Relying on administrative power to take advantage of the opportunity to accumulate money, internal management is chaotic, only charging but not service
Perspective of chaos in trade associations and chambers of commerce
The Public Security Traffic Management Department of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province has illegally added administrative licensing procedures. The industry associations rely on administrative power to take the opportunity to collect money. The internal management of the association is chaotic. The complaints of the business people are unsuccessful and threatened... Recently, the 14th Supervisory Inspection During an unannounced visit in Chengdu, the investigation team found that Chengdu Instant Delivery Road Traffic Safety Association (hereinafter referred to as "Instant Delivery Association") had many problems.
Industry associations and chambers of commerce should play the role of a bridge linking the government, enterprises, and the market, serving the development of enterprises, reflecting industry demands, resolving conflicts and disputes, and strengthening industry self-discipline.
However, in recent years, due to insufficient survivability, insufficient training and support, and imperfect departmental comprehensive supervision mechanism, some industry associations and chambers of commerce have been charging arbitrary fees, apportioning arbitrary fees, and arbitrary coercion from time to time.
Why do similar problems continue to be repeatedly banned?
How to plug loopholes so that the majority of market entities can enjoy the reform dividends?
1 Batch registration of electric bicycles needs to be filed with the Instant Delivery Association, and the card charging fees are difficult for many express delivery companies
"Go to the Instant Distribution Association for the record before you can apply." If Chengdu food delivery companies go to the traffic management department to apply for batch registration of electric bicycles, they will get such a reply.
On January 6, 2021, the Vehicle Management Office of the Traffic Management Bureau of the Public Security Bureau of the city issued a document to "file with the Instant Delivery Association" as a prerequisite for the batch registration of electric bicycles for express delivery companies.
From submitting the letter of commitment, photos of the actual car to the completion of the registration feedback and reporting, for 3807 electric bicycles, 5 companies had to go through this cumbersome process, which increased the burden.
What's more, during the handling process, some business leaders were asked by the Secretary-General of the Instant Distribution Association He Mou at the standard of 120 yuan per vehicle, and did not provide any proof of charge.
A certain company initially refused to pay the fee. After a stalemate for more than a month, it had to compromise and pay 72,000 yuan, and then it took more than a month to complete the process.
The above-mentioned problems have been complained many times, but the association has been repeatedly "asylum" and remains the same.
In July 2021, Yan, the person in charge of a certain company, complained to the mailbox of the director of the city’s traffic administration. The responsible cadres asked Yan and He to meet in person to communicate.
The problem was not solved, but Yan's identity was exposed.
The arrogant He even threatened: "Doing business must adapt to the rules, otherwise it is very troublesome. You have to learn to bow your head and behave."
"Taking so much money does not provide any service to the enterprise." The excessively high standard of membership fees is another "slot."
It is understood that the association has only one staff member, except for the president Li and the secretary-general He, and there is no fixed office space. The related materials are exchanged by express delivery, and meetings are held in public places.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the association had an unidentified income of 1.5 million yuan, of which 1 million yuan had been transferred to Li's personal account.
"We first care about these 50,000 to 60,000 riders. If the government and enterprises care about and help them, I believe that traffic order will be carried out more effectively and it will not become a scar in the city. It should become a landscape of the city." On November 29th last year, at the inaugural meeting of the Instant Delivery Association, Li spoke eloquently in front of the camera.
The original intention of the association was to rely on the power of industry organizations to promote standardized management, and to urge and guide enterprises to strengthen internal management in the form of industry self-discipline and government-enterprise co-governance to ensure that distribution personnel are on the road in compliance with the law and reduce road traffic safety hazards.
In response to the exposed problems, after the clues were handed over, the Sichuan Provincial Government immediately organized a dedicated work team to conduct in-depth inspections and deploy rectification.
Two kinds of awards activities seem simple, but in fact they are the "cornucopia" of individual industry associations and chambers of commerce
A small nameplate costs only more than 20 yuan. When it comes to the Construction Engineering Quality and Safety Association of Weifang City, Shandong Province, the fee will rise steeply to 70 yuan.
It is precisely by virtue of its monopoly on the nameplate production business of the city's construction hoisting machinery property rights record, only from July 2016 to June 2020, the association collected a total of 760,900 yuan for this fee.
Its monopoly position comes precisely from the entrustment and authorization of relevant departments.
Organize enterprises to conduct inspections at designated institutions and obtain service fee sharing; require enterprises to join the association and participate in continuing education training, otherwise credit evaluation scores will be deducted; service fees are charged according to the number, types and items of equipment for which the enterprise has filed property rights... through local exposure In the typical cases of illegal fees charged by industry associations and chambers of commerce, it can be found that "relying on matters entrusted by administrative agencies" is an important aspect.
The Shanghai City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Industry Association relies on the entrusted matters of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Greening and City Appearance, and requires companies to go to designated testing companies for testing.
