Starting from March, a new batch of regulations will be implemented, involving multiple aspects.

Criminal Law Amendment (XI) Enforced

The Criminal Law Amendment (XI) was passed at the 24th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress and will officially take effect on March 1. The amendment mainly focuses on criminal law governance and protection in areas such as safeguarding the safety of people's lives, production safety, financial market order, intellectual property, ecological environment, and public health security related to epidemic prevention and control.

Comprehensive Upgrade of Supervision

The Trillion-Yuan Payment Market Will Be Reshaped

The payment market is undergoing comprehensive regulation and reshaping. Recently, relevant departments have issued consecutive documents on payment supervision, first proposing anti-monopoly in the payment field, introducing new payment business rules, reserve fund management measures, and other strict regulatory "combination punches." Among them, the People's Bank of China issued the "Measures for the Custody of Customer Reserve Funds by Non-bank Payment Institutions," which has been in effect since March 1, 2021. The measures regulate the centralized deposit of customer reserve funds after collection, further detail the rules for deposit, use, and transfer of reserve funds, and clarify supervisory responsibilities.

Industry analysis believes that the promulgation of these measures will have a profound impact on the development of China's payment industry and even the operation mechanism of the financial market.

Implementation of the "Regulations on Online Recruitment Services"

Online Recruitment Must Not Charge Deposits from Workers

The "Regulations on Online Recruitment Services" clearly state that it is prohibited to leak, tamper with, damage, illegally sell, or illegally provide to others the personal information collected and the business status of employers, and it is also prohibited to charge deposits from workers. The regulations have been in effect since March 2021.

The regulations clarify that recruitment information provided by employers must be legal and truthful, and must not contain discriminatory content; business human resource service agencies engaged in online recruitment services must clearly indicate their service items, charging standards, and other matters.

Implementation of the New "Rural Land Management Measures for Transfer of Land Operation Rights"

Guiding the Orderly Transfer of Land Operation Rights

The "Rural Land Management Measures for Transfer of Land Operation Rights" officially took effect on March 1, 2021. How to avoid the "non-grain" and "non-agricultural" use of arable land? The measures provide corresponding regulations. On one hand, it strictly prevents the "non-grain" use of arable land, clarifying that the transfer of land operation rights must ensure that agricultural land is used for agriculture, with priority given to grain production. Whether the operation projects comply with grain production and other industrial plans is a key review focus. Agricultural and rural departments at all levels should strengthen services and encourage transferees to develop grain production.

On the other hand, it resolutely stops the "non-agricultural" use of arable land, clarifying that transferees of land operation rights must protect the land according to relevant laws and regulations, prohibiting changes to the agricultural use of the land; prohibiting idling or abandonment of arable land; prohibiting occupying arable land to build kilns, tombs, or unauthorized construction, sand excavation, quarrying, mining, or soil extraction; prohibiting occupying permanent basic farmland for developing forestry, fruit farming, or pond digging for fish farming.

More Autonomy in Naming, More Vitality in the Market

Revised "Enterprise Name Registration Management Regulations" Enforced

The revised "Enterprise Name Registration Management Regulations" have been in effect since March 1 this year. The regulations clarify that if an enterprise believes another enterprise's name infringes on its legitimate rights and interests, it may file a lawsuit with the people's court or request the enterprise registration authority that handled the registration of the suspected infringing enterprise to deal with it; after accepting the application, the enterprise registration authority may mediate, and if mediation fails, the authority shall make an administrative decision within the prescribed time limit.