Article 1  This Law is enacted for the purposes of regulating government procurement activities, improving efficiency in expenditure of procurement funds, safeguarding the interests of the state and the public, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the participants in government procurements, promoting honest and clean governance.

Article 2  This Law applies to all of the government procurement activities carried out within the territory of People's Republic of China.

For the purpose of this Law:

"Government Procurement" refers to all of the purchasing activities conducted with fiscal funds by state organs at all levels, institutions and social organizations when the goods, construction and services concerned are listed in the Centralized Procurement Catalogue (CPC) published by the government procuring regulatory authority (GPRA) or value of which exceeds the respective Prescribed Procurement Thresholds (PPT) for goods, construction or services as applicable.

"CPC" and "PPT" mentioned in the previous paragraph shall be specified by the relevant authorities within their own authorization defined by this Law.

"Procurement" refers to activities conducted by means of contract and by which goods, construction or services are acquired for consideration, including but not limited to purchase, lease, entrustment and employment.

"Goods" refers to objects of every kind or form, including but not limited to raw materials, fuel, equipment and products.

"Construction" refers to all work associated with construction, reconstruction, extension, decoration, demolition and repair or renovation of a building or structure.

"Services" refers to any object of procurement rather than goods or construction.

Article 3  The fundamental principles of openness and transparency, fair competition, impartiality and integrity shall be complied with in all of the government procurement activities.

Article 4  When tendering and bidding procedures are followed in the procurement of construction, the existing Tendering and Bidding Law shall apply.

Article 5  No entity or individual may take any action to frustrate or restrain free access by the outside suppliers to the markets of other regions or industrial markets.   

Article 6  The budgets for all the procuring entities must be strictly applied as approved.

Article 7  Government procurement consists of both centralized and decentralized items to be procured. The application scope for centralized items to be procured is defined in the CPC issued by the Central or Provincial Governments.

When funds for centralized items to be procured are from the Central Government Budget, the applicable CPC is the one issued by the State Council; when funds are from the Local Government Budgets, the governing CPC is the one issued by the cognizant Provincial Government, or agencies with their authorization, as applicable.

Centralized procurement shall be adopted for all of the items to be procured listed in the governing CPC.

Article 8  When funds for centralized items to be procured are from the Central Government Budget, the applicable PPT is the one issued by the State Council; when funds are from the Local Government Budgets, the governing PPT issued by the cognizant Provincial Governments, or agencies with their authorization shall apply..

Article 9  Government procurements shall be conducted in such a matter as to facilitate achievement of the economic and social development policy goals of the state, including but not limited to environmental protection, assistance to underdeveloped or ethnic minority regions, and promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Article 10  Domestic goods, construction and services shall be procured for government procurement except where one of the following situations applies:

1)       When needed goods, construction or services are not available within the territory of People's Republic of China or though available, cannot be acquired on reasonable commercial terms and conditions;

2)       When the items to be procured are for use abroad;

3)       Other circumstances provided for by laws and administrative regulations.

The definitions for the domestic goods, construction or services mentioned above shall be applied with reference to relevant regulations issued by the State Council.

Article 11  Information, rather than suppliers’ confidential commercial information, regarding government procurements shall be made available to the public in a timely manner through the media designated by GPRA.

Article 12  When a conflict of interest occurs between the personnel carrying out specific government procurement on one side and the suppliers concerned on the other, the former shall voluntarily withdraw from the procurement proceeding. When a supplier believes that a conflict of interest exists between the personnel carrying out specific government procurement with other participating suppliers for the same procurement, it may make a claim for withdrawal of the interested persons.   

The relevant personnel referred to in the preceding paragraph mean the members of the bid evaluation committee for government procurement conducted by tendering, the negotiation group for procurements conducted by competitive negotiation, and the request group for procurement conducted by requests for quotations.

Article 13  The Ministry of Finance of the State Council and its subordinate counterparts in local governments are the legitimate GPRA responsible for exercising powers and fulfilling duties relating to the administration and supervision on government procurement activities.

