Regulations of the Shenzhen Municipality on the Verification of the Prices of Articles Concerning Legal Cases

(Adopted at the Fifteenth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Third Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on April 26, 2002, approved at the Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the Ninth Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress on July 25, 2002, promulgated on August 16, 2002, and put into force from October 1, 2002)

Chapter I General Provisions

       Article 1 In order to standardize the acts of the verification of the prices of articles concerning legal cases, defend the national interests and the legal rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, and maintain both the administrative law enforcement and the administration of justice in normality, these regulations are hereby formulated in accordance with the related laws, regulations of the state and in light of the practical conditions of the Shenzhen City.

       Article 2 These regulations shall apply to the verification of the prices of articles concerning legal cases (hereinafter referred to as price verification) in the Shenzhen City.

       Article 3 The articles concerning legal cases referred to in these regulations shall mean the following articles involved in the criminal and administrative cases which are handled by judicial offices, administrative law enforcement offices (hereinafter referred to as entrusting offices):

(1)   booties;

(2)   forfeiture;

(3)   seized, distressed, recovered articles;

(4)   the other articles concerning legal cases.

The price verification referred to in these regulations shall mean the acts taken by

a price verification agency authorized by an entrusting office to do both appraisal and verification of the prices of articles concerning legal cases which are not clear or are difficult to be ascertained.

       Article 4 Price verification shall follow the principle of legality, objectivity, scientism, and impartiality.

       Article 5 The department of the municipal government in charge of prices (hereinafter referred to as the responsible department) shall conduct the supervision, administration and direction of price verification.

       Article 6 The administration and price verification of price verification agencies shall be fully funded by the appropriation from the public finance, no verification fee shall be charged for the verification of the prices of articles concerning legal cases.

Chapter II Price Verification Agencies and Price Appraisers

       Article 7 If entrusting offices, in handling criminal, administrative cases, need to verify the prices of articles concerning these cases, they shall process to price verification.

       Article 8 The price verification agencies approved to be established by the municipal, district governments shall be responsible for price verification, the other agencies and individuals shall not be engaged in price verification unless there are other stipulations in laws, regulations.

       Article 9 Price appraisers shall conduct price verification independently according to law.

       Entrusting offices, other offices and individuals shall not interfere in price appraisers’ activities of price appraisal.

       Article 10 Price appraisers shall, according to the related rules of the state, meet practicing requirements for price appraisal, register according to law, and then may do price appraisal in price verification agencies.

       Article 11 Price verification agencies, when doing their professional work, may look up the documents and materials needed for price verification at entrusting offices, make on-the-spot investigations, and ask for the necessary assistance from entrusting offices.

       Article 12 Price appraisers, when doing price appraisal, shall abide by the related laws, regulations, the rules on practicing, and the professional ethics, and guarantee the objectivity, fairness, and promptness of the results of price verification.

       Article 13 Price appraisers shall perform the obligations to keep secret.

Chapter III Basis and Procedure of Price Verification

       Article 14 Price verification agencies and price appraisers shall, based on the following rules, verify the reasonable prices of articles concerning legal cases on the base date of price verification:

(1)   if the price is set by the state, the verification shall be done according to the state-set price;

(2)   if the price is guided by the state, the verification shall based on the medium-standard price, the calculation shall be made by reference to the market price level, and the price shall be within the limits set by the state;

(3)   if the price is adjusted by the market, the calculation shall be made in comparison with the medium market price, the reasonable price shall not be lower than the production cost of a producer-enterprise in normal production or the purchase cost of a distributor-enterprise, shall not exceed the general rate of profit or the mark-up, and shall be close to the average cost of production of the commodity in the industry plus the average rate of profit in the society.

Article 15 Generally speaking, the base date of price verification shall be the date

when the case takes place unless there are other stipulations in laws, regulations.

       Article 16 Price verification agencies shall send cultural relics, postage stamps, calligraphy and paintings, gold, silver, jewelry and their products, which are entrusted for price verification, to the related professional units for technology, quality appraisals, and conduct price verification based on the results of these appraisals.

       Article 17 No price verification shall be done for the following articles:

(1)   the prohibited articles such as drugs, obscene objects, guns and ammunitions, knives under control, etc.;

(2)   the precious cultural relics of Grade 3 or higher as items of museum collections;

(3)   the animals,  plants and their products under priority protection according to the rules of the state;

(4)   the other articles which do not need price verification according to the rules of the state.

Article 18 Entrusting offices, when entrusting price verification agencies with

price verification, shall present written letters of attorney, and provide the articles concerning legal cases and the materials needed for price verification.

       Article 19 The content of a letter of attorney shall be truthful, lawful.

       The letter of attorney shall include the following main items:

      (1) the entrusting office;

      (2) the goals and requirements of entrustment;

      (3) the names, specifications, models, quantities of articles concerning legal cases;

      (4) the time of the occurrence of the case and the base date of price verification;

      (5) the other matters which have to be explained

       Article 20 Price verification agencies shall examine letters of attorney, accept those which are within the scope of price verification; an explanation shall be given in case of rejection.

