Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the “Measures for the Management of Information Processing Fees for Government Information Disclosure”

The people’s governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, various ministries and commissions of the State Council, and all directly affiliated agencies: The

“Measures for the Management of Information Processing Fees for Government Information Disclosure” are hereby issued to you, please implement them carefully.

Article

1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Disclosure of Government Information in order to further standardize the legal relationship of government information disclosure, maintain the order of government information disclosure and better protect the public’s right to know.

Article 2 The information processing fee referred to in these Measures refers to the fee charged to applicants who apply for disclosure of government information exceeding a certain amount or frequency in order to effectively regulate the application behavior of government information disclosure and guide applicants to reasonably exercise their rights.

Article 3 Information processing fees may be charged on a per piece basis or on a per volume basis, and the amount of fees shall be calculated in an excess progressive manner. The administrative agency may choose to apply one of the standards for each application based on actual circumstances, but it may not be calculated twice according to both standards at the same time.

Article 4 The per-case charging applies to all types of government information disclosure application processing decisions. If an applicant’s application for government information disclosure contains multiple contents, the administrative agency may divide the number into a reasonable minimum unit in accordance with the principle of “one application for one case”.

The following charging standards will be implemented on a per piece basis:

(1) If the same applicant applies for less than 10 pieces (inclusive) in a calendar month, no charge will be charged.

(2) Part where the same applicant applies cumulatively for 11 – 30 applications (including 30 applications) within one natural month: 100 yuan/application.

(3) Part where the same applicant has applied for more than 31 applications in one natural month: 10 applications will be used as a file, and the fee will be increased by 100 yuan per file for each additional file.

Article 5 Charging based on volume applies to cases where applicants require to obtain government information by providing paper copies, sending e-mails, copying electronic data, etc. Relevant government information has been voluntarily disclosed to the public, and if the administrative agency informs the applicant of the method and means of obtaining it in accordance with the provisions of Articles 36 (1) and (2) of the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Disclosure of Government Information,” the charging based on volume shall not apply. The number of pages is calculated on a single government information disclosure application basis (one page on one side of A4 and below), and the number of pages is not accumulated for multiple government information disclosure applications submitted by the same applicant.

The following charging standards are implemented based on volume: (1) No charge will be charged for items with less than 30 pages (inclusive).

(2) Part of 31 – 100 pages (including 100 pages): 10 yuan/page.

(3) Part of 101 – 200 pages (including 200 pages): 20 yuan/page.

(4) Parts above 201 pages: 40 yuan/page.

Article 6 If an administrative agency decides to collect an information processing fee in accordance with the law, it shall, within the processing period of the government information disclosure application, issue a charging notice to the applicant in accordance with the applicant’s channel to obtain the information, explaining the basis, standards, amount, payment method, etc. of the charging.The applicant shall pay the fee within 20 working days from the next day after receiving the fee notice. If the payment is not made within the time limit, it shall be deemed to have waived the application, and the administrative agency will no longer process the application for government information disclosure.

The processing period for government information disclosure applications will be recalculated from the day after the applicant completes the payment.

Article 7 If an applicant disagrees with the decision to collect information processing fees, he cannot apply for administrative review or file an administrative lawsuit on the decision alone. He may, after the payment expires, complain or report to the higher-level administrative agency or the competent department in charge of government information disclosure in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Government Information Disclosure, or apply for administrative review in accordance with the law. File an administrative lawsuit. If laws and administrative regulations provide otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 8 Information processing fees collected by administrative agencies are administrative fees, which are included in general public budget management in accordance with the relevant regulations on government non-tax revenue and centralized treasury collection and management, and are paid to the treasury at the same level in a timely and full manner. The specific collection method shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations of the government financial department at the same level.

Article 9 When administrative agencies collect information processing fees, they shall use financial instruments uniformly supervised (printed) by the Ministry of Finance or the financial departments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government in accordance with their financial affiliation.

Article 10 The price, finance, and audit departments shall strengthen supervision over the collection of information processing fees in accordance with their respective responsibilities.

Article 11 The competent department for government information disclosure shall strengthen supervision and guidance, promptly handle complaints and reports submitted by applicants, and seriously correct illegal or inappropriate behaviors. The collection of information processing fees must be statistically summarized in accordance with the format specified by the national government information disclosure department, and included in the annual report on government information disclosure work, and subject to social supervision.

Article 12 These Measures shall be interpreted by the national government information disclosure department, the price department of the State Council, and the financial department of the State Council in accordance with their respective responsibilities.

Article 13 These Measures shall come into effect on January 1, 2021.