Chapter Two  Procuring Parties

Article 14  The term “parties to government procurement proceedings” (PGPP) refers to those participating entities that enjoy rights and undertake obligations in government procurement proceedings, including procuring entities, suppliers and procuring intermediaries.

Article 15  The term “procuring entities” refers to state organs, institutions and social organizations that engage in government procurements.

Article 16  The term “institutions for centralized government procurement” (ICGP) refers to procurement intermediaries. Local governments at the levels of autonomous prefectures or prefectures with districts are entitled to set up the ICGPs on their own when they consider necessary.

The ICGPs are the not-for-profit institutions, qualifying as a legal entity, that conduct government procurement proceedings.

Article 17  The requirements for a lower-than-average market price, high efficiency, good quality of goods and services shall be satisfied by ICGPs when conducting government procurement activities.

Article 18  Items listed in the CPC shall be procured by the ICGP on behalf of the procuring entities concerned. Items not listed in the CPC may be procured either by the procuring entities themselves or by the cognizant ICGP on their behalf.

Items listed in the CPC that are general in nature shall be procured by an ICGP on behalf of the procurement entity concerned; Items listed in the CPC with standard departmental specifications shall be grouped by the procurement intermediary into large-scale procurements for the entire department in question; Items listed in the CPC for which individual procuring entities have special requirements may be procured by the procuring entities themselves subject to the approval of the GPRA of the State Council or Provincial Government, as applicable.

Article 19  Procuring entities may entrust commercial procuring intermediaries (CPI) certified by the relevant authorities in the State Council or Provincial Governments to perform the procurement activities stipulated in the government procurement contract on their behalf.

The procuring entities referred to in the preceding paragraph are entitled to choose the CPI on their own, no unit or individual is allowed to designate, in any form or by any means, the procuring intermediary for the procuring entity.

Article 20  When a procuring intermediary is entrusted to carry out the procurement activities, the procuring entity in question shall conclude an agency agreement in which the entrusted affairs are defined and the rights and obligations for both sides are included.

Article 21  The term “suppliers” refers to the legal entities, other organizations not qualifying as a legal entity or natural persons that provides goods, construction or services to the procuring entities.

Article 22  The following requirements shall be satisfied by the suppliers that participate in government procurement:

1)  Capacity to assume civil liabilities independently;

2)  A good commercial reputation and sound financial and accounting management;

3)  Equipment and professional expertise needed to perform government procurement contract;

4)  A clean record of paying taxes and making financial contributions to the social security funds;

5)  No material breaches of law in its business operation in the three years prior to participation in the present procurement;

6)  Other requirements provided for in laws and administrative regulations.

A procuring entity may define additional qualification requirements for suppliers in accordance with special needs of a particular procurement, provided that they are not unreasonable requirements that result in discriminatory treatment of potential suppliers.

Article 23  The procuring entity is entitled to require the participating suppliers to submit the documentation regarding their certificates for competence and their past business performances and to review the submitted qualifications of the suppliers against the general requirements provided in this Law and additional special ones tailored to the specific items to be procured for by the individual procuring entities.

Article 24  More than two natural persons, legal persons or other organizations may be organized as a consortium to participate in government procurement activities as a single entity representing all of the participating suppliers.

When a consortium is formed, each member must meet the qualification requirements set forth in Article 22 of this Law and, in addition, a consortium agreement must be submitted to the procuring entity in question clearly stating each member’s contributions to the project being procured as well as each member’s obligations. The consortium shall enter into a government procurement contract with the procuring entity on behalf of all of the members in which the joint and several liabilities among shall be stipulated.

Article 25  PGPPs are not allowed to collude among each another to injure the state’s interests, the public’s interests and the legitimate rights and interests of other relevant parties to the government procurement proceedings, and they are prohibited from taking any action to preclude other potential suppliers from participating in government procurement proceedings.

