Supreme Court Decisions

DECISION OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS ON REVISING THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Revising the Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Control
of Atmospheric Pollution

     At its 15th Meeting, the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress decides to revise the Law of the People’s Republic
of China on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution as follows:

1. One paragraph is added to Article 8 as Paragraph 1: “The State adopts economic and technological policies and measures to facilitate
the prevention and control of atmospheric pollution and comprehensive utilization.”

2. One article is added as Article 9: “The people’s governments at various levels shall redouble their efforts in afforestation and
urban greening to improve the atmospheric environment.”

3. One article is added as Article 15: “Enterprises shall give priority to the adoption of clean production techniques that are instrumental
to high-efficient use of energy and reduced discharge of pollutants so as to decrease the generation of atmospheric pollutants.

“The State practises an elimination system for the backward production techniques and backward equipment which seriously pollutes
the atmospheric environment.

“The competent department for comprehensive economic and trade affairs under the State Council shall, in conjunction with other relevant
departments under the State Council, publish a catalog of the techniques which seriously pollute the atmospheric environment and
the use of which shall be prohibited within a time limit, and a catalog of the equipment which seriously pollutes the atmospheric
environment and the production, sale, importation and use of which shall be prohibited within a time limit.

“Producers, sellers, importers or users shall, within the time limit prescribed by the competent department for comprehensive economic
and trade affairs under the State Council in conjunction with the relevant departments under the State Council, stop the production,
sale, importation or use of the equipment listed in the catalog specified in the preceding paragraph. People who use the production
techniques listed in the catalog specified in the preceding paragraph shall, within the time limit prescribed by the competent department
for comprehensive economic affairs under the State Council in conjunction with the relevant departments under the State Council,
stop using such techniques.

“The equipment eliminated in accordance with the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs may not be transferred to another for
use.”

4. One article is added as Article 24: “The State promotes the dressing of coal by washing to reduce the sulfur and ash in coal, and
restricts the mining of high-sulfur or high-ash coal. If the coal mined from a newly-built coal mine is of high-sulfur or high-ash,
supporting facilities for the dressing of coal by washing shall be installed to make the sulfur and ash in coal fall within the prescribed
limits.

“If the coal mined from an established coal mine is of high-sulfur or high-ash, supporting facilities for the dressing of coal by
washing shall be installed within a time limit in accordance with the plan approved by the State Council.

“It is prohibited to mine the coal with toxic or harmful substances, such as radioactive and arsenic, that exceed the prescribed limits.”

5. One article is added as Article 25: “People’s governments of large or medium-sized cities shall make plans for people in the urban
areas to use sulfur-fixed briquette of coal as fuel or other clean fuel for cooking ranges, so as to gradually eliminate the direct
use of raw coal as fuel.”

6. One article is added as Article 26: “To establish a heat-engine plant within the urban areas of a city, both heating and electricity
shall be generated where it is necessary and conditions permit, and construction and acceptance for use of the network of pipelines
for heat supply shall be arranged in step with that of the main project of the plant.”

7. One article is added as Article 27: “The environmental protection department under the State Council together with relevant department
under the State Council may, in light of the meteorological, topographical, soil and other natural conditions, delimit the areas
where acid rain has occurred or will probably occur and areas that are seriously polluted by sulfur dioxide as acid rain control
areas and sulfur dioxide pollution control areas, subject to approval by the State Council.

“With respect to the heat-engine plants and other large or medium-sized enterprises in the acid rain control areas or sulfur dioxide
pollution control areas that discharge sulfur dioxide, if they are newly-built construction projects which cannot use low-sulfur
coal, supporting facilities for desulphurization and dust removal must be installed or other measures for control of the discharge
of sulfur dioxide or for dust removal adopted; if they are established enterprises which do not use low-sulfur coal, measures for
control of discharge of sulfur dioxide or for dust removal shall be adopted. The State encourages enterprises to adopt advanced technology
for desulphurization and dust removal.

“Enterprises shall gradually adopt measures to control the nitrogen oxide generated by the burning of coal.”

8. One article is added as Article 36: “Operators of the catering trade in urban areas must observe the regulations of the State Council
on the administration of environmental protection in relation to the catering trade, and adopt measures to prevent and control the
pollution caused by lampblack to the residential environment in the neighbourhood.”

9. One article is added as Article 38: “The State encourages and supports the production and use of high-grade, unleaded gasoline
and restricts the production and use of leaded gasoline.

“Relevant competent departments under the State Council shall make plans for gradually reducing the production of leaded gasoline
so as finally to stop the production and use of leaded gasoline.”

10. One article is added as Article 40: “Whoever, in violation of the provisions of Article 15 of this Law produces, sells, imports
or uses the equipment that is prohibited to produce, sell, import or use or employs the techniques that are prohibited to employ
shall be ordered to make rectification by the competent department for comprehensive economic and trade affairs of the people’s government
at or above the county level; if the circumstances are serious, the said competent department shall put forward suggestions thereon
and submit them to the people’s government at the corresponding level, which shall, according to the limits of authority prescribed
by the State Council, order the offender to suspend operation or close down.”

