Three departments, including the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), have jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting Standardized and Healthy Development of Online Auction (the "Opinions").
The Opinions propose specific measures for the regulation and innovation-driven development of online auction, with a view to maintaining the fair competition order of auction market and the healthy development of auction industry. The Opinions call for adhering to the consistency in auction-related regulatory rules, adding that online auctions shall abide by auction laws and regulations, and online auction platform operators shall fulfill their primary responsibilities in such aspects as auction licensing and cultural relic auction qualification verification. Meanwhile, efforts shall be made to encourage the innovation-driven development of the online auction market, build information sharing and law enforcement linkage mechanisms among relevant departments, strengthen interdepartmental collaboration, and improve the overall coordination between regulatory policies. Notably, the Opinions stress the action to lawfully investigate and punish the implementation of monopolistic agreements and abuse of market dominance committed by online auction platforms, illegal concentration of undertakings and unfair competition acts, to lawfully stop any abuse of administrative power in the field of online auction to exclude and restrict competition.