China has extended and improved a number of preferential tax policies, according to multiple statements issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Administration of Taxation based on decisions made at a State Council meeting last week.
On 26 March 2023, the Two Administration Departments jointly issued the «Announcement on Preferential Income Tax Policies for Small and Micro Enterprises and Individual Businesses».
The announcement clearly stated that “For low-profit small and micro enterprises, the portion of their annual taxable income that does not exceed CNY 1 million will be calculated as 25 percent of the original amount from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024, and the corporate income tax (CIT) payable is calculated at a rate of 20%.” The specific calculation formula is as follows:
CIT Payable = [portion does not exceed CNY 1 million] * 5%
Therefore, according to the calculation, the corporate income tax rate payable for the portion not exceeding CNY 1 million is 5% (=25%*20%).
The announcement emphasizes the criteria for identifying small and micro enterprises. That is, “Enterprises engaged in non-restricted and prohibited industries, and at the same time meet the three conditions of 1) annual taxable income of not exceed CNY 3 million; 2) the number of employees does not exceed 300; 3) total assets of not exceed CNY 50 million”.
The “number of employees” includes the number of employees who have established labor relations with the enterprise and the number of employees accepted by the enterprise for labor dispatch. The above “number of employees” and “total assets” shall be determined by the quarterly average of the enterprise throughout the year. The specific calculation formula is as follows:
Quarterly average = amount (beginning of quarter + end of quarter) ÷ 2
Annual quarterly average = sum of annual quarterly averages ÷ 4
If the business is opened or terminated in the middle of the year, the actual operating period will be used as a tax year to determine the above-mentioned indicators.
We have hereby compared the policies on SMEs in the past years and counted the changes in corporate income tax rates for SMEs for your reference.
| Implementation Period |
Profit (in CNY) |
| < 1M |
Between 1M to 3M |
> 3M |
| 2019.01.01-2020.12.31 |
5% |
10% |
25% |
| 2021.01.01-2021.12.31 |
2.5% |
10% |
25% |
| 2022.01.01-2022.12.31 |
2.5% |
5% |
25% |
| 2023.01.01-2024.12.31 |
5% |
5% |
25% |
You may refer to each announcement in the references.
The announcement also elaborated on a noteworthy issue: “If an enterprise has branches in other regions, can this branch enjoy the preferential corporate income tax for small and micro enterprises?”
If an enterprise establishes branches without legal personality, the number of employees, total assets, and annual taxable income of the head office and its branches should be calculated in the aggregate, and whether they meet the conditions of small and micro enterprises should be judged based on the total number. In other words, even if the branches meet the conditions of small and micro enterprises, once the aggregate statement shows that they do not meet the requirements, the head office and all branches, are not entitled to the preferential income tax policy for small and micro enterprises.
Moreover, enterprises should be born in mind that the corporate income tax relief given to small and micro enterprises is different from the laddering algorithm given in Europe, America, Hong Kong, etc. In other words, the “laddering algorithm” in mainland China (“阶梯算法” in Chinese) does not apply to the policy for small and micro enterprises once the annual income tax payable exceeds CNY 3 million, and is no longer recognized as a small and micro-enterprise and is void ab initio, and is replaced by a full 25% corporate income tax.
However, these preferential policies introduced by the national authorities are still conducive to further stabilizing the expectations of enterprises and enhancing their confidence.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
References:
Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on Implementing the Inclusive Tax Deduction and Exemption Policies for Micro and Small Enterprises
http://www.chinatax.gov.cn/chinatax/n810341/n810825/c101434/c22674374/content.html
No. 13 [2019] of the Ministry of Finance
Announcement of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration on Implementing the Preferential Income Tax Policies for Micro and Small Enterprises and Individual Industrial and Commercial Households
http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-04/09/content_5598738.htm
Announcement No. 12 [2021] of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration
Announcement of the State Taxation Administration on Matters Concerning the Implementation of Preferential Income Tax Policies Supporting the Development of Small Low-Profit Enterprises and Individual Industrial and Commercial Households
http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-04/09/content_5598741.htm
Announcement No. 8 [2021] of the State Taxation Administration
Announcement of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration on Further Implementing the Preferential Income Tax Policies for Micro and Small Enterprises
http://www.chinatax.gov.cn/chinatax/n362/c5173677/content.html
Announcement No. 13 [2022] of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration
Announcement of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration on the Preferential Income Tax Policies for Micro and Small Enterprises
http://szs.mof.gov.cn/zhengcefabu/202303/t20230327_3874806.htm
Announcement No. 6 [2023] of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration
(Continued from the previous article)
- Provision on bona fide acquisition of false special invoices
«Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on the Settlement for the Taxpayers Obtaining the False Special Invoice of Value-added Tax without Acknowledgement» defines what is “bona fide”.
It is stated in the Circular that the purchaser shall be deemed to have obtained the false special invoice in good faith if all the following conditions are met:
- a genuine transaction between the purchaser and the seller;
- the sale is made using the special invoices of the province (autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government, and cities listed in the plan) in which the purchaser is located;
- all the contents of the special invoices match with the actual ones, such as the name of the seller, the seal, the number of goods, the amount, and the tax amount; and
- no evidence that the purchaser knows that the special invoices provided by the seller were obtained by illegal means.
On the other hand, tax authorities of the purchaser’s location shall grant credit for input tax or export tax refund in accordance with the law, if:
- the purchaser is able to obtain again from the seller a legal and valid special invoice issued by the anti-counterfeit tax-control system; and
- the purchaser has obtained the certificate that the tax authorities in the place where the seller is located have conducted or are conducting an investigation and punishment on the seller’s false special invoices accordingly.
