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In administrative litigation, the most disappointing thing is often not the amount of the fine, but the seemingly “ironclad” certificate issued by the administrative agency. When the administrative penalty decision says "violation" and "confiscation" in black and white, the parties often feel helpless and even have no choice but to accept their fate.

However, recently, a lawyer from Beijing Yingting Law FirmLawyer Zhang TingI took on a seemingly "defensible" case. Faced with the huge decision of confiscating illegal income of more than 300,000 yuan made by the administrative agency based on inspection clues,Lawyer Zhang TingInstead of getting caught up in the superficial controversy of "whether sand mining destroys cultivated land", we took a different approach and found a breakthrough from the application of the Mineral Resources Law. We finally helped a village group successfully revoke the administrative penalty, making the originally "certain" fact of the violation instantly disintegrate!

The client in this case is a villager group in Shanxi Province. The cause of the matter seemed simple: the local area needed earth for a "certain road reconstruction project," and the villagers' group provided the earth.

However, in November 2025, the County Natural Resources Bureau issued an "Administrative Penalty Decision" to the villagers group. The reason is: The group took soil without authorization and sold it for more than 300,000 yuan without obtaining a "mining license".

In accordance with the Mineral Resources Law, the defendant was punished by confiscating all illegal gains. For a village group, this is not only a huge sum of money, but also means being labeled as "illegal mining". The villagers' group was dissatisfied, but when faced with the investigation records and transfer records from the administrative agencies, they felt that they had no choice but to defend their rights and that the road to safeguarding their rights seemed to have reached a dead end.

After taking over the case,Lawyer Zhang TingKeenly aware that conventional "head-to-head" defense will not work. Since the administrative agency has determined that this is "illegal mining," we must return to the most fundamental question - is the "loess" involved really a "mine" in the legal sense?

This is a typical "Administrative power confirmation"Battle.Lawyer Zhang TingFormulated a rights protection strategy of "drawing firepower from the bottom of the cauldron": If soil is not a mine, then applying the Mineral Resources Law to punish it is water without a source and a tree without a root!

Core attack point 1: Accurately lock in the legal boundaries between “minerals and non-minerals”.Lawyer Zhang Ting firmly grasped a core legal logic during the trial: According to the "Mineral Resources Law", only mineral aggregates with specific industrial value are "mineral resources." If the earth involved in the case does not have corresponding industrial indicators, it is just ordinary "earth" and not a "mine" regulated by law.

Core attack point two: Use scientific evidence to overturn administrative determinations.Although the administrative agency initially determined the illegal facts based on inspection clues, lawyer Zhang Ting seized a key detail during the trial of the case—the "Test Report" issued by a third-party testing agency commissioned by the defendant.

This report became the "ace" that turned the tide of the war! The report shows that the soil samples involved in the case "have silica that does not meet the standard and magnesium oxide that exceeds the standard. They do not meet the industrial index requirements of clay minerals for bricks and tiles and are not mineral resources."

Winning result: The court made a final decision and the penalty decision was revoked!

In April 2026, a court in Shanxi Province issued a verdict.

The court fully acceptedLawyer Zhang TingThe opinion of the debate clearly pointed out: the loess involved in the case does not belong to mineral resources, so there is no need to apply for a "Mining License", and the defendant's application of the "Mineral Resources Law" to impose penalties is an "error in application of law."

In the end, the court ruled in accordance with Article 70 of the Administrative Litigation Law to revoke the "Administrative Penalty Decision" issued by the County Natural Resources Bureau! The villagers' group not only saved more than 300,000 yuan in money, but also cleared the charge of "illegal mining."

Lawyer review: To win an administrative lawsuit, you must master these 3 "winning rules"!

From "definitely losing" to "comprehensive victory", the reversal of this case has brought profound enlightenment to all business owners and parties facing administrative penalties.Hosted by lawyer Zhang TingBased on the experience of this case, the following three core suggestions are put forward:

1. Jump out of the trap of “factual disputes” and grasp the seven inches of “law application”.Many times, the punishment imposed by the administrative agency seems to be based on solid evidence (such as the digging and selling of soil in this case), but the parties often fall into detailed excuses such as "I didn't dig that much" or "I did it to build roads." Experienced lawyers will clearly point out: Don’t be led astray by the opponent’s rhythm, but examine whether the legal basis for the punishment is established. If the basic characterization is wrong (treat soil as a mine), the entire punishment building will collapse instantly.

2. "Evidence bites back"It is the weakness of the administrative agencies, and we must learn to leverage its strength.In this case, the most powerful evidence actually came from the test report commissioned by the administrative agency itself. Lawyers suggest: When responding to a lawsuit, carefully review every piece of material in the file, especially technical appraisal documents. Often, in order to prove "legality", the other party will make some objective appraisals, and the results of these appraisals may be a powerful tool to overturn the reasons for the punishment.

3. Adhere to the "substantive rule of law" and do not give up the opportunity to "come back" easily.When faced with a penalty decision issued by an administrative agency, many parties will feel that "the people do not fight with the officials" or that "it is hopeless once the superior document has finalized the decision." However, this case proves that as long as you adhere to the legal bottom line, dare to question unscientific determinations, and go through professional legal procedures (such as application for appraisal and cross-examination), you have a chance to achieve a "jewelic counterattack" in litigation.

Conclusion

This is not only a judgment revoking the punishment, but also the best interpretation of "nothing can be done without the authorization of the law." Beijing Yingtong Law Firm will continue to provide professional legal services to resolve complex administrative problems for each client, so that fairness and justice are no longer far away.

Attached: Administrative judgment of a court in Shanxi Province (part)

Lawyer in charge of this case

Lawyer Zhang Ting

Lawyer Zhang Ting

Partner, Beijing Yingting Law Firm

Professional administrative reconsideration lawyer in Beijing, member of the Administrative Reconsideration Law Professional Committee

Areas of expertise: Focus on administrative reconsideration, administrative litigation and dispute resolution of government-enterprise disputes, and good at handling administrative legal affairs such as administrative agreements, administrative penalties, administrative compensation, and administrative compensation in the fields of land, mineral resources, etc.

We mainly provide legal services for administrative dispute resolution and government-enterprise disputes for large and medium-sized enterprises. Our business involves investment projects, land resumption, idle land disposal, closure and vacation, suppression of mineral resources, mining rights disputes, sea area use rights disputes and other difficult and complex matters. We are good at combining administrative law rules, natural resource management requirements and business operation needs to provide customers with comprehensive solutions that combine litigation and non-litigation.

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