Sui Huan Gui Zi [2022] No. 2

　　All sections (offices), sub-bureaus, monitoring centers and stations, and all directly affiliated units,

　　To optimize the business environment, promote the combination of administrative penalties and education for ecological and environmental offences, and guide offenders to actively correct their ecological and environmental offences and abide by the law, according to the Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on Standardizing Administrative Penalty Discretion over Ecological Environment, and based on the actual situation of Guangzhou, this bureau formulates the Interim Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on Lesser Penalties for Ecological and Environmental Offenders Who Make a Public Apology and Promise to Obey the Law. As it has been examined and approved by Guangzhou Municipal Justice Bureau, it is hereby printed and distributed. Please comply with and implement it. If there is any problems during implementation, please report to (the law enforcement department of) this bureau directly.

　　Guangzhou Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau

　　October 13, 2022

　　Interim Regulations ofGuangzhou Municipality on Lesser Penalties for Ecological and Environmental Offenders Who Make a Public Apology and Promise to Obey the Law

　　Article1In order to optimize the business environment, promote the combination of administrative penalties and education for ecological and environmental offences, and guide offenders to actively correct their ecological and environmental offences and abide by the law, according to the Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on Standardizing Administrative Penalty Discretion over Ecological Environment, and based on the actual situation of Guangzhou, this Regulationsis formulated.

　　Article2 This Regulations shall apply when administrative law enforcement organs exercising the power of administrative penalties for ecological and environmental offences in Guangzhou (hereinafter referred to as “punishing organs”) handle ecological and environmental offenders who actively correct their ecological and environmental offences, apply to make a public apology and promise to abide by the law.

　　Article 3The application of this Regulationsshall follow the provisions of laws, regulations, rules and other normative documents such as the Administrative Penalties Law, and only be made for administrative penalties including fines.

　　Article 4The application of this Regulations shall be based on the factual premise that offenders actively take measures to correct their offenses before the decision of administrative penalties, and on the procedural premise that they voluntarily apply to make a public apology and promise to abide by the law within the required time limit.

　　Punishing organs shall respect offenders’ will and shall not force them to make a public apology or promise to abide by the law.

　　Article 5 This Regulations shall not apply to offenders under any of the following circumstances:

　　5.1 Offenders fail to make a public apology or promise to abide by the law according to the procedure and form specified in this Regulations;

　　5.2 Laws, regulations or rules stipulate that administrative penalties against ecological and environmental offences shall be made when offenders are ordered to correct their offenses but fail to do it within the time limit;

　　5.3 Other circumstances where lesser penalties for offenders who make a public apology shall not apply as stipulated by laws, regulations or rules and the Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on Standardizing Administrative Penalty Discretion over Ecological Environment.

　　Article 6 If punishing organs fail to find any circumstances specified in 5., they may serve the Advance (Hearing) Notification of Administrative Penalties (hereinafter referred to as the “Notification of Penalties”) together with other necessary materials such as the guideline for lesser penalties for offenders who apply to make a public apology and promise to abide by the law.

　　Article 7 If offenders voluntarily make a public apology and promise to abide by the law, they may, within 7 working days from the date of receiving the Notification of Penalties(during the period of statement and argument), submit an application to punishing organs, and simultaneously provide materials to prove their correction results. Punishing organs will not accept any application not submitted within the time limit.

　　Article 8 After offenders submit a written application, punishing organs shall, within 3 working days, verify whether written materials meet relevant requirements and whether the correction has been completed on site.

　　If written materials are verified to meet all relevant requirements, punishing organs shall inform offenders of the requirements of a public apology and promise within 3 working days from the date of verification. Punishing organs will not accept the application if they do not meet all relevant requirements.

　　Article 9 Offenders shall, as required, make a statement of public apology and promise to obey the law (hereinafter referred to as the “statement”) signed and sealed by the legal representative or the principal of the company concerned or the self-employed and submit it to punishing organs.

　　As for a case where double penalties apply, if the individual punished is the unit’s legal representative, the unit and the legal representative can make a public apology together and jointly submit a statement. A separate public apology will be required if the individual punished is a principal for environmental protection other than the legal representative.

　　Article 10After a written application has been examined and approved by punishing organs, offenders shall make a public apology and promise to abide by the law within 5 working days from the day of receiving the notification that the application has been approved.

　　Article 11Statements will be publicly published at “Offenders make a public apology and promise to obey the law” on the government affairs website of Guangzhou Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau (http://sthjj.gz.gov.cn/). Guangzhou Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau shall promptly notify the town people’s government or the sub-district office of the place where offenders come from of the statements which have been published publicly.

　　For cases handled by the town people’s government and the sub-district office, statements shall be published publicly on the government affairs website of the district government and linked to the government affairs website of Guangzhou Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau.

　　Article 12 After offenders have made a public apology and promised to abide by the law, if punishing organs find that there is intentional concealment, fraud or other circumstances in which this Regulations shall not apply, punishing organs shall clearly inform offenders of inapplicability, dismiss the application and withdraw the statement.

　　Article13 Punishing organs shall give lesser penalties according to the following criteria:

　　13.1 If offenders make a public apology, promise to abide by the law and correct their offenses according to this Regulations, the fine may be reduced by 30% based on applicable administrative penalty discretion;

　　13.2 If offenders meet the requirements specified in 13.1 and provide necessary materials for environmental testing, restoration, assessment and verification that objectively reflect correction results, the fine may be reduced by 40%;

　　13.3 If offenders meet the requirements specified in 13.1 and provide necessary materials for environmental testing, restoration, assessment and verification that objectively show that all adverse environmental impacts have been eliminated, the fine may be reduced by 50%;

　　If the fine reduced according to this Regulations is lower than the statutory minimum fine, the statutory minimum fine shall prevail.

　　Article14Where offenders apply according to this Regulations, punishing organs shall explain whether they accept the application and whether this Regulationsapplies in the Decision on Administrative Penalties.

　　If offenders have any objection to the processing of their application and the application of this Regulations, they may claim their rights according to the relief channels specified in the Decision on Administrative Penalties.

　　Article15Punishing organs shall file the application and statement submitted by offenders, the screenshot of the public apology made online and other relevant materials as case files of the administrative case for future reference.

　　Article16The time when punishing organs apply this Regulationsto handling cases shall be included in the time limit for handling cases stipulated in the Administrative Punishment Lawand the Measures for Environmental Administrative Penalties.

　　Article17In principle, the statement of offenders shall be publicly published on relevant government websites for no less than 6 months.

　　Where a statement published is altered, revoked, or confirmed to be illegal or invalid due to a Decision on Administrative Penalties,punishing organs shall remove it according to their duties.

　　Article18The term “lesser penalties” in this Regulationsrefers to further lesser penalties based on the administrative punishment discretion stipulated in the Regulations of Guangdong Province on Administrative Penalty Discretion over Ecological Environmentand the Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on Standardizing Administrative Penalty Discretion over Ecological Environment.

　　If offenders fail to apply to make a public apology or fall into any of the circumstances specified in 5.but meet other statutory conditions for lesser, mitigated or exempted penalties, punishing organs shall decide according to laws and regulations.

　　Article19 The guideline for lesser penalties for offenders who apply to make a public apology and promise to obey the law, as well as the samples for application materials and the statement to be submitted will be published separately.

　　Article20This Regulations should come into force as of the date of printing and distributing and be valid for 3 years. Guangzhou Ecological Environment Bureau shall be responsible for its interpretation.

　　Disclosure:Active Disclosure

　　Issued by:Office of Guangzhou Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau

　　Issued on: October 18, 2022