The State Council Rules for the Implementation of the Income Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China on Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Foreign Decree [1991] No.85 of the State Council June 30, 1991 Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 These Rules are formulated in accordance with the provisions of Article 29 of the Income Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China Article 2 “Income from production and business operations” mentioned in Article 1 , paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of the Tax Law means income “Income from other sources” mentioned in Article 1 , paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of the Tax Law means profits (dividends), interest, Article 3 “Enterprises with foreign investment” mentioned in Article 2 , paragraph 1 of the Tax Law and “foreign companies, enterprises and “Establishments or places” mentioned in Article 2 , paragraph 2 of the Tax Law refers to management organizations, business organizations, Article 4 “Business agents” mentioned in Article 3 , paragraph 2 of these Rules means companies, enterprises and other economic organizations (1) representing principals on a regular basis in the arranging of purchases and signing of purchase contracts and the purchasing of commodities (2) entering into agency agreements or contracts with principals, storing on a regular basis products or commodities owned by principals, (3) having authority to represent principals on a regular basis in signing of sales contracts or in accepting of purchase orders. Article 5 “Head office” mentioned in Article 3 of the Tax Law refers to the central organization which is established in China by an enterprise Income from production and business operations and other income derived by the branches within or outside China of an enterprise with Article 6 “Income derived from sources inside China” mentioned in Article 3 of the Tax Law refers to: (1) income from production and business operations derived by enterprises with foreign investment and foreign enterprises which have establishments (2) the following income received by foreign enterprises which have no establishments or sites in China: (a) profits (dividends) earned by enterprises in China; (b) interest derived within China such as on deposits or loans, interest on bonds, interest on payments made provisionally for others, (c) rentals on property leased to and used by lessees in China; (d) royalties such as those received from the provision of patents, proprietary technology, trademarks and copyrights for use in China; (e) gains from the transfer of property, such as houses, buildings, structures and attached facilities located in China and from the assignment (f) other income derived from China and stipulated by the Ministry of Finance to be subject to tax. Article 7 In respect of Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures that do not constitute legal persons, each partner thereto may separately Article 8 “Tax year” mentioned in Article 4 of the Tax Law begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 under the Gregorian Calendar. Foreign enterprises that have difficulty computing taxable income in accordance with the tax year stipulated in the Tax Law may, upon Enterprises commencing business operations in the middle of a tax year or actually operating for a period of less than 12 months in Enterprises that undergo liquidation shall use the period of liquidation as the tax year. Article 9 “The competent authority for tax affairs under the State Council” mentioned in Article 8 , paragraph 3 and Article 19 , paragraph Chapter II Computation of Taxable Income Article 10 “The formula for the computation of taxable income” mentioned in Article 4 of the Tax Law is as follows: (1) Manufacturing: (a) taxable income = (profit on sales) + (profit from other operations) + (non-business income) – (non-business expenses); (b) profit on sales = (net sales) – (cost of products sold) – (taxes on sales) – [ (selling expenses) + (administrative expenses) + (finance (c) net sales = (gross sales) – [ (sales returns) + (sales discounts and allowances) ]; (d) cost of products sold = (cost of products manufactured for the period) + (inventory of finished products at the beginning of the period) (e) cost of products manufactured for the period = (manufacturing costs for the period) + (inventory of semifinished products and products (f) manufacturing costs for the period = (direct materials consumed in production for the period) + (direct labour) + (manufacturing expenses). (2) Commerce: (a) taxable income = (profit on sales) + (profit from other operations) + (non-business income) – (non-business expenses); (b) profit on sales = (net sales) – (cost of sales) – (taxes on sales) – [ (selling expenses) + (administrative expenses) + (finance expenses) (c) net sales = (gross sales) – [ (sales returns) + (sales discounts and allowances) ]; (d) cost of sales = (inventory of merchandise at the beginning of the period) + { (purchase of merchandise during the period) – [ (purchase (3) Service trades: (a) taxable income = (net business income) + (non-operating income) – (non-operating expenses); (b) net business income = (gross business income) – [ (taxes on business income) + (operating expenses) + (administrative expenses) + (4) Other lines of business:Computations shall be made with reference to the above formulas. Article 11 The computation of taxable income of an enterprise shall, in principle, be on an accrual basis. The following income from business operations of an enterprise may be determined by stages and used as the basis for the computation (1) Where products or commodities are sold by instalment payment methods, income from sales may be recognized according to the invoice (2) Where construction, installation