Business license is a certificate issued by the administrative department for industry and commerce to industrial and commercial enterprises and individual operators to engage in certain production and business activities. Its format shall be uniformly stipulated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
The registered items include: name, address, person in charge, amount of funds, economic composition, business scope, business mode, number of employees, business period, etc. Business licenses are divided into originals and duplicates, which have the same legal effect. The original shall be placed in a prominent position in the company's domicile or business premises, and the business license shall not be forged, altered, leased, lent or transferred.
Without a business license, industrial and commercial enterprises or individual operators are not allowed to start business, engrave official seals, sign contracts, register trademarks or advertise, and banks are not allowed to open accounts.
Legal basis:
Decree No.370th of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Measures for the Investigation and Ban of Unlicensed Business.
Article 3 For business activities involving human health, public safety, production safety, environmental protection, development and utilization of natural resources and other laws and regulations, the licensing examination and approval department must carry out licensing examination and approval in strict accordance with the conditions and procedures stipulated by laws and regulations. The administrative department for industry and commerce must go through the registration formalities with the license or other approval documents issued by the license examination and approval department and issue a business license.
Article 4 The following illegal acts shall be investigated and dealt with by the administrative department for industry and commerce in accordance with the provisions of these Measures:
(a) should obtain a license or other approval documents, business license in accordance with the law, but did not obtain a license to conduct business activities;
(2) Operating without a business license, engaging in business activities without authorization, and obtaining a business license without obtaining a license or other approval documents;
(three) unlicensed business activities that have obtained licenses or other approval documents according to law, but have not obtained business licenses according to law;
(4) Operating without a license after cancellation of registration or revocation of business license, and continuing to engage in business activities without authorization after the expiration of the business license;
(5) engaging in illegal business activities beyond the business scope approved and registered, and engaging in business activities that can only be carried out after obtaining a license or other approval documents.
The acts specified in Items (1) and (5) of the preceding paragraph shall also be investigated and dealt with by the licensing examination and approval departments of public security, land and resources, construction, culture, health, quality inspection, environmental protection, press and publication, drug supervision and safety production supervision and management (hereinafter referred to as licensing examination and approval departments) in accordance with the duties entrusted by laws and regulations. However, an administrative penalty of more than two fines shall not be imposed on the same illegal act of the party concerned.
Fourteenth acts of unlicensed operation shall be banned by the administrative department for industry and commerce according to law, and the illegal income shall be confiscated; Those who violate the criminal law shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the criminal law on the crime of illegal business operation, the crime of major accidents, the crime of major labor safety accidents, the crime of causing accidents with dangerous goods or other crimes; If it is not serious enough for criminal punishment, it shall be fined not more than 20,000 yuan; If the scale of unlicensed operation is large and the social harm is serious, a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan shall be imposed; Unlicensed business practices are harmful to human health, have major security risks, threaten public safety and destroy environmental resources. Confiscate tools, equipment, raw materials, products (commodities) and other property specially used for unlicensed operation, and impose a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan.
Where there are other provisions in laws and regulations on the punishment for operating without a license, such provisions shall prevail.
Article 15 Whoever knows or should know that it is operating without a license as stipulated in these Measures and provides conditions such as production and business premises, transportation and storage for it, shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to immediately stop the illegal act, confiscate the illegal income and impose a fine of not more than 20,000 yuan; Those who provide production and business premises, transportation, storage, warehousing and other conditions for unlicensed business activities that endanger human health, have major security risks, threaten public safety and destroy environmental resources shall be fined between 50,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan.