SAMR moves to clean up mini-program e-commerce: the Compliance Guidelines for Network-Transaction Mini-Program Platforms
- On 1 September 2026, SAMR published the Compliance Guidelines for Network-Transaction Mini-Program Platforms (draft for comments, 19 articles) and invited feedback until 8 September 2026.
2026年9月1日，市场监管总局就《网络交易小程序平台合规指引（征求意见稿）》公开征求意见，意见反馈截止日期为2026年9月8日；指引共19条。
- The draft defines the mini-program platform operator as the party that provides application-distribution services through an information platform enabling trading parties to transact independently, and requires it to verify and register the identity, address, contact and administrative-licence information of mini-program operators, refreshing verification at least every six months.
征求意见稿界定”小程序平台经营者”为通过信息平台向网络交易小程序提供应用程序分发服务、供交易双方或多方独立开展交易活动的网络平台经营者，并要求其对申请入驻的小程序经营者提交的身份、地址、联系方式、行政许可等真实信息进行核验、登记、建档，至少每六个月核验更新一次。
- Platforms must not delete or otherwise interfere with consumers’ normal reviews of goods or services sold through mini-programs, and must maintain a review mechanism plus convenient complaint channels; operators exiting the platform must publish notice at least 30 days in advance, and platforms must keep their identity records for at least three years after exit.
平台不得删除或以其他方式干预消费者对小程序所售商品或服务的正常评价，须健全消费者评价规则与便捷投诉渠道；小程序经营者退出平台须提前三十日公示，平台对其身份信息自退出之日起保存不少于三年。
- The drafting note acknowledges the compliance gap behind chaotic mini-program e-commerce: platforms such as WeChat and Alipay have argued that since they do not take a cut of or profit from mini-program transactions and hold no transaction data, they owe no more than the duties of a technical-service provider; the Guidelines close that gap by making platform primary responsibility explicit.
起草说明点明小程序交易乱象的制度根源：微信、支付宝等平台以”不从交易中抽成或获利、不掌握交易数据”为由主张仅承担技术服务提供者义务；指引通过明确平台主体责任来填补这一空白。
- For foreign brands selling through mini-programs in China — via their own mini-programs or through third-party sellers — the takeaway is that the entire distribution chain is becoming more formal: identity verification, information display, inspection and monitoring, consumer-review integrity and complaint handling will now be supervised through the platform, and overseas sellers operating mini-programs on Chinese super-apps should align with e-commerce-operator duties.
对通过小程序在华销售的外资品牌（自营小程序或第三方卖家）而言，信号是整条分发链走向规范化：身份核验、信息公示、检查监控、评价真实性与投诉处理将通过平台被监管；在中国超级应用上运营小程序的境外卖家应主动对齐电子商务经营者义务。
SAMR moves to clean up mini-program e-commerce: the Compliance Guidelines for Network-Transaction Mini-Program Platforms | 小程序电商”补课”：市场监管总局出台网络交易小程序平台合规指引
Overview
On 1 September 2026, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) published the Compliance Guidelines for Network-Transaction Mini-Program Platforms (《网络交易小程序平台合规指引（征求意见稿）》) for public comment, with feedback due by 8 September 2026. The draft responds to a visible regulatory hole in China’s platform economy: mini-program e-commerce — buying and selling done inside WeChat, Alipay, Douyin and similar super-apps without downloading a separate application — has boomed but has also produced malicious marketing, weak after-sales protection and consumer-harm cases, in part because the hosting platforms’ management responsibilities over the mini-program sellers were never clearly defined.
Who is regulated
The draft defines three concepts:
- Network-transaction mini-program platform operator (小程序平台经营者): a network-platform operator that, through an information platform, provides application-distribution services to network-transaction mini-programs so that trading parties can independently conduct transactions. In practice this covers WeChat, Alipay, Douyin and other platforms that host commercial mini-programs.
- Network-transaction mini-program (网络交易小程序): an application developed on an open-application-program interface through which users can buy goods or services without downloading or installing an app.
- Network-transaction mini-program operator (网络交易小程序经营者): the natural person, legal person or unincorporated organisation that sells goods or provides services through such a mini-program. Where such an operator itself qualifies as a “network-transaction platform operator” under the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Network Transactions, it must perform the corresponding duties under those Measures.
