China - Register for Preferential Tax

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Procedure

Private enterprises and individual industrial and commercial entities shall apply to the tax authority of the location where their industrial and commercial administration registrations are made for tax registration on starting business; other taxpayers shall first apply to the Tax Registration Center (2nd Floor, Building No. 1, Lane 1060, Lujiabang Road) for approval of tax unit administration and then receive tax unit administration approval slips. After that, they shall apply to the designated the tax authority for tax registration on starting business on the production of these tax unit administration approval slips.

The main content of a tax registration certificate shall cover: the name of the taxpayer, tax registration code, name of the legal representative or responsible member, address of the production or business operation site, type of registration, form of accounting, scope of production and business (main line and side lines), date of certification, and the effective term of the documents, etc.

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Required Documents

• An industrial and commercial business license or other similar permit of business operation
• A contract, agreement and articles of association
• The unified organizational code
• The ID card, passport or other valid ID certificate of the legal representative, or responsible member of owner
• Other documents and information demanded by the tax authorities of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the State Council

Office Locations & Contacts

State Administration of Taxation
Address: Yangfangdian Road, Haidian District, on the 5th
Zip: 100038
Tel: 010-63417114
Website: http://www.chinatax.gov.cn

State Administration for Industry and Commerce People's Republic of China
Address: 8 Sanlihe Donglu, Xichengqu, Beijing, 100820, P. R. China
Phone: +86-10-68010463/68013447
Facsimile: +86-10-68010463/68013447
Email: [email protected]
Contact
Address

Eligibility

Joint ventures (JVs), wholly-owned foreign enterprises (WOFEs), representative offices and other similar organizations in China are required to register with local tax authorities within a period of time specified in the relevant regulations. In general, registration must be completed within 30 days after the business license is issued.

Fees

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Validity

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e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

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Instructions

Registration papers are to be filed with both the local branch of Chinas State Taxation Administration and the local governments Taxation Administration office. The two administrations have their own tax jurisdictions. To qualify as an ordinary Value Added Tax (VAT) payer and be able to issue VAT invoices, a taxpayer has to undertake VAT registration as well.

Upon completion of the tax registration, the applicant will be issued a tax registration certificate that must be renewed every year. Any changes in business license or operating office oblige the taxpayer to reregister with the tax authorities.

China has three categories of income tax: Enterprise Income Tax, Foreign Invested Enterprise and Foreign Enterprise Income Tax, and Individual Income Tax.

Under the Public Welfare Donations Law, the state encourages the development of public benefit undertakings, and grants support and preferential treatment to public benefit social organizations and public benefit nonprofit institutions. This law establishes benefits relating to Enterprise Income Tax (Article 24), Individual Income Tax (Article 25), and Import Duties and VAT (Article 26), but the specifics of the exemptions are set forth in other laws and regulations.

Required Information

• The name and the number of the ID card, passport or other valid ID document of the institution, legal representative or owner
• The residence or business address
• The type of registration
• The accounting system
• The form of production and business operation
• The scope of production and operation
• The total amount of capital (fund), investment
• The term of production and operation
• The name and telephone number of the financial chief
• Other information specified by the State Administration of Taxation

Need for the Document

The Chinese government levies low tax on enterprises with foreign investment, and preferential tax policies are offered to the sectors and regions where investment is encouraged by the state.

Information which might help

• Income Tax
  • Rate of income tax: The income tax on enterprises with foreign investment is levied at the rate of 33 percent. The income tax on enterprises with foreign investment located in special economic zones, state new- and hi-tech industrial zones, or economic and technological development zones is levied at the rate of 15 percent. The income tax on production enterprises with foreign investment located in coastal economic open zones, special economic zones, or in the old urban district of cities where economic and technological development zones are located is levied at the rate of 24 percent. And the income tax on enterprises with foreign investment that are engaged in projects such as energy, communications, port and dock is levied at the reduced rate of 15 percent.
  • Tax reduction and exemption: The production enterprises with foreign investment that have an operation period exceeding 10 years shall, from the year they begin to make profit, be exempt from income tax for the first two years and allowed a 50 percent reduction for the following three years. Enterprises with foreign investment engaged in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry, and enterprises with foreign investment established in remote and underdeveloped areas may, upon approval by the State Bureau of Taxation, be allowed a 15 to 30 percent reduction on the income tax for a period of another 10 years following the expiration of the period of tax exemption and reduction as provided for above. The income tax on enterprises with foreign investment located in mid-west China that are engaged in projects encouraged by the government shall be levied at a reduced rate of 15 percent for a period of another three years following the expiration of the Five-Year period of tax exemption and reduction. The enterprises with foreign investment that adopt advanced technology shall be exempt from income tax for the first two years and allowed a 50 percent reduction for the following six years. In addition to the two-year tax exemption and three-year tax reduction treatment, foreign-invested enterprises producing for export shall be allowed a reduced income tax rate of 50 percent as long as their annual export accounts for 70 percent or more of their sales volume. The foreign investor of an enterprise with foreign investment which reinvests its share of profit obtained from the enterprise in a project with an operation period of no less than 5 years shall, upon approval by the State Bureau of Taxation of an application filed by the investor, be refunded 40 percent of the income tax already paid on the reinvested amount.
• Circulation-stage Tax:
  • Since January 1st, 1994, the Chinese government has levied unified value-added tax, consumption tax and business tax on enterprises with foreign investment and domestic enterprises. Technology transfer and technological development by foreign enterprises and enterprises with foreign investment are exempted from value-added tax, as a measure to expand domestic demand and to encourage technological renovation in foreign-invested enterprises. For foreign-invested enterprises engaged in projects in the encouraged or restricted-B categories, the value-added tax on China-made equipment purchased by the enterprises within their total amount of investment shall be fully refunded if the equipment is listed under the catalogue offered with income tariff exemption.
• Import-stage Value-added Tax
  • Tariff rate: Since 1992 the Chinese government has reduced nine times the tariff rate for imported commodities. The present average tariff rate is 12 percent.
  • Tax exemption for imported equipment: Equipment imported for foreign-invested or domestic-invested projects that are encouraged and supported by the state shall enjoy tariff and import-stage value-added tax exemption.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Chinas rapidly-changing corporate and individual tax regulations make on-going tax planning an essential part of doing business in China. Tax incentives are one of the most important factors foreign investors should consider when deciding whether to invest in China.

External Links

State Administration for Industry and Commerce People's Republic of China

State Administration of Taxation of The People's Republic of China

Ministry of Commerce

Others

More information which might help people.