       Article 21 There shall be two or more price appraisers to do price verification for one entrusted item.

       Article 22 If a designated price appraiser has interest in the party concerned of a case and the item to be entrusted for verification or has other relationships which might adversely affect the fairness of the result of verification, this appraiser shall withdraw.

       If an entrusting office finds what is referred to in the previous section, it may challenge the appraiser. The head of the price verification agency shall decide whether this appraiser should withdraw. If the head of a price verification agency is an appraiser, his/her withdrawal shall be decided by the responsible department.

       If the party concerned of a case and interested person want to challenge an appraiser, they may ask an entrusting office to do so.

       Article 23 Price appraisers shall, according to the needs of price verification, inspect articles, do market surveys, collect the related evidence and materials, and come out with conclusions of their appraisals on time.

Chapter IV Conclusion of Price Verification and Review of Verification

       Article 24 The price verification agency shall submit a conclusion letter of price verification to the entrusting office within 5 days from the date of accepting the letter of attorney unless there is another agreement between the price verification agency and the entrusting office.

       Article 25 The conclusion letter of price verification shall include the following items:

(1)   the names, specifications, models, and quantities of the articles whose prices have been verified;

(2)   the basis of price verification;

(3)   the methods and the main procedures of price verification;

(4)   the conclusion of price verification;

(5)   the other issues and materials which need to be explained.

The conclusion letter of price verification shall be signed by the price appraiser

and stamped with an official seal by the price verification agency.

       Article 26 The price of an article concerning a legal case confirmed by a conclusion of price verification may be used as a reserve price for this item in auction.

Article 27 If any entrusting office has an objection against a conclusion of price verification, it may apply for a review of the verification within 15 days from the date of receiving the conclusion letter of price verification. If the party concerned of a case and interested persons have an objection against a conclusion of price verification, they may apply to the originally entrusting office for a review of the verification, and explain the reason and the basis. After receiving the application, the entrusting office shall accept it and make an investigation; if the office thinks it is unnecessary to have a review of the verification, it shall give the applicants a written reply.

Any review of verification shall include the re-verification conducted by the original price verification agency and the review decision made by a price verification agency approved to be established by a government of a higher level.

Article 28 When an entrusting office asks for a review of the entrustment with price verification, it shall submit the letter of attorney, and explain the reason and the basis.

Article 29 When conducting a re-verification, a price verification agency shall submit to the entrusting office a conclusion of verification within 5 business days from the date of accepting the entrustment with re-verification unless there is another agreement between the price verification agency and the entrusting office.

When a price verification agency conducts re-verification, it shall designate two or more other appraisers than the original appraisers for this work.

       Article 30 The office of review decision shall notify the original price verification agency after accepting the entrustment with review decision.

       The office of review decision shall submit a conclusion letter of review decision to the entrusting office within 5 business days from the date of accepting the entrustment unless there is another agreement between the office of review decision and the entrusting office.

       Article 31 The conclusion letter of review decision shall include the following items:
      (1) the reason to accept the entrustment with review decision;

      (2) the basis of review decision;

      (3) the methods and the main procedures of review decision;

      (4) the conclusion of review decision;

      (5) the other issues and materials which need to be explained.

       The conclusion letter of review decision shall be sent to the original price verification agency at the same time when the conclusion letter of review decision is submitted to the entrusting office.

       Article 32 If the conclusion of original verification is in contradiction with the conclusion of review decision, it shall cease to be valid.

       Article 33 If the price verification agency approved to be established by a government of a higher level has already had a conclusion of price verification, the entrustment with review decision shall not be accepted.

       Article 34 If a price verification agency finds that a conclusion of price verification or a review decision, which it issued, has a mistake, it shall cancel or rectify the conclusion or the decision, and notify the entrusting office in writing.

Chapter V Legal Liabilities

       Article 35 If the price verification agency established without approval by the municipal, district governments and the price appraisers without meeting the practicing requirements for price verification, in violation of these regulations, are engaged in price verification, the responsible department shall confiscate illegal earnings, and may impose a fine of less than 20,000 RMB as well.

       Article 36 If a price appraiser, in violation of Article 13 of these regulations, fails to perform the obligation to keep secret according to law, the responsible department shall impose an administrative sanction.

       Article 37 If a price verification agency violates law by issuing a false conclusion of verification, its conclusion of price verification shall be invalid. The responsible department shall impose an administrative sanction on the head of the agency according to the circumstances; if there is a resultant loss for the party concerned, the price verification agency shall make compensation.

       The responsible department shall impose administrative sanctions on the directly responsible persons, and may suggest the superior responsible department to disqualify them for practicing price verification; if a crime is constituted, the criminal responsibility shall be investigated into according to law.

       Article 38 If an entrusting office provides false information and materials or entrusts an unqualified price verification agency with price verification, the conclusion of verification shall be invalid. If there is a resultant undesirable consequence, administrative sanctions shall be imposed on the related responsible persons; if a crime is constituted, the criminal responsibility shall be investigated into according to law; if there is a resultant loss for the party concerned, the entrusting office shall make compensation.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions