The Mainland government has introduced a number of laws and regulations on e‑commerce to ensure the healthy development of the industry. These cover fields such as the protection of consumer rights and interests, data protection and transaction security and anti‑unfair competition. In particular, since 1 January 2019, the E-commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China has been in force to regulate e‑commerce conduct and maintain market order. It requires that e‑commerce businesses should fully, authentically, accurately and timely disclose information on commodities or services to safeguard consumers’ right to know and right of choice. Furthermore, these businesses cannot conduct false or misleading commercial promotion by fabricating transactions, making up user reviews or any other means, to defraud or mislead consumers.

In expanding into the Mainland e‑commerce market, Hong Kong companies should observe and comply with all laws and regulations related to the e‑commerce industry to avoid sustaining losses due to non‑compliance or legal issues. Other major industry regulations cover the following aspects:

Pay attention to refund and return requirements

• According to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, consumers making purchases through the internet, television, telephone or mail orders have the right to return goods within seven days from receipt of the goods without giving a reason.
• The Regulations on the Implementation of the Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People [1] came into force in March 2024. It stipulates that, from 1 July 2024, an operator should indicate prominently goods that are not eligible for no-reason returns, and this must not be an option given to consumers as a default agreement. When consumers buy such goods, they must click to confirm acknowledgement. If a consumer has not confirmed acknowledgement, the operator cannot reject the return without reasons. This implies that under specific situations, such as when there is a quality issue, consumers have the right to request return, exchange or repair of goods, and sellers must deal with such return or exchange requests within a reasonable period.
• In addition, in further protecting the personal and property safety of Mainland consumers and creating a favourable consumption environment, the State Administration for Market Regulations issued in June 2025 a notice on strengthening the supervision on recalling consumer goods sold online [2]. Stipulations include:
  • In engaging in online sales activities, e-commerce operators should provide consumer goods that meet the requirements for protecting personal and property safety to fulfil consumer rights protection obligations in accordance with the law. Operators on e-commerce platforms or e-commerce operators selling consumer goods through self-built websites or other online services should set up a system for collecting, verifying, analysing and processing information on quality issues or defects of consumer goods.
  • On receiving the message or being notified of a consumer goods recall, operators on e-commerce platforms or e-commerce operators selling consumer goods through self-built websites or other online services should immediately stop selling the problematic or defective consumer goods. In accordance with the law, they should fulfil the obligations of manufacturers and other operators to recall the relevant consumer goods.

Follow personal information processing regulations

• To regulate online transaction activities and maintain the order of online transactions, the Mainland government implemented on 1 May 2021 the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions (the Measures) [3]. The Measures stipulate that online transaction operators should abide by the principles of lawfulness, legitimacy and necessity when collecting and using the personal information of consumers by stating the purpose, method and scope of collecting and using such information and obtaining the consent of consumers.
• In conducting online retail operations, companies would inevitably come into contact with, or process large amounts of, consumer data. For this, the Mainland implemented on 1 November 2021 the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China [4] to regulate the processing of local personal information. The following are mentioned:
  • Before processing personal information, a personal information processor should truthfully, accurately and completely notify individuals of the name and contact method of the personal information processor in a conspicuous way and in clear and easily understood language.
  • Clearly state the purposes and methods of processing of personal information, the categories of personal information to be processed and the retention periods.

Pay attention to do and don’t behaviour in marketing

• To regulate cybermarket order and create a clear cyberspace, the Mainland developed and introduced the Administrative Measures for Online Live-streaming Marketing (Trial) [5] in May 2021. These measures specify the age and behavioural restrictions for live-streamers engaging in live-streaming marketing activities, as well as specific requirements on the following areas: the verification and inspection of advertising activities, online and offline live streaming venues, as well as product and service information; the use of avatars; and the business collaboration with live-streaming marketer service agencies.
• When announcing in June 2022 the Code of Conduct for Online Presenters [6], the Mainland listed certain do and don’t behaviour for online presenters, including:
  • Online presenters should comply with provisions related to the real-name registration system for online accounts, and co-operate with platforms in providing truthful and valid identification information in carrying out registration and using account names in accordance with regulations. They should also adhere to the correct political orientation, orientation for public opinion guidance and value orientation.
  • They should not advocate discrimination based on ethnicity, nationality, geography and other reasons; and should refrain from hyping hot social topics and sensitive issues, or intentionally creating “hot issues” in public opinion.
• In tackling malicious short-video marketing, the Cyber Administration of China launched a three-month campaign to purify and rectify the chaotic situation of malicious marketing in the short-video field [7]. The campaign specified key issues to be tackled, including:
  • Malicious staged videos: Creating tragic characters, posing as members of new employment groups, and fabricating melodrama to exploit public goodwill for marketing purposes.
  • Spreading misinformation: Maliciously fabricating false information through selective editing, quoting out of context, deliberately blurring time and space and the assumption of fake identities.
  • Illegal traffic generating marketing: Using gimmicks such as “emotional exchange” and “fast-track wealth opportunities” to swindle specific groups of people, such as the elderly, to carry out irrational consumption.