Suppliers are not allowed to attempt to become the final successful bidder or conclude the government procurement contract by bribing the people in charge in the procuring entities, the procuring intermediaries, or members of the bid evaluation committee in the case of the public tendering, the negotiation group in the case of the competitive negotiation and the request committee in the case of the request for quotations, or by other inappropriate means.

Procurement intermediaries are not allowed to obtain illegal benefits through bribery or other inappropriate means.

Chapter Three  Methods of Procurement

Article 26  The following methods of government procurements are available:

1)       Public tendering;

2)       Selective procurement;

3)       Competitive negotiation;

4)       Single-source procurement;

5)       Request for quotations;

6)       Other methods permitted by the GPRA of the State Council.

Article 27  When the public tendering method is adopted by the procuring entity for procurement of goods or services, if funding for the procurement is from the Central Government Budget, the PPT shall be determined by the State Council; if funding is from the Local Government Budgets, the PPT shall be determined by the provincial government concerned. When a method of procurement other than the public tendering is adopted, approval must be obtained in advance from the cognizant GPRA of the Central Government or Local Governments.

Article 28  Procuring entities may not avoid public tendering by desegregating an item to be procured.

Article 29  For procurements of goods or services when one of the following conditions is satisfied, The selective procurement may be adopted:

1)       When the procurement in question has special characteristics that limit the number of potentially qualified suppliers;

2)       When the cost of public tendering method is unreasonably disproportionate to the total value of the items to be procured.

Article 30  For procurements of goods or services when one of the following conditions is satisfied, the competitive negotiation may be adopted::

1)       When the bid submission deadline for a tendering procedure has passed with no bid presented, or with no qualified bid presented, or in the event of a failure of re-tendering;

2)       When it is infeasible to prepare the detailed specifications or specific requirements because of the technical complexity or specialized nature;

3)       When tendering would take so long that the urgent needs of the procuring entity could not be satisfied in a timely manner;

4)       When the total value of the item to be procured cannot be determined in advance.

Article 31  For procurements of goods or services when one of the following conditions is satisfied, the single-source method may be adopted::

1)       When only one supplier is qualified to supply the items to be procured;

2)       When it is infeasible to procure from other suppliers due to an unexpected emergency;

3)       When consistency or compatibility of services require procurement of additional services from the same supplier, provided that the total value of the additional procurement does not exceed 10 percent of the value of the base government procurement contract.

Article 32  The request for quotations method may be adopted for those procurements of goods the standards and specifications of which are uniform and supplies of which in storage are sufficient with little fluctuation in price.

Chapter Four  Government Procurement Proceeding

Article 33  When the budgetary entities in charge of the departmental budgetary affairs as a whole draft their budget plans for the next fiscal year, the items to be procured and the funds required shall be included and submitted to the relevant financial departments for compilation. Examination and approval of these budgetary entities’ budgets shall be conducted in accordance with budgetary administration procedures and authorities.

Article 34  When the invitation for tendering method is adopted for the procurement of goods and services, the procuring entity shall randomly choose three or more suppliers from those with the qualifications required, and dispatch invitation documents to them.

Article 35  When the public tendering method is adopted for the procurement of goods and services, the time period from issuance of the tender documents to the bid submission deadline shall not be less than 20 days.

Article 36  When one of the following circumstances occurs, the tendering proceeding shall be annulled:

1)       If less than three bidders satisfy the required criteria or fewer than three bidders who are materially responsive to the tender solicitation document;

2)       If violations of laws or regulations occur that may impair;

3)       If all the prices offered by the bidders in their bids exceed the budgets approved for the procuring entity concerned and the procuring entity is not able to afford the excess;

4)       If the procurement project is cancelled due to the subsequent occurrence of extraordinary changes in circumstances.

Once the tendering proceeding is annulled, the procuring entity shall inform all the bidders of the reasons for the annulment.

Article 37  After annulment, the tendering proceeding shall be reorganized unless the item being procured is cancelled; when other procurement methods are applied, the approval shall be obtained in advance from the GPRA on government procurement or other relevant authorities.   

