On 30 May 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China ("CAC") issued the Guidelines for the Filing of Standard Contracts for Cross-border Transfer of Personal Information (First Edition) (个人信息出境标准合同备案指南(第一版)) ("Guidelines"). The purpose of these Guidelines is to guide personal information processors ("PIPs") to file a Standard Contract for Cross-border Transfers of Personal Information (个人信息出境标准合同) ("Standard Contract") in a standardised and orderly manner. Please click here to read our article on the release of the Measures for the Standard Contract for Cross-border Transfers of Personal Information (个人信息出境标准合同办法), together with the corresponding Standard Contract, which came into effect on 1 June 2023.
To file a Standard Contract, the Guidelines stipulate a list of documents to be submitted, including the following:
- A Photocopy of the Unified Social Credit Code Certificate (stamped with the company's seal);
- A Photocopy of the ID card of the legal representative (stamped with the company's seal);
- A Photocopy of the ID card of the person in charge of the filing process (stamped with the company'’s seal);
- The original copy of the signed power of attorney for the person in charge of the filing process;
- The original copy of the signed letter of commitment;
- The original copy of the executed Standard Contract; and
- The original copy of the Personal Information Protection Impact Assessment Report ("PIPIA Report").
The Guidelines also provide templates for items (d) to (g) above. In particular, the template for PIPIA Reports gives effective guidance on how to carry out PIPIA work in practice, which was previously ambiguous. In addition, the Guidelines stipulate that a PIPIA Report shall be completed within three months prior to the date of filing, and no material changes should occur by the date of filing.
Furthermore, the Guidelines set out the timeline for the filing process. After the receipt of the required documents, the competent cyberspace administration shall, within 15 working days, complete the examination of the documents and notify the PIP of the filing results.