and assembly projects, and provision of labour services extend beyond one year, income may be recognized (3) Where the processing or manufacturing of heavy machinery, equipments and ships for other enterprises extends beyond one year, income Article 12 Where Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures operate on the basis of product sharing, the partners thereto shall be deemed to Where foreign enterprises are engaged in the cooperative exploration of petroleum resources, the partners thereto shall be deemed Article 13 In respect of income obtained by enterprises in the form of non-monetary assets or rights and interests, such income shall be computed Article 14 “Exchange rate quoted by the State exchange control authorities” mentioned in Article 21 of the Tax Law refers to the buying rate Article 15 In respect of income obtained by enterprises in foreign currency, upon payment of income tax in quarterly instalments in accordance Article 16 Where an enterprise is unable to provide complete and accurate certificates of costs and expenses and is unable to correctly compute When the tax authorities appraise and determine profit rates or revenues in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, Article 17 Foreign air transportation and ocean shipping enterprises engaged in international transport business shall use 5% of the gross revenues Article 18 Where an enterprise with foreign investment invests in another enterprise within China, the profits (dividends) so obtained from the Article 19 Unless otherwise stipulated by the State, the following items shall not be itemized as costs, expenses or losses in the computation (1) expenses in connection with the acquisition or construction of fixed assets; (2) expenses in connection with the transfer or development of intangible assets; (3) interest on capital; (4) various income tax payments; (5) fines for illegal business operations and losses due to the confiscation of property; (6) surcharges and fines for overdue payment of taxes; (7) the portion of losses due to natural disasters or accidents for which there has been compensation; (8) donations and contributions other than those used in China for public welfare or relief purposes; (9) royalties paid to the head office; (10) other expenses not related to production or business operations. Article 20 Reasonable administrative expenses paid by a foreign enterprise with an establishment or site in China to the head office in connection Administrative expenses in connection with production and business operations shall be allocated reasonably between enterprises with Article 21 Reasonable interest payments incurred on loans in connection with production and business operations shall be permitted to be itemized Interest paid on loans used by enterprises for the purchase or construction of fixed assets or the transfer or development of intangible “Reasonable interest” mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article refers to interest computed at a rate not higher than normal Article 22 Entertainment expenses incurred by enterprises in connection with production and business operations shall, when supported by authentic (1) Where annual net sales are 15 million yuan (RMB) or less, not to exceed 0.5% of net sales; for that portion of annual net sales that (2) Where annual gross business income is 5 million yuan (RMB) or less, not to exceed 1% of annual gross business income; for that portion Article 23 Exchange gains or losses incurred by enterprises during preconstruction or during production and business operations shall, except Article 24 Salaries and wages, and benefits and allowances paid by enterprises to employees shall be permitted to be itemized as expenses following Foreign social security premiums paid by enterprises to employees working in China shall not be itemized as expenses. Article 25 Enterprises engaged in such businesses as credit and leasing operations may, on the basis of actual requirements and following approval The portion of the actual bad debt losses incurred by an enterprise which exceeds the bad debt provisions of the preceding year may Bad debt losses mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be subject to approval after examination and verification by the local Article 26 “Bad debt losses” mentioned in Article 25 , paragraph 2 of these Rules refers to the following accounts receivable: (1) due to the bankruptcy of the debtor, collection is still not possible after the use of the bankruptcy assets for settlement; (2) due to the death of the debtor, collection is still not possible after the use of the estate for repayment; (3) due to the failure of the debtor to fulfil repayment obligations for over two years, collection is still not possible. Article 27 Accounts receivable already itemized as bad debt losses which are recovered in full or in part by an enterprise in a subsequent year Article 28 Foreign enterprises with establishments or places in China may, except as otherwise provided by the State, deduct as expenses foreign Article 29 “Net assets or remaining property” mentioned in Article 18 of the Tax Law means the amount of all assets or property following deduction Chapter III Tax Treatment for Assets Article 30 “Fixed assets of enterprises” means houses, buildings and structures, machinery, mechanical apparatus, means of transport and other Article 31 The valuation of fixed assets shall be based on original cost. The original cost of purchased fixed assets shall be the purchase price plus transportation expenses, installation expenses and other The original cost of fixed assets manufactured or constructed by an enterprise itself shall be the actual expenses incurred in their The original cost of fixed assets treated as investments shall, giving consideration to the degree of wear and tear of the fixed