Article 38  The following procedure shall be followed when the competitive negotiation method is adopted:

1)       Setting up the negotiation group the number of whose members consisting of the procuring entities’ representatives and the relevant experts shall be odd and more than 3, among which the expert members shall be no fewer than two thirds of the total;

2)       Drafting the negotiation documents which shall include the negotiation procedure and content, the terms of the draft contract and the criteria for evaluating and selecting the bidders are included;

3)       Defining the namelist of the suppliers participating in the negotiation. The negotiation group chooses three or more among all the qualified suppliers in the namelist and afterwards presents them the documents for negotiation;

4)       Negotiating. All members of the negotiation group work together to negotiate with the individual suppliers respectively and separately. In the negotiation process neither side of the negotiation is allowed to disclose any information concerning technical specifications and price. When the material changes occur, all the suppliers participating in the negotiation shall be informed in writing.

5)       Selecting the successful supplier. Once the negotiation is concluded, the negotiation group shall require all the suppliers participating in the negotiation to provide their final offering prices by the specified time. The procuring entity chooses the supplier for the government procurement contract from the qualified candidates recommended by the negotiation group on the basis of the lowest price but satisfying the qualitative criteria as required by the procuring entity concerned.

Article 39  When the single-source procurement method is adopted, the procuring entities and suppliers shall follow the principles provided for by this Law. The procurement shall be carried out on the basis of good quality and reasonable price.

Article 40  When the request for quotations method is adopted, the following procedures shall be followed:

1)  Setting up the request group the number of whose members consisting of the procuring entities’ representatives and the relevant experts shall be odd and more than 3, among which the expert members shall be no fewer than two thirds of the total. The request group shall determine the pricing structure for the item being procured and the criteria for evaluation on suppliers.

2)  Defining the namelist of the requested suppliers. The request group chooses three or more among all the qualified suppliers in the namelist and provides them with the request notice for soliciting the prices.

3)  Request for quotations. The request group requires the requested suppliers to declare their prices which are fixed and not subject to subsequent changes on the part of suppliers concerned. 

4)  Selecting the successful supplier. The procuring entity selects the supplier for the government procurement contract from the qualified candidates on the basis of the lowest price but satisfying the qualitative criteria as required by the procuring entity concerned and are obliged to inform all the other requested suppliers of the final result.  

Article 41  The procuring entities or the procuring intermediaries shall conduct inspection and receive the performance of the government procurement contract. When the procurement project is complex and large-scale, the certified institutions for quality inspection shall be invited. The people participating in the examination process shall sign their names on the inspection report based on which they will be subject to the corresponding legal liabilities.

Article 42  The procuring entities or the procuring intermediaries shall appropriately store all the procurement documents relating to every procuring action in the procurement process for each procurement, which shall not be subject to fabrication, concealment or destruction. The storage period for the procurement documents shall be no less than 15 years starting at the time of completion of the procurement proceeding.

The procurement records shall include the followings:

1)  Types and names of the items to be procured;

2)  Budget, funds structure and price of the government procurement contract;

3)  Procurement method, when a procurement method other than public tendering is adopted, the reasons shall be included for justification;

4)  Qualification requirements and reasons for inviting or selecting the successful suppliers;

5)  Bid evaluation criteria and reasons for selecting the final awardee;

6)  Reasons for canceling the tendering proceeding, if applicable;

7)  Approval of the procurement methods other than the public tendering.

Chapter Five  Government Procurement Contract

Article 43  The Contract Law applies to the government procurement contract in which the rights and liabilities are agreed on the basis of equality and voluntariness of both sides.

The procuring entity may entrust the procuring intermediary to enter into a government procurement contract on its behalf. When the government procurement contract is entered into by the procuring intermediary in the name of the procuring entity in question, the entrustment document shall be presented to the contractor as a supplementary attachment to the contract.

Article 44  The government procurement contract shall be made in written form.