If enterprises do not "submit", they will be hindered in applying for sanitation vehicle licenses and enjoying tax reduction and exemption policies for purchases.
The association obtains 40%-50% of the testing fee in the name of service fee, and a total of 2.0737 million yuan will be obtained from 2016 to 2020.
The Fujian Provincial Civil Air Defense Office requires that personnel responsible for civil air defense project construction supervision tasks in the province must participate in training at the Fujian Civil Air Defense Engineering Supervision Association.
From January 2018 to September 2020, the association relied on the requirement of the Provincial Civil Air Defense Office to charge a total of RMB 4,422,400 for training.
In 2014, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Enterprise-related Fees and Reducing the Burden of Enterprises", which clearly stated that "industry associations and intermediary organizations are strictly prohibited from using administrative resources to forcibly collect fees."
In 2020, the General Office of the State Council re-issued the "Notice on Further Regulating the Fees of Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce" clearly stated that "Industry associations and chambers of commerce shall not rely on administrative agencies or use industry influence to force market entities to participate in conferences, training, examinations, exhibitions, overseas inspections, etc. All kinds of charging activities or accepting paid services from third-party institutions".
The above behavior is obviously inconsistent with the regulations.
In fact, despite the state’s explicit decree that “national social organizations carry out appraisal and commendation activities, and the business supervisors shall request the Party Central Committee and the State Council according to their respective jurisdictions... and shall not charge any fees to the selection objects.” However, the illegal collection of appraisal and commendation fees is still a problem. Industry associations and chambers of commerce are another important means of making money.
Earlier this year, Mr. Li from Beijing Municipality reported through the State Council’s “Internet + Supervision” platform that the China Water Resources and Electricity Material Circulation Association issued an award with the word “China” in violation of regulations in December 2020.
After verification, the association's "China Large-scale Logistics 2020 "Lifetime Achievement Award"" and other awards, involving 100 companies or individuals, have not been submitted for approval in accordance with relevant national regulations.
Local industry associations and chambers of commerce have also experienced similar situations.
Wuhan Municipal Engineering Gold Award Selection Activities, Henan Province Engineering Construction Quality Management Team Competition Evaluation Activities, Liaoning Province Information and Communication Industry Excellent Quality Management Team Results Publication Evaluation Activities... Various awards activities seem simple, but in fact they are the "cornucopia of individual industry associations and chambers of commerce". ".
The Supervision Office of the General Office of the State Council issued a stern wording in the relevant notification: “Some government departments are promoting the reform of decoupling industry associations, chambers of commerce and administrative agencies. The interest chain is still strong, and the inertia of changing methods to consolidate, maintain and even expand the existing interest structure is still great. Some associations and chambers of commerce rely on administrative agencies or use administrative influence to charge illegal fees, and there are still loopholes in external supervision and internal governance."
3 Due to insufficient self-regulation and self-discipline, some industry associations and chambers of commerce have caused the burden of enterprises to increase rather than decrease, becoming a new market "blocker"
"Due to historical reasons, some industry associations and chambers of commerce were previously sponsored and supervised by the government, or were affiliated with administrative agencies or departments. There were outstanding problems such as non-separation of political and administrative affairs, integrated management and management, imperfect governance structure, and weak self-discipline." Wang Aiwen, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, once said that some industry associations and chambers of commerce under the banner of the government engage in monopoly, chaotic behavior, inaction, and even arbitrary fees, which are more prominent, which has increased the burden on market entities and enterprises to a certain extent.
Judging from the problems revealed by the general inspection, some trade associations and chambers of commerce have not been self-regulated and self-disciplined. They have passed various and disorderly procedures, qualifications, and certifications, which have caused the burden of enterprises to increase instead of reducing, and severely restrict the vitality of the market. The new market "blocks the way" is eroding the dividends of the administrative examination and approval reform and deviating from the original intention of the reform of streamlining administration and delegating power.
The relevant person in charge of the Social Organization Management Bureau of the Ministry of Civil Affairs pointed out that some industry associations and chambers of commerce have not standardized the procedures for formulating membership dues standards and have not passed the secret ballot at the membership assembly (member representative assembly); some dues have too many standards, and some are bought by "officials" and sold. Some membership fees are too high, and there are more balances; some arbitrarily solicit sponsorships, naming, and increase the burden on enterprises; some general associations and branches repeatedly charge multiple fees; some operate service projects (training classes). , Trade fairs, exhibitions), the name is unreasonable, the charging standards are unreasonable, the more charges are less services, or even the charges are not service; a very small number of associations and chambers use the appraisal to commend the ride-hailing charges, and use administrative influence to force the charges, which increase the burden on enterprises , Disrupting the market order.
In recent years, in order to eliminate the bottleneck of the development of industry associations and chambers of commerce, the pilot reform of the decoupling of industry associations and chambers of commerce has been accelerated.
But decoupling does not mean that the self-discipline of industry associations and chambers of commerce will be strengthened, nor does it mean that there is no longer a need for government departments to restrict and supervise.