11. The post_title of Chapter III is revised as follows: “Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution by the Burning of Coal”.

This Decision shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution shall be revised correspondingly
in accordance with this Decision and shall be republished.

    






SUPPLEMENTARY CIRCULAR OF THE STATE ADMINISTRATION OF TAXATION ON THE TAXATION SCOPE AFTER REFORM OF THE SHARING SYSTEM OF INCOME TAX REVENUES

The State Administration of Taxation

Supplementary Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on the Taxation Scope after Reform of the Sharing System of Income
Tax Revenues

GuoShuiFa [2003] No.76

June 25, 2003

The bureaus of state taxations and the bureaus of local taxations of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under
the Central Government, and municipality separately listed on the State plan, and the entities in those bureaus:

In accordance with the spirit of the Circular of the State Council on Distributing the Scheme on the Reform of Income Tax Revenue
Sharing (GuoFa [2001] No.37), the State Administration of Taxation (SAT) handed down the Circular of the State Administration of
Taxation on the Taxation Scope after Reform of the Sharing System of Income Tax Revenues (GuoShuiFa [2002] No.8 ), which provide
for the specific taxation scope of the bureaus of state taxation and the bureaus of local taxation after the reform of the sharing
system of income tax revenues. Since execution of the new taxation scope from over one year ago, the bureaus of state taxation and
the bureaus of local taxation at various levels have taken consideration for the interests of the whole, strengthened the coordination
and cooperation in the division of taxation scope, and thus guaranteed the smooth progress of the reform of the sharing system of
income tax revenue. However, with the deepening of the enterprise reform, the forms of enterprise restructuring become more and more
varied, and some new situations have brought new problems to the taxation work of income taxes, in order to implement the principle
of taxation according to law, and to make up the omissions in taxation, the taxation scope for enterprise income tax after the enterprises’
restructuring and operation form changes shall be further clarified. For this purpose, the supplementary circular is hereby made
concerning the taxation scope of enterprise income tax on the basis of the spirit provided for by document GuoShuiFa [2002] No.8:

1.

Where the original enterprise is in any of the following situations, even if it has made the establishment (business start) registration,
its enterprise income tax shall be subject to taxation by the original taxation organ:

1)

The original enterprise is transferred or sold (auctioned) as a whole, but continues to exist and be qualified as an independent taxpayer.
However, if the original enterprise, after being transferred or sold (auctioned) as a whole, becomes a wholly-funded subsidiary of
the acquiring enterprise, and is brought into the scope of consolidate tax payment of the acquiring enterprise, then the income tax
of the enterprise transferred or sold (auctioned) as a whole shall be taxed by the taxation organ in charge of the taxation of income
tax of the acquiring enterprise.

2)

An enterprise acquires any other enterprise by merger (the acquired enterprise is written off) and continues to exist.

3)

A partnership enterprise is restructured into a limited liability company or a joint stock limited company, and no new investment
is absorbed in the restructuring.

4)

Alteration registration shall be made pursuant to the provisions of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, such as for
expansion of the enterprise, alteration of the leading (subordinate) relationship, enterprise name, enterprise type, economic nature,
business scope, business duration, operation method, legal representative, shareholders, name (post_title) of the shareholder of the promoter
of the company, registered capital, addition or cancellation of any branch, as well as the alteration of domicile, or business site,
etc.

2.

Where an original domestic-funded enterprise is restructured into a foreign-funded enterprise, and the income tax of foreign-funded
enterprise and foreign enterprise shall be collected pursuant to the provisions, no matter the enterprise makes whichever industrial
and commercial registration, the taxation scope shall be determined pursuant to the Circular of the General Office of the State Council
on Transmitting the Opinions of the State Administration of Taxation on Adjusting the Taxation Scope of the Bureaus of state Taxation
and the Bureaus of Local Taxation (GuoBanFa [1996] No.4) on the limit of authority of the administration of income tax of foreign-funded
enterprises and foreign enterprises.

3.

The taxation scope for public institutions and social organizations shall comply with the spirit of document GuoShuiFa [2002] No.8
and the aforesaid provisions.

4.

The bureaus of state taxation and bureaus of local taxation at various levels shall further strengthen cooperation in the division
of taxation scope of income taxes, shall strengthen contact, coordination and communication in the aspects of execution of the policies
on enterprise income tax and determination and collection of enterprise income tax, etc., shall strictly comply with the policies
on reduction and exemption of enterprise income tax, and thus to ensure the uniformity and seriousness of the tax law.

5.

The Provisions shall be implemented as of July 1, 2003. In order to keep the stability of taxation order, where the taxation scope
in respect of any domestic-funded enterprise that is subject to the actual taxation by a bureau of state taxation or local taxation
is inconformity with the Circular, such scope will not be adjusted any more.



 
The State Administration of Taxation
2003-06-25

 







CONSTITUTION ACT, 1982 – page 22

NOTES (1) The enacting clause was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.). It read as...