Article 45  The GPRA of the State Council shall regulate the essential clauses in the government procurement contract in consultation with the other relevant authorities.

Article 46  The procuring entity and its contractor shall enter into the government procurement contract pursuant to the requirements set forth in the procurement documents within 30 days from the time of dispatching the notice of acceptance to the supplier that was selected as the successful bidder.

The award notice is legally binding to both the procuring entity and the contractor supplier. After the notice of acceptance is dispatched, if the procuring entity alters the final result of the tendering proceeding, or when the successful bidders withdraw from the signed contract, each contracting party, respectively, shall be legally liable for the resulting consequences.

Article 47  The procuring entity shall submit a copy of the government procurement contract to the GPRA at the same level of the jurisdiction as its own and the relevant authority for reference within 7 working days after the time of entering into the government procurement contract.

Article 48  The successful supplier may perform the government procurement contract by subcontracting subject to the consent from the procuring entity.

When the procurement is subcontracted to perform, the successful supplier as a principal contractor is responsible to the procuring entity for both the whole procurement project and its subcontracted parts while the subcontractors are responsible only for the subcontracted portion of the procurement which they undertake.

Article 49  In administering a government procurement, when the procuring entity procures additional goods, construction or services of the same nature as the base government procurement contract, a supplemental contract can be entered into with the same contractor so long as the total value for all the additional procurements does not exceed 10 percent of that of the principal contract.

Article 50  Without authorization, the contracting parties to the government procurement contract are not allowed to alter, suspend or terminate the contract.

When the continuing performance of the government procurement contract is detrimental to the state interests or the interests of the public, the parties to the contract shall alter, suspend or terminate the contract. The party at fault is liable to the other for indemnification; when both parties to the contract are at fault to some extent, they are liable to each other for the consequences caused by themselves.

Chapter Six  Challenge and Complaint

Article 51  Suppliers may submit queries regarding the procurement proceedings to the procuring entity who shall make a timely response but without disclosing suppliers' confidential information.

Article 52  When a supplier believes that the procurement documents, procurement proceeding or the final results of the procurement are detrimental to its own interest, it can make complaint to the procuring entity in writing within 7 working days from the time when it knows or shall have known the damages incurred.

Article 53  The procuring entity shall respond to the challenge in writing within 7 working days of receipt, and inform the protesting suppliers and other suppliers of the response in writing which shall not involve the commercial know-how.

Article 54  When the procuring intermediary is entrusted to undertake the procurement on behalf of the procuring entity, the suppliers may instead make a request or challenge to the intermediary who shall reply regarding matters within the scope of its entrustment pursuant to Article 51 and Article 53 of this Law.

Article 55  When the complaining supplier is not satisfied with the response by the procuring entity or the procuring intermediary, or when the response is not given within the prescribed period, the appeal may be made to the GPRA at the same level as that of the procuring entity within 15 working days of expiration of the prescribed response period.

Article 56  The GPRA shall make its decision on the appeal within 30 working days after receiving the complaint and inform the appellant and other relevant parties of the results in writing.

Article 57  Depending on the circumstances, the GPRA may issue a suspension order in writing to the procuring entity during the period of dealing with the appeal but the suspension period shall not exceed a maximum of 30 days.

Article 58  When the appellant is not satisfied with the decision of the GPRA or when it does not make a decision within the prescribed period, the supplier shall have the option of filing for either administrative review or judicial litigation.

Chapter Seven  Examination and Supervision

Article 59  The GPRA shall strengthen its examination and supervision over procurement activities and the ICGPs’ work.

The examination and supervision involve the following main aspects:

1)  Enforcement of the laws and regulations concerning government procurement;

2)  Implementation of the procurement scope, methods and procedures;

3)  Professional qualifications and ethical performance of the procuring personnel.

Article 60  A GPRA is not allowed to set up an ICGP on its own, and shall not be involved in procurement activities.

The procuring intermediaries shall not have any subordinate relationship or other relationship of interest with the GPRA.

