The latest news from the China National Development and Reform Commission's Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau (the “Anti-Monopoly Bureauâ€), defined by the outside world as the first round of anti-monopoly storms, said that an anti-monopoly guide for the auto industry Research drafting has been officially launched. The six anti-monopoly guidelines included in the timetable cover intellectual property abuse, anti-monopoly regulation in the automobile industry, leniency system, exemption procedures, suspension of investigation procedures, and calculation of fines.
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"The National Development and Reform Commission has always wanted to do such an anti-monopoly industry guide," a person close to the NDRC's anti-monopoly bureau told reporters. The anti-monopoly guide for the automobile industry is the first law enforcement regulation in China that is compatible with the Anti-Monopoly Law. The introduction of this guide, whether it is the official interpretation or the analysis of the industry, has positioned it as "meaning that car anti-monopoly will enter the normal state." "Developing this guide, on the one hand, gives the auto industry a common law, on the other hand, it also allows anti-monopoly law enforcement personnel to further understand the complexity of the auto industry." Shen Jinjun, deputy secretary general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that fundamentally, In order to make anti-monopoly law enforcement more transparent. It is understood that this kick-off meeting invited representatives of major domestic associations, auto manufacturers and relevant industry experts to participate in the discussion.
But the content of this guide is more topical, why is the car the first industry that needs this code of practice? And why is the standardization and transparency of law enforcement presented in a non-legally binding form like a “guide�
The in-depth influence and controversy of a series of anti-monopoly events in the auto industry last year, as well as the complexity of auto anti-monopoly operations, exceeded the NDRC's expectations. Although the National Development and Reform Commission has long planned to introduce anti-monopoly enforcement rules for various industries, the opening of the anti-monopoly guide for the automobile industry does have special considerations and entanglements.
Using the "guide" to resolve the issue, the reporter learned that on June 12, the state anti-monopoly law enforcement department officially announced at the relevant preparatory meeting held by the organization that the first anti-monopoly guide for the automobile industry officially launched the drafting work. Institutions including China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China Automobile Dealers Association, and China Automotive Research Institute were invited to participate in the discussion.
Formulating anti-monopoly rules for individual industries is the "tool" that the NDRC feels most urgently needed after summarizing the anti-monopoly combat in the past few years. “The National Development and Reform Commission has always wanted to make such a guide. Because until now, the anti-monopoly-related regulations only have the “Anti-Monopoly Law†promulgated in August 2008, supplemented by the “Anti-Price Monopoly Regulations†of the National Development and Reform Commission and the “Business and Industry Administration of the State Administration for Industry and Commerceâ€. The regulations governing the prohibition of monopoly agreements by the administrative authorities, all industries are based on these provisions. This has also led to the question of the selective enforcement of the NDRC. "Related to the NDRC's anti-monopoly bureau, the relevant person told reporters.
Since June last year, the National Development and Reform Commission has carried out a rapid and strong anti-monopoly law enforcement investigation on several major transnational and pure imported luxury car brands. The whole vehicle brand involves Hubei Audi monopoly case, Jiangsu Benz monopoly case, Wuhan BMW dealership. Monopoly case, Shanghai Chrysler dealer monopoly case. Among them, the last penalty for Mercedes-Benz was implemented by the Jiangsu Provincial Price Bureau in April this year: a fine of 350 million yuan for Mercedes-Benz companies involved in price anti-monopoly cases and a fine of 7.869 million yuan for some Mercedes-Benz dealers. The anti-monopoly involved both upstream suppliers and authorized dealers, and the biggest penalty during the period came from the 1,235 million fines issued to 12 Japanese parts companies.
This kind of strength not only makes the auto industry accustomed to various unspoken rules stunned, but also attracts the attention of public opinion. At the same time, the suspicion of the legitimacy of raid law enforcement, the ignorance of the rules of the automobile sales field, and the selective law enforcement and punishment. Consumers’ concerns about the chaos in the field of auto sales and the difficulty in protecting their rights have also deepened. “Compared with steel, textile and other industries, automobiles are large consumer goods. The administrative measures for automobiles are easy to resonate among consumers, and media reports are easily amplified.†Cheng Xiaodong, chief automobile analyst of the National Development and Reform Commission Price Monitoring Center, told reporters. It is said that from the perspective of the sensitivity, complexity and social attention of automobile anti-monopoly, it is necessary to first formulate an anti-monopoly guide for the automobile industry.
The reporter was informed that in the Hubei Audi price anti-monopoly case in August last year, because it was not a simple dealer's unilateral horizontal and vertical price monopoly, but involved the long-term interest disputes between the local auto insurance industry and the 4S shop, therefore, the punishment As a result, the relevant automobile dealer association filed an objection complaint to the NDRC. At present, the National Development and Reform Commission has accepted and launched an investigation.
