China publishes penalty standards for violations in work safety emergency management 
On Nov. 19, 2024, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management published Penalty Standards for Violations in Work Safety Emergency Management, which came into effect immediately. These set out penalties for 233 types of violations related to hazardous chemicals, industry, foreign trade, unexpected accidents, work safety accidents, etc. based on the Work Safety Law1 and other work safety and occupational health regulations.
The penalty standards refer to the latest versions of laws, administrative regulations and government department rules as of Sept. 30, 2024. If amended versions of these come into force, they will apply as amended.
Penalty examples
As examples of penalties, the table below shows penalties for business entities that fail to establish a risk assessment and management system and/or fail to report on major accident risk assessment and management in accordance with regulations, which are imposed based on the Work Safety Law.
| Violation level | Violation criterion | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| A | A business entity not engaged in mining, smelting, construction, road transportation or the production, handling, storage or loading and unloading of dangerous goods fails to establish an accident risk assessment and management system or report on major accident risk assessment and management in accordance with regulations. |
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| B | A business entity not engaged in mining, smelting, construction, road transportation or the production, handling, storage or loading and unloading of dangerous goods fails to establish an accident risk assessment and management system and report on major accident risk assessment and management in accordance with regulations. |
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| C | A business entity engaged in mining, smelting, construction, road transportation or the production, handling, storage or loading and unloading of dangerous goods fails to establish an accident risk assessment and management system or report on major accident risk assessment and management in accordance with regulations. |
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| D | A business entity engaged in mining, smelting, construction, road transportation or the production, handling, storage or loading and unloading of dangerous goods fails to establish an accident risk assessment and management system and report on major accident risk assessment and management in accordance with regulations. |
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The Ministry of Emergency Management says the penalty standards will be incorporated in the ministry’s “Internet + Law Enforcement” system, where these standards will be automatically associated with violations found by inspections, and reflected on penalty notices.
The penalty standards (in Chinese) are available at
https://www.mem.gov.cn/gk/zfxxgkpt/fdzdgknr/202411/t20241119_511547.shtml.
Note
The standard for identifying major accident risks in industrial and trade companies, issued April 14, 2023 by the Ministry of Emergency Management, sets out criteria for major accident risks. This standard (in Chinese) is available at
https://www.mem.gov.cn/gk/zfxxgkpt/fdzdgknr/202304/t20230417_448156.shtml.
1 安全生产法