Article 61  ICGPs shall establish a sound internal control and supervision system with a clearly decision-making mechanism featuring checks and balances among internal departments. The powers and duties of the people engaging in the procurement proceedings shall be clearly separated from those responsible for the review and approval of the government procurement contract.

Article 62  The procuring personnel in the ICGPs shall possess the relevant qualifications and professional skills to be qualified for the requirements specially set forth for their jobs.

The ICGP shall strengthen the education and on-the-job training for its staff, regularly examine and evaluate their professional capacities, working performance and professional ethics. Those who fail in the examination are not allowed to continue to retain their jobs.  

Article 63  The standards for a given government procurement shall be disclosed to the public.

When the procurement methods provided in the law are adopted, the final results of the procurement shall be publicized on completion of the procurement proceeding.

Article 64  The procuring entity shall carry out its procurements according to the methods and procedures provided for in this Law.

No individual or unit is allowed to require, in breach of this Law, the procuring entity or its staff to procure from the designated suppliers.

Article 65  The GPRA shall examine and inspect the procurement activities, and the procuring parties are obliged to tell the truth and submit the relevant materials as requested.

Article 66  The GPRA shall assess the performance of the ICGPs with respect to procurement price, cost-effectiveness, reputation and compliance with law on a regular basis, and regularly publish final assessment reports.

Article 67  In order to enhance the effectiveness of monitoring government procurement activities, powers and duties relating to administrative regulations of government procurement should be clearly allocated among relevant government authorities.

Article 68  Auditing authorities shall exercise their supervisory powers over the government procurements, and the GPRA and the PGPPs shall subject themselves to their auditing examination.

Article 69  The supervision authorities shall strengthen their oversight over the relevant persons in the state organs, civil servants and others participating in the procurement proceedings.

Article 70  Any individual or unit has the right to accuse or inform violations of this Law in the government procurement proceeding, and the relevant authorities shall resolve the matters in a timely manner authorized.

Chapter Eight  Legal Liabilities

Article 71  When one of the following acts is committed by the procuring entity or the procuring intermediary, a correction order or a disciplinary warning shall be issued and a fine may be jointly imposed if necessary. The executives in charge or other personnel with direct responsibilities shall be disciplined by their affiliated administrative authorities or GPRA, and a notice of discipline shall be circulated:

1)  When the public tendering method shall be adopted but other procurement methods are used without relevant authorization in advance;

2)  When the criteria for the items being procured are modified as more difficult to be satisfied without authorization;

3)  When a procuring intermediary without the required qualifications is entrusted to conduct a procurement;

4)  When a supplier suffers discriminatory or unfavorable treatment without reasonable justification;

5)  When, in the course of public tendering proceedings, negotiation with bidders occurs;

6)  When the government procurement contract is not entered into with the successful supplier after the dispatching of the notice of acceptance.

7)  When cognizant authorities exercising their monitoring powers are rejected.

Article 72  When one of the following acts is committed by the procuring entity or the procuring intermediary and their staff: the relevant persons shall be prosecuted if a crime is constituted; if no crime is constituted, a fine shall be imposed; if illegal benefits arise, confiscation shall be jointly imposed; if the wrongdoers are civil servants, they shall be subjected to administrative discipline:

1)  Maliciously colluding with suppliers or a procuring intermediary;

2)  Accepting bribes or acquiring other improper interests and benefits;

3)  Misrepresenting to the relevant authorities when exercising their legitimate supervision and inspection;

4)  Divulging the base amount of a tender without authorization;

Article 73  When one of the offenses provided for in the immediately preceding two articles in this Law has in fact impaired or is likely to have impaired the award, the solutions are as follows:

1)   When the successful supplier has not yet been determined, the procurement proceeding shall be suspended;

2)   When the successful supplier has been determined but the government procurement contract has not yet been performed, the government procurement contract shall be rescinded and a new awardee shall be selected from among the remaining participating suppliers;

3)   When the government procurement contract has been performed and losses or injuries are caused to the procuring entity or intermediary, the wrongdoers shall be liable for indemnification.

