The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration plans to revise some electronic cigarette regulatory policy documents.

The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration publicly solicits opinions on the “Notice from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration on Amending Certain Electronic Cigarette Regulatory Policy Documents (Draft for Comments).”

Notice from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration on Amending Certain Electronic Cigarette Regulatory Policy Documents (Draft for Comments)

In order to implement the restrictive electronic cigarette industry policy requirements, improve the systematization, integrity, and coordination of electronic cigarette regulatory policies, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration has decided to amend certain provisions of seven electronic cigarette regulatory policy documents. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows.

1. Amend the “Several Policy Measures for Promoting the Legalization and Standardization of the Electronic Cigarette Industry (Trial)” (Guo Yan Ban [2022] No. 43)

(1) Change Article 1 to: “The electronic cigarette industry is incorporated into regulation by law, with a rational industry layout, stable and orderly market operation, more efficient resource allocation, achieving total management under supply and demand dynamics, implementing relevant tobacco control requirements, ensuring people’s health and safety, and developing the electronic cigarette industry onto a legal and standardized track.”

(2) Change Article 11 to: “To achieve supply-demand balance in the electronic cigarette market, conduct total volume management of related production enterprises, and legally and compliantly determine capacity and production scale. The administrative tobacco control department under the State Council considers factors such as tobacco control, capacity verification, market demand, enterprise orders, and compliance, categorizes and approves annual production scales as the upper limit of the corresponding product category’s production transaction volume for the calendar year, and controls accordingly. Provincial tobacco administrative departments organize wholesale electronic cigarette enterprises within their administrative regions to operate within the sales targets of their respective provinces (districts, cities) during the year.”

(3) Change the first paragraph of Article 14 to: “Coordinate domestic sales and export needs, and scientifically determine the annual production and sales scale of domestically produced nicotine for electronic cigarettes. Based on the approved capacity and production scale, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration considers raw materials such as tobacco leaves (including reconstituted tobacco leaves and tobacco stems), re-dried tobacco leaves, and tobacco shreds (including fines and granules), and scientifically and reasonably estimates annual usage, issuing tobacco leaf (including reconstituted tobacco leaves and tobacco stems), re-dried tobacco leaves, tobacco shreds (including fines and granules), and other tobacco monopoly product purchase and sales plans.”

2. Amend the “Regulations on Fixed Asset Investment Management of Electronic Cigarettes” (Guo Yan Fa [2024] No. 104)

(1) Change the fourth item of the first paragraph of Article 4 to: “(4) Fixed asset investments by licensed production enterprises involving on-site technological transformation (including equipment purchase), capacity integration and restructuring, relocation, reconstruction, and restoration.”

(2) Change Article 6 to: “If the circumstances in the first paragraph of Article 4 of these Regulations do not involve increasing new production capacity for electronic cigarettes or raw materials, electronic cigarette enterprises shall, prior to investment, refer to the requirements of the application report in Article 7 and capacity report in Article 18 of these Regulations, and report to the local tobacco administrative department for record-keeping, including the enterprise’s production and operation status, equipment and capacity utilization, main content of the proposed investment project, and investment amount. The enterprise shall not expand capacity and shall submit a capacity commitment letter, with the project being filed with the local tobacco administrative department, and the project implementation supervised by the local tobacco administrative department. After completion, the project’s construction status shall be reported to the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration through the local tobacco administrative department.”

(3) Change the second item of the second paragraph of Article 7 to: “(2) Basic information of the proposed investment project, including project location, project content, newly formed production capacity, total investment scale, etc.”

(4) Change the fourth item of the second paragraph of Article 7 to: “2. Actual production and sales volume of the enterprise in the past 36 months, with relevant supporting documents; for export sales, provide transaction contracts and customs declaration documents;”. The third item is changed to: “3. Opinions from the provincial tobacco administrative department on the enterprise’s compliance with tobacco monopoly laws and regulations, and review comments on the project application report.”

(5) Change the third item of the third paragraph of Article 10 to: “(3) The actual production volume of the electronic cigarette enterprise in the past 12 months has not reached 85% of its latest reported equipment capacity to the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, and the actual production volume in the past 36 months has not reached 85% of the capacity approved by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.”

3. Amend the “Implementation Rules for Technical Review of Electronic Cigarette Products” (Guo Yan Fa [2024] No. 120)

(1) Add a new item as the third item of the first paragraph of Article 6: “(3) Domestic sales brand holders holding permits for electronic cigarette production enterprises.”

(2) Change the fourth item of the first paragraph of Article 6 to: “(4) Comply with national electronic cigarette industry policies and management regulations on capacity and production scale.”

(3) Change the third paragraph of Article 6 to: “For applications from overseas brand holders, the conditions in the first, fourth, and sixth items of the previous paragraph shall be met.”

(4) Change the third item of the first paragraph of Article 8 to: “(3) Comply with regulations on naming, packaging labels, and warning statements for electronic cigarette products.”

