Explanation of the Government Information and Government Affairs Openness Office of The General Office of the State Council on the delivery of government information disclosure processing decisions

State Office open letter (2016) No. 235

Office of the Ministry of Agriculture:

The "Letter on the possibility of receiving Government Information Disclosure Reply by collect payment" (Agricultural Office Memo (2016) No. 233) has been received。After studying and soliciting the opinions of the Legislative Affairs Office of The State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the state postal administration, my reply is as follows:

(1) The information disclosure processing decision made by the administrative organ is a formal state document and shall be served on the applicant in an authoritative and standardized manner according to law。According to the relevant laws and regulations, the modes of service include direct service, entrusting other administrative agencies to serve on behalf of them and service by mail。

(2) If it is served by post, in accordance with Article 55 of the Postal Law of the People's Republic of China and the actual practice of serving national documents by post, it shall be served by postal enterprises and shall not be served by other express delivery enterprises that do not have the qualifications for sending and delivering national documents。

(3) If the service is delivered by post, the administrative organ may collect the mailing costs in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Disclosure of Government Information and the relevant provisions, but may not collect the fees by requiring the applicant to pay the mailing fees to the postal enterprises。

4. Where direct service is taken or other forms of service are entrusted to other administrative organs, the time limit shall be calculated on the date on which the applicant and his legal representative sign for receipt。If the service is delivered by post, the time limit shall be calculated on the date of delivery。

5. If the reply has been sent out by other express companies before this reply is made, the time limit shall be calculated on the date of delivery。

Office of Government Information and Government Affairs Openness, General Office of the State Council

December 7, 2016