According to relevant persons close to the Anti-Monopoly Bureau, the anti-monopoly guide will cover all aspects of the operation from filing to investigation to punishment, before, during, and after the entire anti-monopoly investigation, if the respondent has Objections, how to conduct complaints, etc., will formulate and publish standardized operating rules.
According to sources from the industry, the automobile anti-monopoly guide will provide guidance on the realization of the free flow of automobile original parts under certain preconditions, the effective competition in the automobile after-sales market, and the respect and protection of intellectual property rights. “It’s not unconsidered to introduce it in the form of regulations, but in that case the process is too long. And in the form of the Guide, it’s much faster to introduce a normative document for an industry within a ministry. The above-mentioned person close to the Anti-Monopoly Bureau disclosed that because it is a guide document, it is lower in binding force than the formal regulations, but the introduction efficiency is higher, and the initiative of interpretation is in the hands of the NDRC.
Another information that has to be mentioned is the standardization of anti-monopoly law enforcement in automobiles. This is also considered to be one of the most urgent tasks since the new leadership of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission took office. In March of this year, Xu Quanlin, a Chinese anti-monopoly representative known for his strong style, officially retired as the director of the Anti-monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission after he announced the huge anti-monopoly penalty for Qualcomm's 6 billion yuan. During the anti-monopoly investigation of Xu Kunlin's continuous high-pressure period, the anti-monopoly storm launched by a number of multinational auto companies caused widespread concern in the society, but also caused disputes about himself and the anti-monopoly bureau, as well as anti-monopoly enforcement measures against China. The challenge of law enforcement standards has been further magnified. There are some foreign-funded enterprises and foreign representative organizations.
At the same time that Xu Kunlin retired, the main leadership positions of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau also carried out a three-year rotation. Resolving the question of anti-monopoly by all sectors of society is considered to be the first problem that the new anti-monopoly bureau team must solve.
In addition to defusing external disputes and entrenched monopolistic rules for the automotive industry, this guideline is also expected to become the most targeted clamp.
“Each industry has the particularity of each industry. The automobile industry chain is very long. From the supply chain to the marketing link, there are many practices that have been formed for many years. Therefore, in addition to so many anti-monopoly cases that have occurred, What regulations have actually violated the anti-monopoly law, which requires the law and vigilance.†Shen Jinjun believes that on the basis of the first round of anti-monopoly cases, the NDRC has also come to a summary. It's time.
However, in addition to vigilance and popular law, many industry professionals who are concerned about auto anti-monopoly have told reporters that in a sense, this "Guide" is also aimed at completely eliminating the industry ills of automakers using the rules as an excuse to monopolize. "It is a bit far-fetched to say that automakers do not know that their practices violate the anti-monopoly law. It is obviously an excuse." Cheng Xiaodong pointed out that a large auto manufacturer cannot be unfamiliar with such important legal provisions of the Anti-Monopoly Law. Especially for multinational car companies. The reason for the monopolistic behavior of manufacturers' price limits and dealer price alliances, which are common in the auto industry, was to launch a large-scale investigation last year. He believes that this is related to the development stage of the Chinese auto market. In the early stage of the development of the automobile market, adhering to the attitude of opening up the market, relevant industry departments took a tacit and wait-and-see attitude toward the strong behavior of manufacturers in the automobile, especially in the imported car market. However, with the development of the automobile market and the intensification and intensification of contradictions, these acquiescence "grey zones" have also been completely cleared. "I personally think that the anti-monopoly investigation of the car after the introduction of the guide will be more transparent and more disciplined. It can avoid more controversy and break the luck of the company."
Standing on the dealer's standpoint, Shen Jinjun also believes that the “publication†of the guidelines for the anti-monopoly enforcement operations is also conducive to the openness and transparency of anti-monopoly. This is necessary for the normalization of automobile anti-monopoly. Of course, this is also an opportunity for law enforcement officials to have a deep understanding of the automotive industry.
It is worth noting that due to the automobile anti-monopoly guide and the normalized automobile anti-monopoly investigation that will start, it will involve all parts of the industrial chain such as parts suppliers, vehicle manufacturers and dealers, so it will inevitably be on domestic cars. The industry landscape has an impact.
The reporter learned that, for the above reasons, the revised version of the "Automobile Brand Sales and Management Measures", which is known as the institutional root cause of the auto industry monopoly, will also be affected. Shen Jinjun revealed that the new version of the "Automobile Sales Measures" is still being revised. In principle, the content already specified in various professional regulations will not be repeated in the new method, and the professional regulations will prevail. This means that in the core product pricing rights and original parts licensing, there may be new ways to fundamentally change the status quo, but the introduction of future anti-monopoly guidelines is expected to help break the malformation of the existing industrial chain. status.