Article 74  When the procuring entity fails to entrust the ICGP to procure the items listed in the CPC as required by the law, the PRA shall issue an order for correction; for those who refuse to implement such an order, the payment of budgetary funds shall be suspended, and the executives in charge or other personnel with direct responsibilities shall be disciplined by the government authority at a higher level above their affiliated governmental department or by other relevant authorities.

Article 75  When the procuring entity does not publish the criteria for a given procurement or its award of contract, an order for correction shall be issued and the executives in charge shall be disciplined for the offenses.

Article 76  When the procuring entity, in violation of this Law, conceals, destroys procurement records that are required to be appropriately maintained, or falsifies or counterfeits procurement records, the GPRA shall impose a fine in a range of 20,000 to 100,000 RMB. The officials in charge and other personnel with direct responsibility for the offense shall be disciplined; when a crime is constituted, it shall be prosecuted.

Article 77  When one of the following circumstances occur to a supplier, a fine ranging from 0.5% to 1% of the total procurement value of itself shall be imposed, and the offending suppliers shall be listed in the blacklist of those with misconduct dependant on which they shall be disqualified for subsequent procurements; when illegal benefits arise, they shall be confiscated; when the offense is materially serious, their business licenses shall be revoked; when a crime is constituted, it shall be prosecuted.

1)  False representations in the bidding documents in an attempt to win the contract;

2)  Using inappropriate means to defame or exclude other suppliers;

3)  Maliciously colluding with the procuring entity, other suppliers or the procuring intermediary;

4)  Bribing or providing illegal interests and benefits to the procuring entity or intermediary;

5)  Negotiating surreptitiously with the procuring entity in a public tendering proceeding;

6)  Refusing examination and inspection by the relevant authorities or making misrepresentation;

When one of the first five circumstances in the preceding paragraph of this article occurs, the final result of the tender shall be invalidated.

Article 78  When the procuring intermediary in the procurement proceeding, in violation of this Law, commits an offense, a fine shall be imposed pursuant to the relevant laws and regulations, and the license for its business shall be revoked; when a crime is constituted, the responsible persons shall be prosecuted.

Article 79  When one of the offenses in article 71, 72 and 77 occurs to the procuring parties and losses are committed, they shall be liable for the consequences pursuant to the civil laws.

Article 80  When the officials in the GPRA, in violation of this Law, abuse their powers, neglect their duties or commit irregularities for favoritism, they shall be subject to administrative discipline; when a crime is constituted, they shall be prosecuted.

Article 81  When the GPRA fails to respond within the prescribed period to an appeal submitted to by the supplier, the officials in charge or other officials with direct responsibilities shall be subject to administrative disciplines.

Article 82  When the officials in the GPRA misrepresents or conceal the truth about the performance of a procuring intermediary, or when regular evaluations are not carried out or results of the evaluation are not published, prompt corrective action shall be taken. The officials in charge shall be disciplined by circulating the notice of offenses while those with direct responsibilities shall be subject to administrative discipline.

Article 83  When any individual or unit attempts to frustrate or restrict the accessibility of their suppliers to the geographic or industrial procurement markets, corrective action shall be taken within the specified period; if the order for correction is neglected, the government authority at the higher level of its affiliated department or other relevant authorities shall hold accountable those officials in charge or other individuals with responsibility.

Chapter Nine  Supplementary Provisions

Article 84  When a government procurement is conducted with loans from foreign governments or international organizations, the specific requirements in the loan contract which are different from those in this Law shall prevail if they are not detrimental to the state interests and the public's interests.

Article 85  This Law does not apply to the emergency procurements for natural disasters or other kinds of force majeure, or those procurements that involve state security or state secrets.

Article 86  Laws and regulations regarding military procurement shall be separately enacted by the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China.

Article 87  Detailed procedures and methods shall be subsequently formulated by the State Council.

Article 88  This Law shall enter into force as of January 1st of 2003.