On April 17, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued administrative penalties against seven e-commerce platforms, including Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., Ltd. (PDD), Beijing Sankuai Technology Co., Ltd. (Meituan), Beijing Jingdong 360 E-Commerce Co., Ltd. (JD.com), Shanghai Lazasi 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 "ghost takeout" cases. 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 new cake shop registrations for periods ranging from three to nine months, and pay combined fines and confiscated illegal gains totaling 3.597 billion yuan. Additionally, under Article 75 of the Implementing Regulations of the Food Safety Law, 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 review and verify business licenses of online food vendors, neglecting their legal obligation to conduct proper qualification checks. They also entered into cooperation agreements with order-forwarding platforms despite knowing, or having reason to know, that such practices infringed upon consumer rights, and took no necessary measures to prevent harm. Legal representatives and food safety directors of the platforms, who bear management responsibility for food safety, were found to have inadequately performed their duties. These actions constituted serious violations of China's Food Safety Law, E-Commerce Law, and related implementing regulations.
Following the launch of the investigation, regulators instructed the platforms to implement immediate corrections. All seven companies have since removed unverified "ghost stores" from their platforms and terminated catering order-forwarding partnerships with relevant third-party services.
The State Administration for Market Regulation Administrative Penalty Decision Document No. Guo Shi Jian Chu Fa [2026] No. 24
Party Involved: Fan Jiezhen Type of ID Document: Resident ID Card ID Number: Omitted Address: Omitted
Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., Ltd. was found to have violated legal obligations concerning qualification reviews. The bureau initiated an investigation on December 8, 2025. The party involved, Fan Jiezhen, serves as the company's Director of the Food Safety Committee. Through platform data verification, interviews with relevant personnel, review of income documents, and collection of written and electronic evidence, the illegal activities were confirmed.
As a third-party online food trading platform provider, Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., Ltd. failed to perform its duty of reviewing qualifications as required by law. The bureau determined that penalties should be applied under Article 131 of the Food Safety Law, which stipulates that platform providers failing to conduct real-name registration, review licenses, or fulfill reporting and service suspension obligations shall be ordered to make corrections, face confiscation of illegal gains, and be fined between 50,000 and 200,000 yuan. In cases of severe consequences, business suspension or license revocation may apply; if consumer rights are harmed, the platform bears joint liability with the food operator.
The company's violations were prolonged, involved numerous stores, had wide-reaching impact, and posed significant food safety risks, meeting the criteria for "egregious violations" under Article 75 of the Implementing Regulations of the Food Safety Law.
Fan Jiezhen, as Director of the Food Safety Committee at Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., Ltd., received relevant income in the previous year (amount omitted).
Evidence supporting these findings includes the company’s business license, value-added telecommunications service permit, third-party platform provider filing, ICP filing, on-site transcripts, interview records with legal representatives and agents, notices requesting materials and explanations, internal organizational charts, internal regulations such as the "PDD Food Merchant Review and Registration System," "PDD Food Industry Posting Standards," and "PDD Store Qualification Management Standards," electronic data, audit reports, and the party’s identification, position, appointment, and income documentation.
On April 8, 2026, the bureau served the "Administrative Penalty Notice" (Guo Shi Jian Fa Gao [2026] No. 22) to the party, informing them of the facts, grounds, legal basis, proposed penalty, and rights to statement, defense, and hearing. The party did not submit a statement, defense, or request a hearing within the legal time limit.
Considering the party’s job responsibilities and the social harm caused by the company’s violations, and pursuant to Article 75 of the Implementing Regulations, which allows for fines ranging from one to ten times the annual income obtained from the unit in the previous year for egregious violations, the following penalty is imposed:
A fine of 2,658,400.5 yuan (Two Million Six Hundred Fifty-Eight Thousand Four Hundred Yuan and Fifty Cents).
The party must pay the fine within 15 days of receiving this decision by using the payment code (omitted) at any branch of 17 designated central treasury non-tax revenue collection banks (including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China CITIC Bank, China Everbright Bank, China Merchants Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China, Huaxia Bank, Ping An Bank, Industrial Bank, China Minsheng Bank, China Guangfa Bank, China Zheshang Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and Bank of Jiangsu), or via online banking.
If the party fails to pay the fine on time, a daily penalty of 3% of the fine amount will be imposed under Article 72 of the Administrative Penalty Law, and the bureau will apply to the People's Court for compulsory enforcement.
If the party disagrees with this decision, they may apply for administrative reconsideration with the State Administration for Market Regulation within 60 days of receipt, or file an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court within six months. Enforcement of the penalty will not be suspended during reconsideration or litigation proceedings.
State Administration for Market Regulation April 17, 2026
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