The Guidelines apply within China to platform operators providing network-platform services for mini-program transactions and to operators transacting through mini-programs.
Core platform duties
1. Identity verification (Article 4). Platforms must require mini-program operators seeking admission to submit genuine identity, address, contact and administrative-licence information; verify, register and file it; and refresh verification at least every six months. Platforms must not provide services to operators that have not lawfully obtained required administrative licences. Re-entering operators must pass the same checks.
2. Service agreements and trading rules (Article 5). Platforms must formulate and publicise service agreements and trading rules covering admission and exit, information review, goods and services, marketing-information management, consumer-rights protection and personal-information protection. Amendments require public consultation and at least seven days’ public notice before implementation (longer for major changes); all historical versions for the three years before an amendment takes effect must be preserved and accessible.
3. Information display (Article 6). Mini-program operators must continuously display their business-licence information, relevant administrative-licence information, or the link identifiers on their homepage or main business page. Platforms must establish management institutions for such display, provide technical support, and verify and update within seven working days when operators report changes (which they must do within three working days of any change).
4. Credit building (Article 7). Platforms are encouraged to differentiate management and services based on credit status derived from regulatory records (registration, filings, licences, spot-check results, administrative penalties, operation-anomaly lists, serious-lawbreaking lists), platform-held transaction and complaint data, consumer reviews and third-party credit information — and to warn consumers via labelling or pop-ups about operators on anomaly or serious-breaches lists.
5. Inspection and monitoring (Article 8). Platforms must establish inspection and monitoring over mini-program operators and their published goods/service information, covering at least: sale or supply of goods or services prohibited by law; false or misleading commercial publicity; sale of counterfeit or shoddy goods; and other illegal operations. Platforms may raise inspection frequency for high-risk or low-credit operators. Where the mini-program operator is itself a platform, the hosting platform must push it to run equivalent checks over its own tenants.
6. Handling measures (Article 9). On finding violations, platforms must take necessary measures, keep records and report to authorities; measures such as warnings, suspension or termination of service must be publicised within one working day; objections must be handled and answered promptly.
7. Mini-program exit (Article 10). Platforms must build exit mechanisms that protect consumers. An operator voluntarily terminating services must publicise notice on its mini-program homepage at least 30 days in advance and take reasonable measures to protect consumers and other operators; platforms must retain the operator’s identity information for at least three years after exit.
8. Compliance management, reviews, complaints, quality and reporting (Articles 11–15). Platforms are encouraged to appoint compliance directors and administrators; must build consumer-review rules and must not delete or otherwise interfere with normal consumer reviews; must provide convenient complaint channels and handle them promptly in co-ordination with market-regulation departments and consumer associations; are encouraged to build quality-management and risk-warning systems; and must report mini-program-operator identity information to the provincial market-regulation department where their registered address is located each January and July (with automated data-interface reporting encouraged).
9. Co-operation duty (Article 16). Platforms must promptly assist market-regulation departments in investigating illegal transactions and provide data in their possession.
The compliance-gap story behind the Guidelines
The drafting note is candid about why mini-program e-commerce has been disorderly: low entry barriers and high operational autonomy produce more violation risk than classic e-commerce platforms, and a principal reason is that hosting platforms have not borne management responsibility over the mini-program sellers. Platforms have argued that they do not take a cut of or profit from mini-program transactions, do not hold transaction data, and therefore should not bear obligations beyond those of a technical-service provider. The Guidelines reject that framing, setting platform duties that match platforms’ technical capability and actual operational model.
What this means for foreign brands selling through mini-programs
- Expect heavier platform onboarding and periodic reverification. If your brand sells through a mini-program (own or third-party operated), the hosting platform will collect, verify and refresh your identity, licence and contact data every six months. Keep Chinese business-licence and licence documents current and centrally managed.
- Consumer reviews become protected data. Deleting or curating negative reviews — directly or via incentives — will breach platform rules that mirror national law; review-management practices should be audited now.
- Exit and entry discipline applies. If you plan to close a China mini-program channel, 30 days’ advance public notice and post-exit record retention are required; plan closures accordingly to avoid compliance surprises.
- Data reporting is now structured. Platforms must report operator identity lists to provincial market-regulation authorities twice a year; make sure your registered identity data with the platform is accurate, because it will feed regulator databases.
