Friday, June 1, 2007

Franchise Journey in China Begins with the First Registration Step!

According to Article 6 of the Chinese Registration Guidelines, " a franchisor shall register the franchise with the governing registration agency within fifteen (15) days of the date of the execution of the first franchise contract with a franchisee in China."

That seems simple enough, until you start tramping deeper into the registration forest. China has an extremely complex administrative structure because it is organized into provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the express control of the central government.

From there the trail leads to Article 3 of the Registration Guidelines, which states that "franchising to take place within the provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities shall be registered in the highest administrative agencies in charge of commercial regulations."

The next trail marker points to franchising that occurs beyond the traditional boundaries of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities. According to another section of Article 3 of the Registration Guidelines, all cross-boundary franchising shall be registered with the Ministry of Commerce in China.

Just as the Chinese Proverb says, "The journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step." Determining the the proper place to register your franchise could be the critical first step in your registration journey.

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