Chapter VI Legal Liabilities

Article 68 Where an authority responsible for examination and approval or verification of fixed-asset investment projects, in violation of the provisions of this Law, gives approval or confirmation to the construction projects which fail to conform to the mandatory standards for energy conservation, the leading person directly in charge and the other persons who are directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions in accordance with law.

Where a developer of a fixed-asset investment project starts to construct the project that fails to conform to the mandatory standards for energy conservation or puts it into production or to use, the department in charge of energy conservation shall order the developer to discontinue construction of the project or cease production or use and to reconstruct the project within a time limit; if the project is designed for production and reconstruction is impossible or the developer fails to reconstruct it within the time limit, the department in charge of energy conservation shall report the matter to the people’s government to which it belongs, which shall order the close-down of the project within the limits of its power as prescribed by the State Council.

Article 69 Where an entity manufactures, imports or sells energy-using products or equipment which the State has eliminated by official order, or uses forged certification labels for energy-saving products or labels for other products, it shall be punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Product Quality.

Article 70 Where an entity manufactures, imports or sells energy-using products or equipment which fail to conform to the mandatory energy efficiency standards, the department for supervision over product quality shall order it to discontinue the manufacture, import or sale of such products or equipment, and confiscate the illegally manufactured, imported or marketed products or equipment and the unlawful gains derived therefrom, and shall, in addition, impose a fine of not less than one time but not more than five times the unlawful gains; and if the circumstances are serious, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall revoke its business license.

Article 71 Where an entity uses the energy-using equipment or production techniques which the State has eliminated by official order, the department in charge of energy conservation shall order it to stop using such equipment or techniques and shall confiscate the said equipment; and if the circumstances are serious, the said department may submit a proposal to the people’s government to which it belongs that the said government, within the limits of its power as prescribed by the State Council, order the entity to suspend operation for rectification or close down.

Article 72 Where a manufacturer uses energy in excess of the norm set for energy consumption per unit product to a serious extent, and fails to make rectification within the prescribed time limit or fails to meet the requirements after rectification, the department in charge of energy conservation may submit a proposal to the people’s government to which it belongs that the said government, within the limits of its power as prescribed by the State Council, order the manufacturer to suspend production for rectification or close down.

Article 73 Where an entity, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to attach energy efficiency labels to its products as required, the department for supervision over product quality shall order it to rectify and impose on it a fine of not less than RMB 30,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan.

Where an entity, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to have its energy efficiency labels put on file, or uses the energy efficiency labels that do not conform to the relevant regulations, the department for supervision over product quality shall order it to rectify within a time limit; if it fails to rectify at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan.

Where an entity forges energy efficiency labels, or uses labels for other products, or uses energy efficiency labels for deceptive advertising, the department for supervision over product quality shall order it to rectify and impose on it a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan; and if the circumstances are serious, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall revoke its business license.

Article 74 Where an energy-using unit fails to equip itself with or use the prescribed energy measuring instruments, the department for supervision over product quality shall order it to rectify within a time limit; if it fails to do so at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan.

Article 75 Where an entity conceals the facts about, fabricates or tampers with the energy statistical data or provides false energy statistical data, it shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the Statistics Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 76 Where an agency that offers such services as consultancy, design, assessment, testing, auditing and certification in respect of energy conservation provides false information, the department in charge of energy conservation shall order it to rectify, and confiscate its unlawful gains and shall, in addition, impose on it a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan.

Article 77 Where an unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, provides energy gratis to its employees or charges a fixed lump sum on the energy consumed per month, it shall be ordered by the department in charge of energy conservation to rectify within a time limit; if it fails to do so at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan.

Article 78 Where a power grid enterprise fails to merge the heat and power co-generating units, which conform to relevant regulations, and the generating units which make use of residual heat and pressure, with power grids for synchronized operation, as provided for in this Law, or fails to pay the relevant rates as determined by the State for network electricity, the power regulatory authority of the State shall order it to rectify; if financial losses are caused to power generating enterprises, it shall bear the liability for compensation in accordance with law.

Article 79 Where a developer violates the standards for energy conservation in construction, the department in charge of construction shall order it to rectify and impose on it a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan.

Where a unit responsible for project design, construction operation, operational supervision violates the standards for energy conservation in construction, the department in charge of construction shall order it to rectify and impose on it a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan. If the circumstances are serious, it shall be degraded in qualification by the department issuing qualification certificates or its qualification certificate shall be revoked by the said department; and if losses are caused, it shall bear the liability for compensation in accordance with law.

Article 80 When selling houses, a real estate developer, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to show clearly to a buyer, among other things, the energy conservation measures for the house to be sold and the period of guarantee for the thermal insulation facilities, the department in charge of construction shall order it to rectify; if it fails to do on the expiration of the time limit, it shall be fined not less than 30,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan; and if it makes deceptive advertisement with respect to the information mentioned above, the department in charge of construction shall order it to rectify and impose on it a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan.

Article 81 When a public institution purchasing energy-using products or equipment fails to give first priority to the products and equipment listed in the catalogue of energy-saving products and equipment for government procurement, or purchases energy-using products or equipment which the State has eliminated by official order, it shall be given a warning by the regulatory authority for government procurement and may, in addition, be imposed a fine; and the leading person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions and be criticized in a circular.

Article 82 Where a key energy-using unit fails to submit the report on energy utilization according to the provisions of this Law, or the report submitted is not true to fact, the department in charge of energy conservation shall order it to rectify within a time limit; if it refuses to do so on the expiration of the time limit, it shall be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan.

Article 83 Where a key energy-using unit, without justifiable reasons, refuses to comply with the requirement for rectification, as provided for in Article 54 of this Law, or fails to fulfill the requirement after rectification, it shall be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 300,000 yuan by the department in charge of energy conservation.

Article 84 Where a key energy-using unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to establish positions for energy management or appoint to such positions persons to be responsible for energy control, or fails to submit the appointments to the department in charge of energy conservation and the relevant departments for the record, it shall be ordered by the department in charge of energy conservation to rectify; if it refuses to do so, it shall be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan.

Article 85 Where an entity violates the provisions of this Law, which constitutes a crime, it shall be investigated for criminal responsibility.

Article 86 Where a State functionary abuses his power, neglects his duty or engages in malpractices for personal gain in administration of energy conservation, which constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with law; if the case is not serious enough to constitute a crime, he shall be given an administrative sanction in accordance with law.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 86 This Law shall go into effect as of April 1, 2008.

The English translation is for reference only and if there is any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.