China: Adopted E-Commerce Law including registration requirements

On 31 August 2018, China's E-Commerce Law, which includes business registration requirements, was adopted. The Law applies to both e-commerce businesses and e-commerce platforms. The Law establishes a general obligation for e-commerce businesses to register as market participants, and also requires them to conspicuously display information regarding their registration (or possible exceptions) on their website. E-commerce platforms are required to facilitate registration for businesses active on their platforms and provide relevant information to the authorities. The Law also establishes a sanctions regime for failures by e-commerce businesses to register and display information regarding registration, and for failures of platforms in ensuring the registration of businesses active on it. For the latter offence, the Law establishes penalty tiers depending on the seriousness of the offence. The E-Commerce Law will be implemented on 1 January 2019.