REGULATIONS ON COMPLAINTS AND THE HANDLING OF
COMPLAINTS OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT
ENTERPRISESIN SHANGHAI

(Promulgated by the Shanghai People's Government
on December 18, 1989)

 

SUBJECT: ENTERPRISES WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT

ISSUING-DEPT: SHANGHAI MUNICIPALITY

ISSUE-DATE: 12/18/1989

IMPLEMENT-DATE: 02/01/1990

LENGTH: 1327 words

TEXT:

(Article 1) These regulations are formulated with a view toward improving the investment environment in Shanghai, handling complaints made by foreign investment enterprises in a timely manner, and safeguarding the legitimate rights of Chinese and foreign investors.

(Article 2) Complaints made by foreign investment enterprises as mentioned in these regulations denote the acts taken by Chinese investors, foreign investors, or personnel concerned in foreign investment enterprises in Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as the complainant) to bring before the related government authorities in charge, (hereinafter referred to as the complaint-accepting offices) for coordination and settlement of their disputes with a relevant organization or its personnel, or their problems in business operations concerning investment, construction, production, management or settling of assets or accounts.

(Article 3) The Shanghai Foreign Investment Enterprises Complaints Coordination Center (hereinafter referred to as the Coordination Center) is set up to guide the filing and handling of complaints made by foreign investment enterprises in Shanghai.

The Coordination Center is formed with the participation of related committees and offices of the Shanghai Municipal Government, and its office is maintained in the Shanghai Foreign Investment Working Committee.

(Article 4) The duties of the Coordination Center are as follows:

1. To determine the procedures and means for accepting and handling complaints from foreign investment enterprises;

2. To check and supervise the handling of complaints in the respective complaint-accepting offices;

3. To coordinate the vital issues set forth in the complaints made by the foreign investment enterprises;

4. To circulate regular notices regarding the handling of complaints;

5. To train and evaluate the employees of the complaint-accepting offices.

(Article 5) The people's district and county governments and the relevant committees, offices, bureaus and other overall administrative departments under the Shanghai Municipal Government, shall assign their respective complaint-accepting offices, and these offices may employ full-time or part-time staff according to their respective needs.

All complaint-accepting offices shall make known the list of their responsible members and terms of reference.

(Article 6) The duties of the complaint-accepting offices are as follows:

1. To determine the procedures for handling complaints in accordance with business characteristics of the given department and its affiliated organizations;

2. To accept, transfer, register, handle and answer the complaints of foreign invested enterprises.

(Article 7) The duties of the complaint-accepting offices staff are as follows:

1. To adhere to principles and to correctly handle foreign investment-related affairs;

2. To have an intimate knowledge of laws, decrees, regulations and policies;

3. To be proficient in the related business;

4. To have knowledge of international practice.

(Article 8) These regulations define a complainant as follows:

1. A foreign investment enterprise and its administrators;

2. A Chinese or foreign investor in a foreign investment enterprise;

3. A Chinese or foreign investor in a foreign investment enterprise who is going through application or approval procedures.

(Article 9) A complainant may bring a complaint directly to the related complaint-accepting office in light of the contents of the complaint. The investor or administrator of a foreign invested enterprise outside China's boundaries may entrust his project agent in Shanghai to file the complaint.

When bringing a complaint before a complaint-accepting office, the complainant must send a duplicate of the complaint to the Coordination Center to be placed on file.

(Article 10) A complainant may make a complaint by mail or in person to the Coordination Center. An anonymous complaint will not be accepted.

(Article 11) A complainant shall report the case in a manner which is true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information and belief. The contents of the complaint shall be concrete and specific, and related materials useful for the handling of the complaint shall be attached.

(Article 12) On principle, complaints shall be filed one at a time. However, if several complaints involve the same department, a single complaint encompassing all issues may be filed.

(Article 13) The complaint-accepting offices should adhere to the following principles in handling complaints:

1. To conform to laws, decrees, regulations, rules, and other related provisions of the People's Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal Government.

2. To respect objective facts and conform to international practices.

3. To be receptive and to implement a standard for handling affairs.

(Article 14) A complaint-accepting office shall inform the complainant of the processing result within one month after receiving the complaint. If the nature of the complaint is complicated and cannot be processed within one month, the complaint-accepting office shall then provide sufficient reasons for the delay to the complainant. The complainant shall be informed of the processing result each month henceforth until completion of the handling process.

(Article 15) If a complainant disagrees with a decision of a complaint-accepting office, the complainant may request (in writing) within 10 days from the date of receiving the notice of the decision, reconsideration from the complaint-accepting office. The complaint-accepting office shall make a decision within 20 days from the date of receiving an application for reconsideration.

(Article 16) If the complainant disagrees with the reconsideration result, the complainant may request (in writing) within 5 days from the date of receiving the reconsideration result, further reconsideration from the Coordination Center. The Coordination Center shall make a decision within 20 days from the date of receiving the written application.

In cases where the content of the complaint is complex, the Coordination Center may, upon advising the applicant, appropriately extend the processing time for reconsideration. The complainant shall also be kept advised of the progress of the handling and coordination each month henceforth.

(Article 17) A complaint-accepting office shall report the complaint and the result of the reconsideration of the complaint to the Coordination Center for recording purposes.

(Article 18) If a complainant mistakenly files a complaint due to a misunderstanding of the division of duties of the complaint-accepting offices, the office shall transfer the complaint in a timely manner to the appropriate receiving office or to the Coordination Center. The complainant shall be advised of the transfer.

(Article 19) If a complainant files his complaint directly to the Coordination Center, the Center shall then transfer the complaint in a timely manner to the appropriate receiving office and advise the complainant of the transfer.

(Article 20) These regulations are not applicable to cases wherein the administrative departments concerned investigate and deal with administrative cases of foreign invested enterprises according to the laws, decrees, regulations, and rules of the State.

A complaint shall be terminated and the complaint-accepting office shall no longer handle the complaint after the People's Law Court or an arbitrating body accepts the complainant's lawsuit or application for arbitration concerning the same contents of the complaint.

(Article 21) The power to interpret the regulations is vested in the Foreign Investment Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Government.

(Article 22) These regulations shall become effective as of February 1, 1990.