On June 15, the General Administration of Market Regulation (GAMR) issued the “Guidelines for the Regulation of Blind Box Operation (for Trial Implementation)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”), which draws a red line for blind box operation and promotes blind box operators to strengthen compliance governance. The Guidelines make it clear that drugs, medical devices, toxic and hazardous substances, flammable and explosive substances, live animals and other goods with strict requirements in terms of conditions of use, storage and transportation, inspection and quarantine shall not be sold in the form of blind boxes; food and cosmetics, which do not have the conditions to ensure quality and safety and consumer rights, shall not be sold in the form of blind boxes.
According to the Guidelines, blind box operation refers to the business model in which an operator sells a specific range of goods or services through the internet, physical shops, vending machines, etc. in the form of random selection by consumers, within the scope of lawful operation, without informing the operator of the specific range of goods or services in advance without informing the operator of the definite model, style or service content of the goods.
In recent years, blind box-related products have been favoured by many young consumers and have attracted widespread social attention. At the same time, problems such as opaque information, false propaganda, “three no” products and inadequate after-sales service have also come to the fore.
In order to regulate the operation of blind boxes and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, the Guidelines set out a negative sales list. Goods whose sale or circulation is explicitly prohibited by law or regulation, or services whose provision is prohibited, shall not be sold or provided in the form of blind boxes. Drugs, medical devices, toxic and hazardous substances, flammable and explosive substances, live animals and other goods that have strict requirements in terms of conditions of use, storage and transportation, inspection and quarantine, etc., shall not be sold in blind boxes. Foodstuffs and cosmetics, which do not have the conditions to ensure quality and safety and consumer rights, should not be sold in blind boxes. Undeliverable and unreturnable express consignments shall not be sold in blind boxes.
At the same time, the Guidelines clarify the scope of information disclosure and require blind box operators to prominently publicise key information such as the commodity value, extraction rules and probability of extraction of the items in the blind box to ensure that consumers know the true situation before purchase. The Guidelines encourage the establishment of a guarantee system and encourage blind box operators to guide rational consumption by setting a time limit for extraction, a cap on the amount of extraction and a cap on the number of extractions, and to consciously undertake not to hoard, not to speculate and not to enter the secondary market directly.
In addition, the Guidelines also improve the protection mechanism for minors. It also requires blind box operators to take effective measures to prevent minors from becoming addicted and protect their physical and mental health; and encourages local authorities to introduce protective measures to promote a clean consumer environment around schools.
Source: China Food and Drug Website
Post time: Jul-04-2023