- Cross-border sellers using Chinese super-apps should review their status. An overseas company operating a mini-program in China may be treated as a network-transaction operator with e-commerce-operator duties (registration, information display, after-sales); where thresholds for market-subject registration do not apply, self-declaration mechanisms in the guidelines still require accurate filing.
Practical steps
- Verify the identity and licence information your brand holds with each Chinese mini-program hosting platform, and set a six-month calendar for updates.
- Audit consumer-review management: remove any process that deletes, filters or incentivises suppression of genuine reviews.
- Review mini-program marketing content against the false-publicity prohibitions; retain evidence of claims.
- Establish a point of contact for platform compliance requests and for market-regulation queries routed through platforms.
- Submit comments on the draft before 8 September 2026 if your business model is affected, and track the final version expected in late 2026.
Sources
- 市场监管总局 — 关于公开征求《网络交易小程序平台合规指引（征求意见稿）》意见的公告（含全文与起草说明）: https://www.samr.gov.cn:8007/hd/zjdc/art/2026/art_68686f054fe043b6b62c21f50e230b79.html
- 中新经纬（新浪转载）— 事关网络交易小程序平台合规，官方征意见：不得删除消费者正常评价: https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5953189932_162d6782c06704wu1u.html
- 央广网（手机央广转载）— 如何规范小程序交易乱象？新规征求意见: https://so.html5.qq.com/page/real/search_news?docid=70000021_0016a97dc7514352
小程序电商”补课”：市场监管总局出台网络交易小程序平台合规指引
概述
2026年9月1日，市场监管总局就《网络交易小程序平台合规指引（征求意见稿）》向社会公开征求意见，反馈截止日期为2026年9月8日。征求意见稿回应中国平台经济中一个显眼的监管空白：小程序电商——在微信、支付宝、抖音等超级应用内无需下载独立App即可完成的买卖——快速膨胀的同时，也伴生恶意营销、售后缺位、侵害消费者权益等乱象，部分原因在于承载平台对小程序卖家的管理责任从未被清晰界定。
监管谁
征求意见稿界定三个概念：
- 网络交易小程序平台经营者（小程序平台经营者）：通过信息平台向网络交易小程序提供应用程序分发服务，供网络交易双方或多方独立开展交易活动的网络平台经营者。实操上即微信、支付宝、抖音等承载经营性小程序的平台。
- 网络交易小程序：基于应用程序开放平台接口开发的，用户无需下载、安装应用程序即可进行商品或服务交易的经营性互联网应用程序。
- 网络交易小程序经营者：通过小程序销售商品或提供服务的自然人、法人和非法人组织。若其本身属于《网络交易监督管理办法》所称网络交易平台经营者，则须依法履行相应义务。
指引适用于在中华人民共和国境内为小程序交易提供网络平台服务的小程序平台经营者，以及通过小程序开展交易的经营者。
平台核心义务
一、资质信息审核责任（第四条）。 平台应要求申请入驻的小程序经营者提交身份、地址、联系方式、行政许可等真实信息，核验、登记、建档，并至少每六个月核验更新一次；不得为未依法取得行政许可的经营活动提供服务；退出后再次申请入驻的仍须审核。