However, if the above conditions cannot be met, the input tax deducted or the export tax refund obtained by the purchasing party shall be recovered accordingly.
In addition, if the taxpayer has obtained in good faith a false special invoice that has been recovered and deducted in accordance with the law, then the taxpayer does not need to consider the provisions of Article 32 of the «Tax Collection Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China»: – If the taxpayer fails to pay the tax in accordance with the prescribed period, and the withholding agent fails to settle the tax in accordance with the prescribed period, the tax authorities shall, in addition to ordering the payment within the prescribed period, impose a late payment fee of five percent of the tax due on a daily basis. If the taxpayer fails to pay the tax in accordance with the prescribed period, the taxation authority shall, in addition to ordering the payment within the prescribed period, impose a late payment fee of five ten thousandths of the late payment of tax on a daily basis from the date of the late payment of tax. In other words, tax authorities will not add the late payment fee arising from the recovery of past taxes.
- Necessary documentation in case the tax inspection happens
Through the above layer-by-layer analysis, accountants of enterprises need to prepare the necessary financial documents to respond to tax inspection, while supporting themselves if they are bona fide purchasers, including but not limited to: –
- the original special invoice was identified as a false invoice
- purchase and sale contracts/business contracts or other contracts involving the invoice
- the goods involved in the incoming order, outgoing order, transfer orders, or transport documents
- relevant accounting documents
- bank payment voucher
- VAT declaration report for the month in which VAT is deducted, and CIT annual return
- statement of the entire business transaction and tax declaration
To sum up, enterprises do not need to be too panicky after receiving the Notice of Tax Inspection. Prepare the above list of supporting materials first and conduct self-inspection after communicating with the relevant tax officer to understand the situation. Companies that have evidence to prove they are bona fide invoice purchasers should actively respond to the tax authorities’ inspection and cooperate with the follow-up investigation. The enterprise will usually pass the tax inspection successfully if they respect all the conditions mentioned previously.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
References:
«Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on the Settlement for the Taxpayers Obtaining the False Special Invoice of Value-added Tax without Acknowledgement»
http://www.chinatax.gov.cn/chinatax/n359/c448/content.html
China is now fully open! In order to better coordinate the epidemic prevention and control as well as the needs of economic and social development, and to facilitate the people-to-people exchange between China and foreign countries, the National Immigration Administration of PRC has decided to adjust the visa and entry policy starting as of Beijing time at 00:00 on March 15, 2023.
- Valid visas issued before 28 March 2020 by the Chinese visa authorities abroad will resume functioning.
- Foreigners may apply for all types of visas, including tourism and medical treatment.
- Port visas shall resume being issued in line with the relevant laws and regulations.
- The visa-exemption policy for Hainan, visa-exemption cruise policy for Shanghai, visa-exemption policy for foreigners to visit Guangdong from Hong Kong and Macao, and visa-exemption policy for ASEAN tour groups to Guilin, Guangxi shall resume operation.
In recent times, the immigration policies of many countries are updated in real-time. In addition to the reopening policy, other restrictions are listed below for your consideration.
Chinese embassies in many countries notice: From 15 March, antigen testing instead of nucleic acid testing.
According to the latest requirements of the Chinese government regarding the optimization of pre-trip testing measures for people traveling to China, starting from 15 March 2023, passengers flying directly from specific countries[1] to China are allowed to replace nucleic acid testing with antigen testing (including self-testing with kits). In order to facilitate the pre-trip preparation of travelers, the embassies concerned have issued guidelines on epidemic prevention and control.
- Distal testing: Nucleic acid testing within 48 hours before boarding or self-testing with antigen kits, negative results before going to China, positive results please go to China after turning negative.
- Customs declaration: After obtaining a negative test result, fill out the “Health Declaration Card of the People’s Republic of China” through the WeChat app “Customs Passenger Service” (“海关旅客指尖服务”), the Customs APP or the web version to make declaration.
- Airlines are not required to check pre-boarding nucleic acid test certificates and antigen test results.
- In-flight epidemic prevention: Please insist on wearing a mask during the flight and do your personal protection to reduce the risk of infection.
- Entry quarantine: Upon arrival at the port, complete the necessary customs clearance procedures with the customs health declaration code. Customs will test a sample of people with abnormal health declarations or fever and other symptoms in accordance with a certain percentage.
- passengers with positive test results, in accordance with the requirements of the notification letter, go home/living place for isolation, or medical treatment;
- passengers with negative test results, by the Customs and Excise Department in accordance with the “Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of PRC” and other laws and regulations to implement routine quarantine;
- passengers with normal health declarations and tests can pass the entrance.
- Territorial epidemic prevention and control: Passengers should strictly comply with the requirements of territorial epidemic prevention and control after entering the country.
Policies vary from country to country, so it is recommended that you pay attention to the latest Chinese embassy and consulate notices in real-time before making travel arrangements, read them carefully, and follow them to avoid affecting your trip.
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
Reference:
Further Adjustment of Visa and Entry Policy for Foreigners to China
Authority: National Immigration Administration
Date: 2023-03-14
https://www.nia.gov.cn/n897453/c1566449/content.html
Notice on Further Adjustment of Visa and Entry Policy for Foreigners to China
Authority: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America
Date: 2023-3-13
http://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/chn/lsfw/zj/qz/202303/t20230314_11040138.htm
[1] Currently, the following countries have issued this notice: France, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Georgia, Tanzania, Nepal, Mongolia, Vietnam, Iran, Greece, Brunei, Thailand, New Zealand, Malaysia, etc.
