China: Adopted amendments to Interim Measures for Administration of Online Taxi Booking Business Operations introducing reduced penalties in legal framework

On 21 September 2022, China's Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Cyberspace Administration of China adopted an order amending the country's Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Taxi Booking Business Operations. The new amendments revised the original rules regarding the administration of online taxi-booking services on ride-hailing platforms first passed in 2016. The Chinese government reduced or removed fines on a range of ride-hailing violations, although penalties imposed on ride-hailing platforms caught operating without a license remain the same, with fines of between RMB 5'000 to 10'000 for standard and 10'000 to 30'000 for serious offenses. The 2016 penalties ranged from RMB 10'000 to 30'000 for individuals who provide ride-hailing services without a vehicle permit or drivers with no qualifications. In the amendments, individuals without an online booking vehicle license will be fined RMB 3'000 to RMB 10'000, while drivers with an online booking driver's license will be fined from RMB 200 to RMB 2'000.