"In the deepening stage of reform, it is necessary to standardize the relationship between the government and the market, allow the market to play a decisive role in the allocation of resources, and vigorously promote the reform of'delegating management and services. Function. Industry associations and chambers of commerce must have the courage to "wean", give up their dependence on administrative power, win the trust of members and the government with their ability, and become a truly independent subject." Guo Daojiu, a professor at the Zhou Enlai School of Government of Nankai University, pointed out that the regulatory authorities must change The way to intervene in the internal affairs of industry associations and chambers of commerce by means of administrative control, instead of formulating evaluation standard systems, regulating the purchase of public services and other forms, and restricting their behavior with legal norms.
At the same time, a third-party supervision mechanism can be introduced to supervise and evaluate the market and social behavior of industry associations and chambers of commerce, urge the strengthening of information disclosure, and reduce opportunities for rent-seeking corruption.
4 Promote the implementation of the main responsibility of the competent department, strengthen supervision and management, and specifically rectify the chaos in the industry associations and chambers of commerce
"I should not participate in tourism activities organized by industry associations. I will voluntarily refund the related expenses and sincerely accept the organization's handling..." Recently, the Commission for Discipline Inspection of Taicang City, Jiangsu Province targeted Chen Liang, a public official of an art museum discovered during the special management of the industry association. Violating participation in travel arrangements shall be filed for review, and the party shall be given warnings in accordance with regulations and disciplines.
In recent years, while trade associations and chambers of commerce have played an active role, contacts and contacts with government officials have increased, and the risk of corruption has also increased.
"The problems are mainly concentrated in the aspects of part-time compensation, the use of power to convey benefits, the arbitrary and willful supervision of the industry authorities, the wasteful and profligate financial subsidies, and the invisible mutation of the'four winds'." Wu Zhiyi told reporters.
For example, individual leading cadres hold (part-time) positions in the Association Chamber of Commerce, reimbursing expenses that are not related to work; some violations transfer the fee items of administrative agencies cancelled in accordance with the law to the Association Chamber of Commerce for collection, instruct or tacitly approve the competent Association Chamber of Commerce to conduct approval with this department Related intermediary services to transfer benefits; some transfer professional qualification certification, certification, appraisal, standard compliance, and commendation functions to associations and chambers that are not authorized by law to seek improper benefits; some use the associations and chambers to set up "small treasuries" "Off-accounts", illegal reporting of public funds for food and drink, public funds for travel and other expenses, or illegal granting of subsidies and benefits, etc.
"All kinds of chaos are related to the competent departments of the industry. Or they are'out of control', inaction in the performance of management responsibilities, and there is a'vacuum' in supervision and management; or'chaotic management', abuse of power, intervention and interference The specific operation and management activities of the Chamber of Commerce hinder its healthy development." said Xue Xiao, member of the Standing Committee of the Changshu Municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Director of the Supervisory Committee.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection emphasized to give full play to the political leadership role of internal party supervision and integrate supervision into regional governance, departmental governance, industry governance, grassroots governance, and unit governance.
Carrying out the work of disciplinary supervision of social organizations is a powerful practice to promote the sinking of supervision.
In accordance with the relevant requirements for the education and rectification of the national political and legal team, the Changshu Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection focused on lawyers' illegal practices and improper interactions with judicial personnel and carried out special rectification. It not only investigated the problems of judicial personnel in violation of regulations and disciplines, but also simultaneously checked the problems of lawyers with whom they interacted; It not only investigates the illegal part-time job of in-service judicial personnel in the lawyers association, but also simultaneously investigates the situation of outgoing judicial personnel engaging in the lawyer profession and serving as the legal consultant of the law firm in violation of the regulations.
In response to issues such as "hunting" of party members and leading cadres and gaining competitive advantages in the name of some industry associations and chambers of commerce, Chen Jia, deputy director of the Party Style and Political Style Supervision Office of the Changshu Commission for Discipline Inspection, believes that The key lies in the lack of strict selection and education barriers, the lack of self-management constraints of the industry, the imperfect internal control mechanism, the lack of political and business exchanges, and the inadequate warning and education efforts."
In Xue Xiao’s view, the competent authorities of the industry should implement their main responsibilities and ensure that the “leaders” of the industry associations and chambers of commerce should be well controlled. It depends not only on industry influence and industry status, but also on political quality, moral quality, etc.; strengthen supervision and management Establish and improve a series of "small and special" systems such as discussion and decision-making, internal auditing, and risk prevention and control; increase the intensity of warning education and make good use of the "live teaching materials" of typical cases.
Disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies should also give full play to their role in monitoring and guaranteeing implementation and promoting perfect development, insisting on checking bribery and bribery together, comprehensively implementing policies, and addressing both symptoms and root causes, so as to provide disciplinary protection for the construction of a new pattern of social governance.
Our reporter Guan Xiaopu and Xue Peng