Yet another case of the online world meeting offline red tape.

With effect from July 1, 2010, the Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce has decided that its Temporary Management Regulations on Internet Product Trade and Related Service Guidelines (《网络商品交易及有关服务行为管理暂行办法》) will kick into effect.

The incredibly long worded temporary bill will, in effect, link every online seller in China with an ID in the “real world”. This means that behind every seller will be an actual, living human being.

The new bill is seen as somewhat annoying but less of having a chilling impact (unless your scope of sales is illegal, whereupon the authorities will be more than pleased to “harmonize” you), but is seen as yet another case of red tape touching digital territory. If you sell things without a license, you’re in for a fine to the tune of CNY 10,000 — 30,000.

Still, here’s another thing to keep in mind: the new bill does not make business licenses mandatory. Nevertheless, that’s the only good news. The rest are more bureaucratese: you’ll need to keep sales records for at least two years, and in three years’ time, a full, national, interlinked commerce management system will be in place.