documents developed independently by a certification body.

3 Responsibilities

The certification bodies shall carry out the activities concerning the cancellation, suspension and withdrawal of CCC certificate in accordance with these Rules.

CNCA shall be responsible for the surveillance and administration of the cancellation, suspension and withdrawal of certificate implemented by the certification bodies.

4 Cancellation of Certificate

4.1 The certification body shall cancel the certificate under any of the following circumstances.

(1) The validity period of the certificate has expired and the certification applicant has not applied for an extension;

(2) The certified products are no longer produced due to bankruptcy, closure, dissolution, production structure adjustment or other reasons of the certification applicant or  production enterprise, and the certification applicant voluntarily relinquishes the maintenance of the certificate;

(3) The model of the certified product has been included in the national catalogue of products that are explicitly eliminated or prohibited from production;

(4) The certification applicant requests the cancellation;

(5) Other circumstances under which the certificate shall be cancelled.

4.2 Provisions on Cancellation of Certificate

(1) As of the date of certificate cancellation, products covered by the certificate shall no longer be released from factory or imported. Products covered by the certificate that have already been released from factory or imported may continue to be sold or used in other business activities.

(2) A cancelled certificate shall not be reinstated for any reason. The certification applicant may file a new application for certification with the certification body. The type testing report and factory inspection report for the products covered by the cancelled certificate are no longer valid.

5 Suspension of Certificate

5.1 The certification body shall suspend the certificate under any of the following circumstances.

(1) The certification applicant/interested party (including manufacturer, seller, importer and production enterprise, the same hereinafter) violates national laws or regulations, or the results of national-level or provincial-level surveillance spot checks demonstrate that the product is nonconforming, but immediate withdrawal of the certificate is not required;

(2) The standards for certification or certification implementation rules applicable to the certified product are revised or changed, and the certification applicant fails to duly carry out the procedure for the change as required within the specified time limit, or the product fails to meet the revised requirements;

(3) Surveillance inspection results demonstrate that the certification applicant has violated the provisions of CCC certification implementation rules (including nonconforming product sample test results, unsatisfactory factory surveillance inspection results, problems in product consistency etc.) or relevant requirements of the certification body, but certification requirements can be fulfilled through corrective actions;

(4) The certification applicant or interested party fails to use the certificate and certification mark as specified, and an investigation is required based on the circumstances;

(5) The certification applicant or interested party refuses to accept, without proper justification, or fails to accept within the specified time limit, any unannounced surveillance inspection or surveillance sample test conducted by the relevant national authorities or the certification body;

(6) The certification applicant or interested party refuses to cooperate with relevant national authorities or the certification body in the sampling for testing conducted on the market or at a sales point in accordance with CCC certification implementation rules;

(7) When the information on the certificate (such as the name or the address of applicant, manufacturer or production enterprise, the model or specifications of the certified product) has changed, or evidence shows significant changes in the organizational structure or quality assurance system of the factory, the certification applicant has not applied to the certification body for change approval or filing;

(8) The certification applicant applies for the suspension of the certificate due to seasonal production, make-to-order production or other reasons;

(9) Other circumstances under which the certificate shall be suspended.

5.2 Provisions on Suspension of Certificate

(1) A suspended certificate shall be deemed invalid during the suspension period. Products covered by the suspended certificate shall not be released from factory or imported during the suspension. For products that have already been released from factory or imported, the certification body shall assess the potential safety hazards of the products based on the reason of suspension. If the products may cause harm to human health and life safety, the certification body shall promptly notify the quality inspection authorities or take actions in accordance with relevant regulations.

(2) Where the certification applicant applies for certificate suspension due to acceptable reasons such as seasonal production or make-to-order production, the maximum suspension period shall be 12 months, and the application shall be submitted at least 1 month in advance. For suspension caused by the other circumstances specified in Section 5.1, the maximum suspension period shall be 3 months. The suspension period shall commence from the date the certification body issues the suspension notice.

6 Restoration of Suspended Certificate

6.1 For certificate suspended under the circumstances specified in Section 5.1, the certification body shall inform the certification applicant of the reason and the period of suspension, and specify the relevant requirements for certificate restoration based on the suspension reason.

6.2 The certification applicant may submit a restoration application to the certification body during the suspension period.

If the certification applicant completes the corrective actions in accordance with the relevant provisions of the certification body and meets the specified requirements, the certification body shall restore the certificate.

