Jing Gui Zi Fa [2021] No. 383

Notice by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources on the Implementation of Notification Commitment System to Handle the Planning Permit for Privately-Invested Low-Risk Projects

To all branch offices, divisions & offices of relevant authorities, departments under the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, and the Office of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development,

To further optimize the business environment, increase the vitality and social creativity of market entities, deepen the reforms to delegate powers, improve regulation and optimize services, facilitate investment and construction, and drive high-quality development, the following notice is hereby issued on the implementation of the requirement notification and compliance commitment mechanism for granting planning permits to low-risk construction projects with non-government investment in Beijing:

I. Legal Basis for the Implementation of the Requirement Notification and Compliance Commitment Mechanism

The requirement notification and compliance commitment mechanism is proposed to be implemented for granting planning permits to certain low-risk construction projects with non-government investment in Beijing in light of the current situation of the approval and operation of such projects in Beijing as per the requirements of the Regulations on Urban and Rural Planning of Beijing and the Beijing Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment as well as other relevant municipal provisions on the implementation of the requirement notification and compliance commitment mechanism for government services.

II. Scope and Conditions for Application of the Requirement Notification and Compliance Commitment Mechanism

For the non-residential projects that fall within the list of low-risk construction projects with non-government investment in Beijing, the applicant commits that the application materials it submits conform to the integrated planning implementation plan approved by the authority in charge of the plot where the project is located (including the Multiple Regulation Compliance Confirmation by Multiple Authorities (MRCCMA)), and applies to the requirement notification and compliance commitment mechanism for obtaining planning permits or rural planning permits (including provisional permits) (hereinafter referred to as "planning permits") of construction projects.

III. Application Materials

In addition to the materials required for the application of planning permits, the applicant shall also submit the Letter of Notification and Commitment for Granting Planning Permits or Rural Planning Permits (including Provisional Permits) to Low-risk Construction Projects With Non-Government Investment (hereinafter referred to as the "LNC") affixed with its official seal, and commit that the application materials it submits comply with relevant laws, regulations and design specifications, and the usage function, scale, height, general layout and other aspects of buildings meet the requirements of the integrated planning implementation plan.

IV. Procedures of Review and Approval

The procedures for the review and approval of planning permits consist of three stages including acceptance, processing and random inspection.

(I). Acceptance. If, according to preliminary judgment of the acceptor, the projects under application are eligible for the requirement notification and compliance commitment mechanism for low-risk construction projects with non-government investment, and the applicant has signed the "LNC" with complete materials submitted in a legal form, the application shall be accepted.

(II). Processing. All branch offices at the district level shall check whether the application materials are complete and conform to the legal form, and review whether the commitments in the LNC are complete and clearly stated. For those meeting requirements, a decision on granting permits shall be made directly, and for licensing matters applied online, a decision on granting permits shall be made within half of a working day. The planning permits to be granted under the requirement notification and compliance commitment mechanism that involve joint examination and approval of tree removal and construction permits shall be processed according to the current linking model.

(III). Random Inspection. All branch offices at the district level shall carry out random inspection on all of the materials submitted by the applicant as of the following working day after the permit is issued. The random inspection aims verify whether the project is consistent with the commitments, and whether application materials comply with applicable laws, regulations and the requirements of the integrated planning implementation plan. In case of breach of commitment, the authorities in charge of approval shall issue a written notice to the applicant within 20 working days after the permit is issued, and hold the applicant liable according to the severity of the breach of commitment. If authorities fail to issue the notice within the designated time, the applicant shall be deemed to have passed the random inspection.

V. Classification of Breach of Commitment

(I). General breach of commitment.

The applicant shall be liable for general breach of commitment if the application materials are not completely consistent with the requirements of the integrated planning implementation plan in terms of building usage, scale, height, location and outer size, and the construction has not yet commenced.

(II). Major breach of commitment.

i. The applicant shall be liable for major breach of commitment if the application materials are inconsistent with the requirements of the integrated planning implementation plan in terms of building usage, scale, height, location and outer size, and the construction has not yet commenced.

ii. If the applicant fails to make rectifications for general breach of commitment in time.

(III). Serious breach of commitment.

i. The applicant shall be liable for serious breach of commitment if the application materials are inconsistent with the requirements of the integrated planning implementation plan in terms of building usage, scale, height, location and outer size, and the construction has commenced.

ii. If the application materials are in violation of applicable laws and regulations.

iii. If the applicant has provided false materials or has obtained the permit in other fraudulent ways.

iv. If the applicant has committed major breach of commitment and fails to make rectifications in time.

VI. Corresponding Penalties on Breach of Commitment

The following measures shall be taken respectively by the authority in charge of approval as corresponding penalties against applicants with breach of commitment according to its severity.

(II). General breach of commitment.

i. The authority in charge of approval shall notify the applicant in writing within 20 working days after the permit is issued and order the applicant to make rectifications within 10 working days. If the applicant fails to make rectifications in time or if breach of commitment still exists after rectification, the applicant shall be deemed liable for major breach of commitment.

ii. In such case, the applicant and the designer shall be listed as priority objectives for inspection, and the application materials submitted by them shall be subject to rigorous review.

(II). Major breach of commitment.

i. The authority in charge of approval shall notify the applicant in writing within 20 working days after the permit is issued and order the applicant to make rectifications within 10 working days. If the applicant fails to make rectifications in time or if the breach of commitment still exists after rectification, the applicant shall be deemed liable for serious breach of commitment.

ii. In such case, this misconduct of the applicant and the designer shall be recorded in the credit information platform and posted for public review for 6 months.

iii. Such applicant shall not be eligible to this mechanism for obtaining rural planning permits, and to enjoy the approval services for low-risk construction projects in the following 1 year.

(III). Serious breach of commitment.

i. In such cases, the planning permit granted to the project shall be revoked, and the case shall be reported to the corresponding housing and urban-rural development authority. Projects already under construction shall be subject to measures against illegal structures taken by the law enforcement authority.

ii. This misconduct of the applicant and the designer shall be recorded in the credit information platform, and posted for public review for 1 year.

iii. The applicant will not be eligible to this mechanism for obtaining rural planning permits, and to enjoy the approval services for low-risk construction projects in the following 1 year.

iv. In case of serious breach of commitment due to designing, the misconduct of the designer shall be recorded in the credit information platform, and reported to competent authorities for follow-up measures.

(IV). Where the planning permit is revoked due to matters attributable to the applicant, the legal liabilities arising therefrom shall be borne by the applicant. The applicant shall also assume corresponding legal liabilities for any adverse impacts or losses caused to a third party.

VII. Work Requirements

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources shall publish and notify applicants in one go of the conditions, standards, documents to be submitted and legal responsibilities to be fulfilled. The format and text of the LNC shall be made public in the office premises, the place where the approval matters are accepted and the official website for administrative counterparts to access and download.

This Notice is hereby given.

Annex: Letter of Notification and Commitment for Granting Planning Permits or Rural Planning Permits (including Provisional Permits) to Low-risk Construction Projects with Non-Government Investment (Sample)

Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources

November 10, 2021