China promulgated the “Detailed Rules for Implementing ELV Collection Management Measures”

In order to normalize the collection and dismantling activities of discarded vehicles and strengthen the control of related industries, on July 18, 2020, seven administrative agencies such as the Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China jointly promulgated the “Detailed Rules for Implementing End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Collection Management Measures” (hereinafter referred to as “Detailed Rules”). The Detailed Rules consisting of totally 7 chapters and 59 articles provide clear provisions regarding the certification and management of qualification, normalization of collection and dismantling activities, normalization of recycling activities, control and supervision, legal liability, etc. The Detailed Rules will come into effect on September 1, 2020.

The Detailed Rules stipulate that the government should encourage the scrapped vehicle collection and dismantling industries to promote the marketization, specialization, and consolidation of their own industries and that they should enhance the recycling efficiency and service levels by establishing a recycling system for discarded vehicles. The Ministry of Commerce is in charge of the control and supervision of the collection and dismantling of discarded automobiles nationwide, and the other administrative agencies such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industrial Information, the Ministry of Public Safety, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Directorate General of Market Supervision and Management are respectively responsible for the management and supervision of waste automobiles, within their own duties.

Automobile manufacturers bear producer responsibility including provision of dismantling manuals

The Detailed Rules also stipulate the qualification accreditation system for collection and dismantling enterprises which is to be implemented by the government, as well as the prerequisite conditions for obtaining the qualification for collection and dismantling of discarded vehicles. It is prohibited for businesses or individuals who have not acquired the qualifications concerned to engage in the collection and dismantling activities. In addition, the Detailed Rules require that the State encourages automobile manufacturers to engage in the collection and dismantling activities of scrapped vehicles, and that automobile manufacturers bear producer responsibility according to relevant national regulations; for instance, providing collection and dismantling companies with relevant technical information such as dismantling manuals for scrapped vehicles.

Furthermore, the Detailed Rules stipulates normative measures for collection and dismantling activities. The key measures are as follows;

• When collection and dismantling companies collect scrapped vehicles, they have to inspect the ID card of the car owner, register the relevant information such as the model number of the car for each car, and collect the related certificates.
• If the automobile’s “Five (5) major assemblies”, exhaust gas after-treatment device, and battery for driving a new energy vehicle are defective, the vehicle owner will explain the situation in writing and be responsible for its authenticity. ..
• In addition, if the frame (or vehicle body) or engine of the car is defective, it will be recognized as a defective vehicle; in such a case, the collection and dismantling company must not issue a “disposal car collection certificate”.
• In addition, it is definitely stipulated that no business or individual is allowed to assemble vehicles by using the “5 major assemblies” of discarded vehicles, and that automobile maintenance companies should not undertake the repair of discarded vehicles.

The original Chinese text of the “Detailed Rules for Implementing ELV Collection Management Measures ” can be viewed at the following URL.
http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2020-08/02/content_5531960.htm