Seed Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2013)
Seed Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2013)
Seed Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2013)
Order of the President [2013] No.5
June 29, 2013
(Adopted during the 16th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on July 8, 2000; amended for the first time during the 11th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress on August 28, 2004; and amended for the second time according to Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending 12 Laws including the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China at the 3rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress on June 29, 2013)
Contents
Chapter 1 General Provisions
Chapter 2 Protection of Seed Resources
Chapter 3 Selection, Cultivation, Examination and Approval of Seeds
Chapter 4 Production of Seeds
Chapter 5 Business Operations of Seeds
Chapter 6 Usage of Seeds
Chapter 7 Quality of Seeds
Chapter 8 Import and Export of and Foreign Cooperation Involving Seeds
Chapter 9 Administrative Management over Seeds
Chapter 10 Legal Liabilities
Chapter 11 Supplementary Provisions
Chapter 1 General Provisions
Article 1 This law is enacted in order to make reasonable use of seed resources; control the selection, production, business operations and uses of seeds; protect the lawful rights of the producers, business operators and users of seeds; promote seed quality; drive the industrialization process involving seeds; and accelerate the development of the planting and forestry industries.
Article 2 This law applies to the breeding, selection, production, business operations, usage, and management of seeds, and other activities in China. The term "seed" in this Law refers to the materials of "crops" and "forest trees" used for planting or propagation, including seed grains, fruits, roots, stems, seedlings, buds and leaves.
Article 3 The Agriculture and Forestry departments under the State Council are, respectively, in charge of work involving crop seeds and forest tree seeds in China. The local crop administrative and forestry administrative departments, above the county level, should take charge, respectively, of the work of crop seed and forest tree seed within their administrative regions.
Article 4 The State supports the protection of seed resources, and the breeding, production, rebirth and popularization of quality seeds. The State encourages the combination of seed breeding and seed production, and encourages and rewards any person/entity who/that has a good performance in the work of seed resource protection, quality seed selection, breeding and popularization.
Article 5 The people's government, above the county level, should make development plans, in accordance with the guidelines of Making Use of Science and Education to Improve Agriculture, and in accordance with the requirements for the development of the planting and forestry industries. Also, the people's government, above the county level, should adopt some methods of finance, credit and revenue to ensure the implementation of the plans.
Article 6 Special funds shall be dispersed by the State Council and the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the State Council to support the selection, breeding and popularization of quality seeds. The State Council shall provide detailed measures.
Article 7 The State shall establish a reserve seed system to meet the demand of production, in the event of a calamity, and to ensure the safety of agricultural production. The reserve seeds shall be checked and replaced on a regular basis. The State Council shall provide detailed measures for the seed reserves.
Chapter 2 Protection of Seed Resources
Article 8 The State, by law, protects seed resources. No individual or entity may take or destroy seed resources.
Wild seed resources are also subject to special protection by the State, and shall be prohibited from gathering or cutting.
In special cases, such as scientific research, where it is necessary to collect or fell, the collection or felling shall be subject to the approval of the administrative departments of agriculture and forestry of the State Council, or the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the State Council.
Article 9 The State collects, sorts out, appraises, records, conserves, exchanges and uses seed resources in a planned way, and regularly releases the catalogue of available seed resources. The administrative departments of agriculture and forestry under the State Council shall provide detailed measures for the above-listed activities.
The administrative departments of agriculture and forestry under the State Council shall establish a State seed-resource database, and the administrative departments of agriculture and forestry, under the people's governments of the provinces, municipalities and municipalities directly under the State Council, may, where necessary, establish seed-resource databases, protection zones or seed-resource protection areas, based on requirements.
Article 10 The State has sovereignty over seed resources. Supplies by any individual or entity of seed resources to foreign countries shall be subject to the approval of the administrative departments of agriculture and forestry under the State Council. The introduction of foreign seed resources into China should be handled in accordance with relevant stipulations of the administrative departments of agriculture and forestry under the State Council.
Chapter 3 Selection, Cultivation, Examination and Approval of Seeds
Article 11 The administrative departments of agriculture, forestry, education and science and technology, under the State Council and the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, shall organize relevant units to conduct research into seed selection and the techniques and methods of seed selection. The National People's Congress encourages and supports entities and individuals to breed and develop quality seeds.
Article 12 The State shall establish a new plant-species-protection system.
The system will designate species that are cultured or discovered in the wilderness, and which have not yet been cultivated or developed, and which are characterized as novel, special, consistent and stable, as new species.
The plant species protection system for new plants will protect the lawful rights and interests of the holder. The detailed rules shall be carried out in accordance with relevant provisions of Chinese is used widely through dissemination, the breeder shall be entitled to obtain corresponding economic profits, in accordance with the law.
Article 13 If the individual and/or entity's income because the administrative departments of forestry establish test forest trees, mensuration forests, excellent tree collection areas and/or gene bases, the administrative department of forestry, approved for establishment, shall provide economic compensation, in accordance with relevant stipulations.
Article 14 A safety assessment shall be carried out for the selection, breed, test, examination and popularization of gene-transfer-plant species, and the method of safety shall be adopted strictly. The State Council shall determine the details.
Article 15 The main crop or tree species shall pass the safety examination and be approved at the national or provincial level prior to popularization.
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