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Can't get a hotel permit for my office? The court’s decision is here – an investment company v. a branch

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Article author:Yingting Lawyers Group | Update time:2026-04-22 | Reading times:118

[Key points of the case]

The core dispute in this case is whether administrative agencies can add administrative licensing conditions through normative documents. An investment company was denied a hotel license because its building was planned for "office" use.Special industry license, based on the "red-headed documents" from the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department. The company believed that the document violated superior laws, so it filed an administrative lawsuit and requested a review of the legality of the document.

The court pointed out that the legality of administrative actions depends on the legality of the normative documents on which they are based. After communication and research, the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department took the initiative to adjust the content of the document and removed restrictions on the planned use of houses. In the end, an investment company successfully obtained the license and withdrew the lawsuit, and the dispute was substantively resolved.

The typical significance of this case is to promote administrative agencies to standardize licensing conditions in accordance with the law and not conflict with higher-level laws. Lawyer Ying Ting also believes that by reviewing normative documents, the court prompts administrative agencies to modify unreasonable regulations, optimize the business environment, and implement them."Nothing can be done without legal authorization"Principle, realize political integration and people's cooperation.

An investment company sued a branch of the Public Security Bureau of a city in Fujian Province for failing to perform its statutory duties of administrative licensing and review of normative documents——Normative documents formulated by administrative agencies must not violate the conditions for adding administrative licenses stipulated in higher-level laws.
[Basic case facts]
In June 2019, an investment company obtained the right to rent the house involved in the case through public bidding, and then carried out house decoration, safety and seismic testing, and fire acceptance. In September 2021, an investment company applied for a special industry license for the hotel industry from a branch of the Public Security Bureau of a certain city. The branch refused to issue the special industry license on the grounds that the property ownership certificate of the house involved in the case provided by an investment company was designed to be used for "office" and did not meet the licensing conditions stipulated in the "Notice on Further Regulating the Issuance of Special Industry Licenses for the Hotel Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "red-headed document") issued by the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department. An investment company believes that its leasing procedures are legal, and the people's government of a certain district has held a special meeting to adjust the business format of the house; the above-mentioned "red-headed document" was issued after the renovation of an investment company was completed, and the requirements of this document are actually for additional processing.Administrative licensing mattersThe conditions violated the relevant provisions of the superior law. An investment company then filed an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court, requesting an order to order a branch of a certain city's public security bureau to perform its statutory duties, issue a special industry license to it in accordance with the law, and also review the legality of the "red-headed documents" involved in the case.
【Referee result】

After trial, the People's Court held that the focus of the dispute in this case was whether a branch of a certain city's public security bureau was legal in refusing to issue a special industry license, and whether this behavior was legal depends on whether the relevant provisions of the "red-headed document" it was based on were legal. According to the provisions of Article 147, paragraph 1, of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", the People's Court shallNormative document reviewDuring the process, if it is discovered that the normative document may be illegal, the opinions of the authority that formulated the normative document should be heard. After the People's Court communicated and studied with the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department and a branch of a certain municipal public security bureau on whether the "red-headed document" had a legal basis and whether it complied with the provisions of the Administrative Licensing Law, the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department took the initiative to adjust the relevant content of the "red-headed document" and canceled the restrictions on housing planning uses in special industry licenses. After obtaining a special industry license in 2023, an investment company applied to the People's Court to withdraw the lawsuit.

【Typical meaning】

To optimize the legalized business environment, we must further deepen the reform of "decentralization, regulation and service", standardize administrative licensing and administrative approval in accordance with the law, promptly modify and abolish various normative documents that are not conducive to optimizing the business environment, promote fair and orderly competition among various business entities, and reduce system operation costs. The formulation of "red-headed documents" by administrative agencies should be based on higher-level laws and must not conflict with higher-level laws. We must resolutely implement "nothing can be done without authorization from the law." When hearing administrative licensing cases, the people's courts should focus on examining whether the administrative agency has illegally added administrative licensing conditions. In this case, during the review process of the legality of administrative actions, the People's Court found that the normative document may be illegal. By listening to the opinions of the enacting agency and other methods, it pushed the administrative agency to proactively modify the relevant content of the normative document, which not only substantially resolved the administrative dispute in the case, but also promoted the administrative agency to Actively reduce unreasonable pre-approval matters, improve the post-supervision system, achieve case closure, political coordination, effectively promote administrative agencies to exercise their powers in accordance with the law, and implement the Party Central Committee's decision-making and deployment on "creating a market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment" in judicial practice.
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