Anti-unfair competition behaviour

• The Mainland has already passed the revised the Anti-unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China [8]. Effective since 15 October 2025, this law stipulates that:
  • Platform operators shall not force or coerce operators on their platform to follow their pricing rules to sell goods at below cost, thereby disrupting the market competition order.
  • They must not make false or misleading commercial claims regarding performance, function, quality, sales status, user reviews or past awards to deceive and mislead consumers and other operators.
• Furthermore, to foster the healthy development of the platform economy, the National Development and Reform Commission, State Administration for Market Regulation and Cyberspace Administration of China jointly issued the Rules on Internet Platform Pricing Practices (Draft for Comments) (“Practice Rules”) [9] in August 2025 to openly solicit public comments.
  • In particular, the Practice Rules require that platform operators should clearly indicate the prices or charging standards for products and services on their websites, apps and mini programmes. Additional charges or fees beyond those specified should not be collected.
  • In maintaining the order of market competition, the Practice Rules stipulate that platform operators must not force or coerce operators on their platform to follow their pricing rules to sell goods at below cost, thereby disrupting market competition order.

Regulations for cross-border e-commerce retail imports

On the other hand, should a Hong Kong company choose to expand into the Mainland market by importing products through cross‑border e‑commerce, it should abide by the requirements of a set of import regulations. More importantly, compared with ordinary trading, it is worth Hong Kong companies noting that the Mainland is implementing related preferential measures for cross‑border e‑commerce imports, including:

• Taxation: Cross-border e-commerce imports can enjoy preferential taxation, including zero tariff within quota for goods on the retail import list, while import value-added tax and consumption tax are levied at 70% of the statutory tax payable (“comprehensive cross-border e-commerce tax” for short).

The following table shows examples of the duty payable for goods imported through cross‑border e‑commerce retail and related matters.

Source: Notice of Adjusting the Consumption Tax Policies for Cosmetics (Cai Shui No. 103 [2016]), Notice of the Tax Policies on Cross-border E-commerce Retail Imports (Cai Guan Shui No. 18 [2016])

• Product specifications: Cross-border e-commerce imports can enjoy simplified customs clearance treatments compared with trading in general, including:
  • Cross-border e-commerce retail imports are not subject to the requirements for permits, registration and filing for initial imports. This means that companies can import goods on the positive list without applying for permits or carrying out filing in advance.
  • Related goods are regulated as personal items imported for personal use. This means that customs will treat cross-border e-commerce retail imports as items for personal use and will adopt simplified regulatory measures. For example, a company only has to submit a simplified declaration of transaction order, payment order and logistics order (so-called “three-order matching”) and clear customs quickly through an electronic platform (e.g. the “single windows” of customs).
  • Nevertheless, companies should note that the goods imported through cross-border e-commerce retail channels can only be sold directly to consumers and cannot be resold.
• Product scope: The Mainland maintains a Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import List, and only coded goods listed on it will qualify for importation to the Mainland through cross-border e-commerce. Goods not on the list must be imported through general trade. The tariff codes on the revised 2022 list have increased to 1,476, and Hong Kong companies should ensure that their products match the latest commodity category adjustments before they can continue to import them for sale through cross-border e-commerce channels.
• Purchase quota: Beginning on 1 January 2019, the single transaction value of Mainland consumers purchasing imported goods through cross-border e-commerce retail is raised from RMB2,000 to RMB5,000. The annual transaction value is adjusted upwards from RMB20,000 to RMB26,000 [10]. If the single transaction value or annual transaction value is exceeded, consumers will have to pay tax in full according to general trade terms.

[1] For more details, please refer to Detailed Provisions on Consumer Rights Protection to Take Effect in July.

[2] For more details, please refer to Notice of theState Administration for Market Regulations on Further Strengthening the Supervision on Recalling Consumer Products Sold Online (in Chinese only).

[3] For more details, please refer to Measures for Supervision of Online Transactions Take Effect in May.

[4] For more details, please refer to China’s Personal Information Protection Law Takes Effect in November.

[5] For more details, please refer to China Further Strengthens Supervision of Online Live-streaming Marketing Activities.

[6] For details, please refer to China Announces Code of Conduct for Online Presenters.

[7] For details, please refer to China Launches Campaign to Tackle Malicious Short-Video Marketing.

[8] For details, please refer to Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law to Take Effect on 15 October.

[9] For details, please refer to the Rules on Internet Platform Pricing Practices (Draft for Comments) joining issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, State Administration for Market Regulation and Cyberspace Administration of China (in Chinese only)

[10] For details, please refer to Notice on Improving the Taxation Policy for Cross-border E-commerce Retail Imports (Cai Guan Shui No. 49 [2018]). (in Chinese only)