(5) Change the third item of Article 21 to: “(3) Delegating main production processes to enterprises that do not hold tobacco monopoly production enterprise permits, or production delegation that does not meet the approved capacity and production scale.”

(6) Add a new item as the fifth item of Article 21: “(5) Violations of naming regulations for electronic cigarette products.”

4. Amend the “Traceability Management Rules for Electronic Cigarettes” (Guo Yan Ban [2022] No. 43)

(1) Change Article 9 to: “Electronic cigarette manufacturing enterprises (including product manufacturing, contract processing, brand holders, etc.) and wholesale enterprises shall use the electronic cigarette traceability platform to apply for, upload, query, and report scrapped electronic cigarette product QR codes.”

(2) Change Article 14 to: “Electronic cigarette manufacturing enterprises and wholesale enterprises shall establish and improve supporting systems and necessary facilities for traceability management, and shall apply for and use electronic cigarette product QR codes within the scope of approved licensing, capacity (excluding brand holders), and production scale by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.”

(3) Change the first paragraph of Article 15 to: “Electronic cigarette manufacturing enterprises holding permits for domestic sales of electronic cigarettes.”

(4) Change the third item of the first paragraph of Article 15 to: “(3) Transaction contracts with wholesale enterprises, and for delegated production, also include transaction contracts with contract manufacturing enterprises.”

(5) Change Article 17 to: “Electronic cigarette manufacturing enterprises shall label QR codes on the outer packaging of electronic cigarette products according to relevant requirements, ensuring the QR code information matches the physical product. Unused QR codes from previous years shall be carried over to the current year; QR codes no longer in use shall be scrapped upon application. The total QR codes used in a year (including carried-over codes) shall not exceed the approved capacity (excluding brand holders) and production scale.”

5. Amend the “Management Rules for Import and Export of Electronic Cigarettes and Foreign Economic and Technological Cooperation” (Guo Yan Fa [2022] No. 125)

(1) Change the first paragraph of Article 11 to: “Electronic cigarette manufacturing enterprises (including product manufacturing, contract processing, brand holders, etc.), atomizer manufacturing enterprises, and nicotine manufacturing enterprises (hereinafter referred to as electronic cigarette-related manufacturing enterprises) shall produce and operate electronic cigarettes and raw materials for export within the approved licensing scope, capacity (excluding brand holders), and export production scale.”

(2) Change the second paragraph of Article 11 to: “For overseas orders exceeding the approved export production scale, enterprises shall follow relevant procedures on the electronic cigarette trading management platform and obtain approval before organizing related production and sales.”

6. Amend the “Management Rules for Establishment, Division, Merger, and Dissolution of Electronic Cigarette-Related Manufacturing Enterprises” (Guo Yan Ban [2022] No. 104)

(1) Change the second paragraph of Article 22 to: “After division or merger, electronic cigarette-related manufacturing enterprises shall re-apply for the tobacco monopoly production enterprise permit. For matters involving fixed asset investment, capacity verification, and production scale, handle according to the relevant regulations of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.”

7. Amend the “Integrated Government Service Platform Electronic License for Tobacco Monopoly Production Enterprises Part 2: Electronic Cigarettes” (Guo Yan Ban Zong [2024] No. 25)

(1) Change “production scale” in 5.1, 7.1.1, and 7.2 to “approved capacity.”

(2) Change 5.5.3 to: "5.5.3 Approved Capacity

"Chinese name: Approved capacity;

"English name: approved production capacity;

"Abbreviation: HDCN;

"Description: The annual production and operation capacity information of electronic nicotine, atomizer, and electronic cigarette products for enterprises holding a tobacco monopoly production enterprise permit (for electronic cigarettes);

"Data type and format: C…1000;

"Value domain: Free text, approved and managed by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration based on the total management requirements for electronic cigarette supply and demand dynamics;

"Constraints: Required;

“Example value: Electronic nicotine does not exceed 1.0 tons/year.”

Additionally, relevant document clauses, punctuation, and numbering have been adjusted accordingly.

This notice shall be effective from the date of issuance.

The “Several Policy Measures for Promoting the Legalization and Standardization of the Electronic Cigarette Industry (Trial),” “Regulations on Fixed Asset Investment Management of Electronic Cigarettes,” “Implementation Rules for Technical Review of Electronic Cigarette Products,” “Traceability Management Rules for Electronic Cigarettes,” “Management Rules for Import and Export of Electronic Cigarettes and Foreign Economic and Technological Cooperation,” “Management Rules for Establishment, Division, Merger, and Dissolution of Electronic Cigarette-Related Manufacturing Enterprises,” and “Integrated Government Service Platform Electronic License for Tobacco Monopoly Production Enterprises Part 2: Electronic Cigarettes” are amended accordingly based on this notice, with adjustments to the order of clauses, and re-published.