assets, Article 32 Depreciation of fixed assets of an enterprise shall be computed commencing with the month following the month in which they are first All investments made during the development stage by enterprises engaged in the exploitation of oil resources shall, taking the oil Article 33 In respect of the computation of depreciation of fixed assets, the salvage value shall first be estimated and deducted from the original Article 34 Depreciation of fixed assets shall be computed using the straight-line method. Where it is necessary to use any other method of depreciation, Article 35 The computation of the minimum useful life in respect of the depreciation of fixed assets is as follows: (1) for houses and buildings: 20 years; (2) for railway rolling stock, ships, machinery, mechanical apparatus, and other production equipment: 10 years; (3) for electronic equipment and means of transport other than railway rolling stock and ships, as well as as such fixtures, tools and Article 36 Depreciation of fixed assets in the nature of investments during the development stage and subsequent stages of an enterprise engaged Article 37 “Houses and buildings” mentioned in Article 35 , subparagraph (1) of these Rules means houses, buildings and attached structures used — houses, including factory buildings, business premises, office buildings, warehouses, residential buildings, canteens, and other — buildings, including towers, ponds, troughs, wells, racks, sheds (not including temporary, simply constructed structures such as Facilities attached to buildings and structures mean auxiliary facilities that are inseparable from buildings and structures and for Article 38 The scope of railway rolling stock, ships, machinery, mechanical apparatus and other production equipment mentioned in Article 35 — “railway rolling stock” includes various types of locomotives, passenger coaches, freight cars, as well as auxiliary facilities — “ships” includes various types of motor ships as well as auxiliary facilities on ships for which no separate value is computed; — “machinery, mechanical apparatus and other production equipment” includes various types of machinery, mechanical apparatus, machinery Article 39 The scope of electronic equipment, means of transport other than railway rolling stock and ships mentioned in Article 35 , subparagraph — “electronic equipment” means equipment comprising mainly integrated circuits, transistors, electron tubes and other electronic — “means of transport other than railway rolling stock and ships” includes airplanes, automobiles, trams, tractors, motor bikes (boats), Article 40 Where, for special reasons, it is necessary to shorten the useful life of fixed assets, an application may be submitted by an enterprise Fixed assets which for special reasons as mentioned in the preceding paragraph require the useful life to be shortened include: (1) machinery and equipment subject to strong corrosion by acid or alkali and factory buildings and structures subject to constant shaking (2) machinery and equipment operated continually year-round for the purpose of raising the utilization rate or increasing the intensity (3) fixed assets of a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture having a period of cooperation shorter than the useful life specified Article 41 Enterprises which acquire used fixed assets having a remaining useful life shorter than the useful life specified in Article 35 of Article 42 Where expenditures incur during the course of the use of fixed assets due to increased value caused by expansion, replacement, reconstruction Article 43 No further depreciation shall be allowed in respect of fixed assets which can be continued to be used after having been fully depreciated. Article 44 The balance of proceeds from the transfer or disposal of fixed assets by an enterprise shall, after deduction of the undepreciated Article 45 Depreciation of fixed assets received as gifts by enterprises may be computed on the basis of reasonable valuation. Article 46 Patents, proprietary technology, trademarks, copyrights, land-use rights and other intangible assets of enterprises shall be appraised For alienated intangible assets, the original value shall be the actual amount paid based on a reasonable price. For self-developed intangible assets, the original value shall be the actual amount of expenditure incurred in the course of development. For intangible assets used as investment, the original value shall be such reasonable price as is stipulated in the agreement or contract. Article 47 The amortization of intangible assets shall be computed using the straight-line method. Intangible assets transferred or assigned or used as investments, where the useful life is stipulated in the agreement or contract, Article 48 Reasonable exploration expenses incurred by enterprises engaged in the exploitation of petroleum resources may be amortized against Where operation of a contract field owned by a foreign oil company is terminated due to failure to find commercially viable oil (gas), Article 49 Expenses incurred by enterprises during the period of organization shall be amortized beginning with the month following the month The period of organization mentioned in the preceding paragraph means the period from the date of approval of the organization of Article 50 Inventories of merchandise, finished products, goods in process, semi-finished products, raw materials, and other such materials of Article 51 Enterprises may choose one of the following such methods: first-in, first-out; moving average; weighted average or last-in, first-out Once a method of valuation has been adopted for use, no change shall be made thereto. Where a change in the method of valuation is Chapter IV Business Dealings Between Associated Ente
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