The State Council recently issued a circular, pressing for implementation of the separation between business licenses and permits nationwide.

The State Council fully affirmed the pilot project in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, and urged the spread of its success on a larger scale.

According to the circular, the separation between business licenses and permits will be applied nationwide, in a bid to substantially reduce institutional transaction costs for enterprises, bring the market’s vitality into full play, speed up the work on administration streamlining, and create a law-based, international and convenient business environment.

The business license is a legislative document issued to market entities by related registration authorities on the premise of meeting certain requirements and fulfilling verification of business capacity, in accordance with related regulations and legal proceedings.

With the combining of multiple business credentials, market entities are able to conduct regular business operations by virtue of the business license alone.

And the operation permit is a credential issued to specific market entities whose business operations call for attainment of both the business permit and license.

According to the circular, separation between the business permit and license will be carried out on the first lot of 106 administrative approval items for enterprises.

The work will be laid out by means of direct exemption from approvals, replacement by filling management, permits in the form of notification and commitment, and optimization in services for accessing the market.

Additionally, the circular stressed that approval procedures will remain for items that are associated with national security, public security, financial security, biological security, and public health, with improvements to be made in services for accessing the market.

Supervision during and after approvals will be further stepped up, with information sharing, synergistic supervision, and coordinated reward and punishment established among departments.

Meanwhile, a long-term mechanism will be launched to propel synchronized reform in administrative approvals at both the national and regional levels.

Corresponding expansion will come after successful pilot projects, in a bid to facilitate the all-around and well-organized implementation of separation between business licenses and permits nationwide, the circular said.