7 Withdrawal of Certificate

7.1 The certification body shall withdraw the certificate under any of the following circumstances.

(1) At the expiry of the certificate suspension period the certification applicant fails to apply for certificate restoration, take corrective actions, or meet the requirements even after corrective actions;

(2) Changes in critical components, specifications and models of the certified products, as well as the design, structure, process and key material/raw material manufacturers related to the safety or electromagnetic compatibility of complete product, result in serious safety hazards of the products;

(3) Follow-up inspection results from the certification body show serious defects in the factory's quality assurance capability;

(4) The certification applicant provides fraudulent samples, and the certified product is inconsistent with the type testing sample;

(5) The certification applicant/interested party violates national laws and regulations, or any national-level or provincial-level surveillance spot checks demonstrate serious defects in the product, nonconforming results of product safety test items, or serious problems in consistency;

(6) Defects in the certified products have caused quality and safety accidents;

(7) Where the certificate has been suspended under Clauses 5.1 (5) and 5.1(6), the party still refuses to accept surveillance inspection or surveillance sample test, or refuses to cooperate in the sampling for testing from the open market or from sales premises;

(8) The certification applicant or interested party fails to use the certificate or mark in accordance with regulations, and leases, lends or transfers the certificate or mark, where the circumstances are serious;

(9) Where fraudulent practices are committed, such as obtaining the certificate by improper means including deception and bribery, or other serious illegal or non-compliant acts that directly affect the validity of certification results;

(10) Other circumstances under which the certificate shall be withdrawn.

7.2 Matters on Withdrawal of Certificate

(1) As of the date of certificate withdrawal, products covered by the withdrawn certificate shall not be released from factory, sold, imported or used in other business activities. The certification body shall assess the potential safety hazards of the products based on the reasons of withdrawal. If the products may cause harm to human health and life safety, the certification body shall promptly notify the quality inspection authorities or take actions in accordance with relevant regulations.

(2) A withdrawn certificate shall not be restored for any reason. The certification applicant may file a new application for certification after corrective actions have been taken. The type testing report and factory inspection report of the product for which the withdrawn certificate has been issued will no longer be valid. No certification body shall accept the application for certification for the same product within 6 months.

When accepting certification applications accompanied by product type testing reports and factory inspection reports, the certification body shall establish stringent audit procedures to determine whether the product covered by the application has had a withdrawn certificate and whether the product type testing report and factory inspection report provided are still valid.

8 Communication

The certification body shall notify the certificate holder in an appropriate manner on the day of making the decision to cancel, suspend (or restore) or withdraw a certificate, and shall give a formal written notice to the certificate holder within 5 working days from the above decision date, stating the reasons for such decisions and the necessary measures to be taken subsequently. The record demonstrating that the certificate holder has been informed of such information shall be properly retained.

When a certificate has been cancelled, suspended (or restored) or withdrawn, the certification body shall report this information in a timely manner to the Information Center of CNCA, as well as to the certification regulatory authorities of the provincial, autonomous regional and municipal bureaus of quality and technical surveillance and the directly affiliated inspection and quarantine bureaus, in accordance with CNCA's requirements for CCC certification information and data reporting. The Information Center of CNCA shall publish the relevant information in a timely manner, enabling interested parties (such as local law enforcement departments, sellers and consumers) to effectively obtain information on the status of the certification certificate and changes thereto (including the time, reason and period of changes).

The certification bodies shall maintain close communication and cooperation with local certification regulatory authorities and law enforcement (inspection) departments in their day-to-day activities and collect timely information on violations of legal requirements from regulatory law enforcement, special surveillance spot checks at all levels, complaints from interested parties, media exposure and other market or industrial regulatory departments. Where CCC certified products are involved, the certification body shall assist in the investigation of illegal acts and take follow-up actions such as suspension or withdrawal of the relevant certificate in accordance with the corresponding provisions.

9 Other Matters

9.1 The certification body shall establish stringent and effective working procedures and processes to ensure that the activities related to certificate cancellation, suspension (including restoration) and withdrawal of certificate are implemented correctly under controlled conditions.

9.2 The certification body shall strictly implement the requirements of these Rules and shall not relax the conditions without authorization.

9.3 If the certification applicant has objections to the cancellation, suspension (including restoration) or withdrawal of a certificate, it may file an appeal with CNCA or the relevant certification body.

9.4 These Rules shall be interpreted by CNCA.