In April 2001, the state council decided to combine China State Bureau of Quality with the State Administration for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine to form the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China(in short, AQSIQ). And the National Notarization and Approval Supervision Committee shall be in charge of the management, organization, and implementation of national compulsory product certification system. For products that need to go through national compulsory certification, there must be a unified directory announced by the States, a uniform application of national standards, technical regulations and implementation procedures, a unified logo, and a unified standard for the prescribed fees. Where, after being listed in the compulsory product certification directory, the product must be qualified by the certification bodies designated by the State to obtain the relevant certificate and certification mark before entering the market or being imported and used in business activities.

The new compulsory product certification system came into force since May 1, 2002. To ensure the smooth transition between the new and the old system, the original product safety certification system and import safety and quality licensing system would be abolished from 1 May 2003.

In accordance with China’s WTO commitments and the principles of national treatment, the state compulsory product certification adopts a unified logo. The name of the new national compulsory certification mark shall be “??????” in Chinese, in English “China Compulsory Certification”, and in short “CCC”. Since its application, China Compulsory Certification would gradually replace the original “Great Wall” logo and “CCIB” mark.

According to relevant documents concerning the national compulsory product certification (hereinafter referred to as “3C Certification”), since May 1, 2003, if products that were included in the first directory of 3C Certifications (namely, of the 19 categories of 132 kinds of products) failed to obtain 3C logo, they cannot be for sale, import, and used in used in business activities. But for exceptional cases in production, import and business activities, Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China issued Notice No. 8 of 2002 and stipulated that some products can apply for exemption from 3C certification.

The said products are as follows:

1.Products imported and produced for the purpose of the scientific research and testing.

2.Spare parts imported from processing with import material and processing with supply material for the purpose of exporting the machine as a whole piece.

3.Products (excluding some of the products sold back to the nation or for domestic sales) specifically for export in accordance with foreign trade contracts.

4.Spare parts required to be imported for technical assessment and for introducing the production line.

5.Products imported and produced for the direct maintenance for the end user and spare parts for the maintenance of the products that were out of production.

6.Other products that fall in the category of “exceptional cases”.
For products to be exempted from 3C certifications, Manufacturers or agents shall apply to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China, and submit exempt proof material, liability guarantees, compliance statement ( including the test report forms ) etc for approval. And the Exemption of compulsory product certification shall be open to application and come into effect since May 1, 2003. Besides, the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China also stipulates that for products falls under the category 2 and category 3, Domestic assembly plants or production plants can, at their own convenience, apply for exemption certification from the local or Inspection and Quarantine Bureau directly under the State the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China.

Below is an example of China CCC certificate