| Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 In order to enhance the supervision and administration of the refined oil market, regulate the business activities of refined oil, maintain the refined oil market order and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of refined oil operators and consumers, the present Measures are instituted under the Decision of the State Council on Setting Administrative License for the Administrative Examination and Approval Items Really Necessary to Be Retained (Order No.412 of the State Council) and the related laws and administrative regulations.
Article 2 The enterprises engaging in the wholesale, retail and storage of refined oil within the territory of the People's Republic of China must comply with the present Measures and other related laws and regulations.
Article 3 A licensing system is applied to the refined oil business activities.
The Ministry of Commerce shall take responsibility to draft the laws and regulations for the administration of the refined oil market, draw up ministerial regulations and organize the implementation thereof, and supervise and manage the refined oil market nationwide under law.
The administrative departments of commerce of the people's governments in each province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government and city specifically designated in the state plan (hereinafter referred to as the administrative departments of commerce of the provincial people's governments) shall take responsibility to formulate the development planning of the gas stations and storage industry under their respective jurisdictions, and organize and coordinate the supervision and administration of the refined oil business activities under their respective jurisdictions.
Article 4 The term "refined oil" as mentioned in the present Measures refers to gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil and other alternative fuels which satisfy the product quality standards of the state and satisfies the same purposes, such as ethanol gasoline and bio-diesel oil.
Chapter II Application for Refined Oil Business License and Its Acceptance
Article 5 For the purpose of applying for the qualification for engaging in wholesale or storage of refined oil, an enterprise shall submit an application to the administrative department of commerce of the provincial people's government of the place where it is located, which shall examine the application and report the preliminary examination opinions along with the application materials to the Ministry of Commerce, which shall decide whether to grant a license of refined oil wholesaling or storing or not.
Article 6 To apply for the qualification for engaging in the retail business of refined oil, an enterprise shall submit an application to the administrative department of commerce of the municipal people's government (the level of districted city, same below) of the place where it is located, which shall examine the application and report the preliminary examination opinions along with the application materials to the administrative department of commerce of the provincial people's government, which shall determine whether to grant a refined oil retailing license or not.
Article 7 To apply for the qualification for engaging in wholesale business of refined oil, an enterprise shall satisfy the conditions as follows:
(1) It must have secular and stable channels to provide refined oil:
(a) It must have an oil refining enterprise which observes the industrial policies of the state, is capable of processing crude oil of at least 1 million tons at one time, whose annual productive capacity of gasoline and diesel oil up to the product quality standards of the state is at least 500,000 tons, or
(b) It must be an import enterprise which has acquired the qualification for refined oil import, or
(c) It has signed with an enterprise, which has acquired the qualification for refined oil wholesale whose annual business volume of refined oil is at least 200,000 tons, a refined oil supply agreement for at least one year , which shall be consistent with its business scale, or
(d) It has signed with an import enterprise whose annual import volume of refined oil is at least 100,000 tons a refined oil supply agreement for at least one year, which shall be in line with its business scale;
(2) The applicant must be a qualified Chinese enterprise legal person with a registered capital of at least 30 million yuan;
(3) Where the applicant is a branch of a Chinese enterprise legal person, its legal person must have the qualification for engaging in the wholesale of refined oil;
(4) It must have a refined oil depot whose capacity shall be larger than 10,000 steres and whose construction shall abide by the local urban and rural planning and oil depot layout planning; the related departments in charge of land and resources, planning and construction, safety and supervision, public security and fire-fighting, environmental protection, meteorology and quality inspection, etc. shall have checked and accepted the depot; and
(5) It must be equipped with such facilities to unload refined oil as conduit pipes, railway special lines, highway transport vehicles or the ports for transporting refined oil over water whose capacity shall be larger than 10,000 tons.
Article 8 To apply for the qualification for engaging in the retailing business of refined oil, an enterprise shall satisfy the conditions as follows:
(1) It must abide by the local development planning for the gas station industry and the technical specifications and requirements;
(2) It must have secular and stable channels to supply refined oil, and have signed with an enterprise that has acquired the qualification to engage in the wholesale business of refined oil a refined oil supply agreement for at least three years, which shall be in line with its business scale;
(3) The design and construction of the gas station must abide by the related standards of the state and have been checked and accepted by the related departments responsible for land and resources, planning and construction, safety and supervision, public security and fire-fighting, environmental protection, meteorology and quality inspection, etc.;
(4) It must have professional and technical personnel with regards to the inspection, metrology, storage and fire-fighting and safe production of refined oil;
(5) The marine gas stations (vessels) and land-based gas stations (sites) for the supply of refined oil used for vessels must observe, in addition to the above-mentioned provisions, the related provisions on ports, water transportation safety and prevention and control of water pollution, etc.; and
(6) As regards the gas stations built in rural areas and only sell diesel oil, the administrative departments of commerce of the provincial people's governments may institute specific conditions for their establishment under the present Measures.
Article 9 To apply for the qualification for engaging in the storage business of refined oil, an enterprise shall satisfy the conditions as follows:
(1) It shall have a refined oil depot whose capacity shall be larger than 10,000 steres and whose construction shall abide by the local urban and rural planning and oil depot layout planning; the related departments in charge of land and resources, planning and construction, safety and supervision, public security and fire-fighting, environmental protection, meteorology and quality inspection, etc. shall have checked and accepted the depot;
(2) The applicant must be a qualified Chinese enterprise legal person with a registered capital of at least10 million yuan;
(3) It must be equipped with such facilities to unload refined oil as conduit pipes, railway special lines, highway transport vehicles or ports for transporting refined oil over water whose capacity shall be larger than 10,000 tons; and
(4) Where the applicant is a branch of a Chinese enterprise legal person, its legal person must be qualified to engage in the storage of refined oil.
Article 10 To set up a foreign-funded refined oil enterprise, the present Measures, the related state policies and the provisions in the laws and regulations concerning foreign investment shall be observed.
If the same foreign investor engaging in the retailing of refined oil within the territory of China has at least 30 gas stations (including those set up with its investment, those in which it has a holding share and those it has rented), or if the same foreign investor sells different varieties and brands of refined oil from more than one supplier, the foreign party may not hold a controlling share.
Article 11 To apply for the qualification for engaging in the refined oil business, an enterprise must submit the following documents:
(1) An application document;
(2) A property right certificate of its oil depot, gas stations (sites) and the supporting facilities; the approval
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