二、平台协议及交易规则（第五条）。 平台应制定并公示服务协议与交易规则，明确准入退出、信息审核、商品服务、营销信息管理、消费者权益保护、个人信息保护等权利义务。修改须公开征求意见，且至少在实施前七日公示（重大修改适当延长）；修改生效之日前三年的全部历史版本须完整保存并可阅览下载。
三、信息公示责任（第六条）。 小程序经营者应在小程序首页或经营主页面持续公示营业执照、行政许可信息或链接标识。平台应建立公示管理制度、提供技术支持并督促执行；信息变更后经营者三个工作日内报送、平台七个工作日内核验更新。
四、信用建设（第七条）。 鼓励平台根据监管注册登记、备案、许可、抽查检查、行政处罚、经营异常名录、严重违法失信名单等信息以及平台掌握的交易售后投诉数据、消费者评价与第三方信用信息，实施差别化管理和服务；对列入异常名录、失信名单、投诉较多的经营者，鼓励打标或弹窗提醒消费者。
五、检查监控制度（第八条）。 平台应对小程序经营者及其商品服务信息建立检查监控，至少覆盖：是否销售或提供法律禁止交易的商品服务、是否作虚假或引人误解宣传、是否销售假冒伪劣商品、是否存在其他违法违规经营。高风险低信用经营者可提高检查比例或频次；小程序经营者本身是平台的，承载平台应督促其对其平台内经营者同样建立检查监控。
六、处理措施（第九条）。 发现违法信息的，依法采取必要处置措施、保存记录并报告；警示、暂停或终止服务等处理措施须在决定之日起一个工作日内公示，载明名称、违法行为与措施；经营者异议应及时处理回应。
七、小程序退出（第十条）。 平台应健全退出机制防止消费者权益受损。经营者自行终止服务或申请退出的，应提前三十日在主页面显著位置持续公示，并采取合理必要及时措施保障消费者与相关经营者权益；平台对退出经营者的身份信息保存时间自退出之日起不少于三年。
八、合规管理、评价、投诉、质量与报送（第十一条至第十五条）。 鼓励平台配备合规总监与合规管理员；平台应健全消费者评价规则、为消费者提供真实客观评价途径，且不得删除或以其他方式干预消费者对商品或服务的正常评价；应设置便捷投诉渠道并及时受理处置；鼓励建立质量安全风险预警与应急处置机制；应于每年一月和七月向住所地省级市场监管部门报送小程序经营者身份信息（鼓励开放数据接口自动化报送）。
九、配合责任（第十六条）。 平台应及时协助市场监管部门查处违法交易并提供掌握的数据信息。
指引背后的”合规缺口”叙事
起草说明坦承小程序电商失序的根源：相比传统电商平台，小程序电商准入门槛低、经营自主权大，违规风险更高；而乱象频现的主要原因之一是平台未承担对小程序经营者的管理责任。微信、支付宝等平台主张自身不从交易中抽成或获利、不掌握交易数据，不应承担超出技术服务提供者的义务。指引否定了这一框架，把平台责任设定在与平台技术能力和实际经营模式相匹配的水平上。
对外资品牌的意义
- 平台入驻审核与定期复核将更严格。 无论自营还是第三方运营小程序，承载平台将每六个月收集、核验并刷新你的身份、许可与联系方式数据。请保持中国营业执照与许可文件最新并集中管理。
- 消费者评价成为受保护数据。 删除或筛选差评——无论是直接删除还是通过激励——将违反与上位法呼应的平台规则；评价管理实践现在就该审计。
- 退出与准入纪律适用。 若计划关闭在华小程序渠道，须提前三十日公示并保留退出后记录；提前规划关闭流程以避免合规意外。
- 数据报送结构化。 平台每年两次向省级市场监管部门报送经营者身份名单；确保在平台登记的注册身份数据准确，因为它将进入监管部门数据库。
- 使用中国超级应用的跨境卖家应审视自身定位。 在海外注册但在华运营小程序的公司，可能被认定为网络交易经营者并承担电子商务经营者义务（登记、信息公示、售后）；即使不满足市场主体登记门槛，指引中的自我声明机制仍要求准确申报。
实务建议
- 核验品牌在每个中国小程序承载平台登记的身份与许可信息，设定每六个月的更新日历。
- 审计消费者评价管理：移除任何删除、过滤或激励压制真实评价的流程。
- 对照虚假宣传禁令审查小程序营销内容，留存宣传证据。
- 建立对接平台合规请求以及经平台转来的监管问询的联系人。
- 若业务模式受影响，在2026年9月8日前就征求意见稿提交意见，并跟踪预计2026年底出台的正式版。
来源
- 市场监管总局 — 关于公开征求《网络交易小程序平台合规指引（征求意见稿）》意见的公告（含全文与起草说明）: https://www.samr.gov.cn:8007/hd/zjdc/art/2026/art_68686f054fe043b6b62c21f50e230b79.html
- 中新经纬（新浪转载）— 事关网络交易小程序平台合规，官方征意见：不得删除消费者正常评价: https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5953189932_162d6782c06704wu1u.html
- 央广网（手机央广转载）— 如何规范小程序交易乱象？新规征求意见: https://so.html5.qq.com/page/real/search_news?docid=70000021_0016a97dc7514352