On April 17, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued administrative penalties against seven major e-commerce platforms, including Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Pinduoduo), Beijing Sankuai Technology Co., Ltd. (Meituan), Beijing Jingdong 360 E-commerce Co., Ltd. (JD.com), Shanghai Lazhas Information Technology Co., Ltd. (formerly Ele.me, now Taobao Quick Purchase), Beijing Douyin Technology Co., Ltd. (Douyin), Zhejiang Taobao Network Co., Ltd. (Taobao), and Zhejiang Tmall Network Co., Ltd. (Tmall), for a series of violations related to "ghost restaurants." The penalties were imposed in accordance with Article 131 of China's Food Safety Law and Article 83 of the E-commerce Law.
The seven platforms were ordered to rectify their illegal activities, suspend the addition of new bakery shops for periods ranging from three to nine months, and pay total fines and confiscated illegal gains amounting to 3.597 billion yuan. Additionally, under Article 75 of the Implementation Regulations of the Food Safety Law, the legal representatives and food safety directors of the seven companies were collectively fined 19.6874 million yuan.
Investigations revealed that these platforms failed to rigorously verify the licenses of food merchants operating on their sites, neglecting their legal obligation to conduct proper qualification reviews. They also entered into cooperation agreements with order-transferring platforms while being aware, or should have been aware, that such practices infringed upon consumer rights, yet took no necessary measures to prevent them. The legal representatives and food safety directors of these companies, responsible for food safety management, did not fully execute their duties.
Following the launch of the investigation, SAMR immediately instructed the platforms to implement corrective actions. All seven companies have since removed unverified "ghost shops" from their platforms and terminated catering order-transfer partnerships with relevant third-party services.
**Administrative Penalty Decision** **Document No: Guo Shi Jian Chu Fa [2026] No. 20** **Subject: Liu Bo**
Zhejiang Tmall Network Co., Ltd. was found to have violated legal obligations by failing to conduct proper qualification reviews. The case was formally立案 (registered) on December 16, 2025, with Liu Bo identified as the company's legal representative. The administration determined the illegal facts through platform data verification, interviews with relevant personnel, review of income proofs, and collection of documentary and electronic evidence.
As a third-party platform provider for online food transactions, Zhejiang Tmall Network Co., Ltd. did not fulfill its duty to审查 (review) qualifications. The prolonged nature of these violations, the large number of shops involved, the wide impact, and the significant food safety risks constituted a "serious violation" as defined by the Food Safety Law Implementation Regulations.
Evidence included the company's business license, ICP filing, third-party platform provider filing, telecommunications business permit, screenshots of qualification displays on the Tmall website, on-site records, interview transcripts with company agents, internal management specifications provided by the company, screenshots of merchant application and review后台 (back-end) processes, electronic data, and the legal representative's identification and income documents.
On April 8, 2026, the subject was served with the "Administrative Penalty Notice" (Guo Shi Jian Fa Gao [2026] No. 18), informing them of the facts, reasons, legal basis, proposed penalty, and their rights to statement, defense, and a hearing. No statement, defense, or hearing request was submitted within the legal timeframe.
Considering the subject's role and the severity of the company's violations, a decision was made pursuant to relevant regulations to impose a fine of 1,434,598 yuan (One Million Four Hundred Thirty-Four Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Eight Yuan).
The fine must be paid within 15 days of receiving this decision at any branch of 17 designated central government non-tax revenue collection banks or via online banking. Failure to pay on time will result in an additional 3% daily penalty, with enforcement pursued through the People's Court.
If the subject disagrees with this decision, they may apply for administrative reconsideration with SAMR within 60 days or file an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court within six months. The penalty will be enforced during any appeal process.
**State Administration for Market Regulation** **April 17, 2026**
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