Guiding Opinions of the State Administration for Market Regulation for Regulating the Discretionary Power for Administrative Punishments for Market Supervision and Administration.

These Guiding Opinions are enacted in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Penalty, aiming at regulating the acts of imposing administrative punishments for market supervision and administration, guaranteeing that the market regulation departments exercise discretion for administrative punishment according to the law, and protecting the lawful rights and interests of natural persons, legal persons, and other organizations.
The Guiding Opinions make provisions for: principles for exercising the discretion for administrative punishment; establishing and improving the administrative punishment benchmark system; applicable rules of the discretion of administrative penalty; etc. The provincial market regulation departments shall, mutatis mutandis to these Guiding Opinions and in light of the regional reality, develop discretion benchmark for administrative punishment matters and clarify the standards and applicable circumstances for discretion for administrative punishment.