August 2024 / China

On August 2^nd, 2024, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) recently drafted the Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Levying of Duties on Imported and Exported Goods (Draft Revision for Comment) (the "Draft") to solicit public opinions by September 2, 2024.

The Draft adds 38 articles, deletes 33 articles, modifies 41 articles and retains 10 articles compared with the existing measures. The revisions mainly involve: (1) deepening the comprehensive tax governance mechanism; (2) fully adopting the "self-report and self-pay" system; (3) clarifying the tax declaration obligation for royalties; (4) adjusting the applicable date for tax rates and exchange rates; (5) separating tax payment notification from tax payment certificate; (6) increasing taxpayer's tax declaration requirements; (7) adding provisions on the payment deadline of consolidated tax payment; (8) improving the regulations on the refund of late payment surcharge; (9) adding regulations on the levying of tax on bonded domestic sale goods; (10) adding regulations on customs tax confirmation; (11) implement classified handling of tax risks; (12) adding relevant provisions on tax enforcement; and (13) deleting the provisions on tax reduction and exemption for imported and exported goods.

Draft: http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302452/302329/zjz/6022962/index.html

On August 8th, 2024, three departments, including Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), have jointly issued the Circular on Relevant Matters Concerning the Formulation of the List of Industrial Machine Tool Enterprises Eligible for VAT Super-deduction Policy for 2024 (the "Circular"), with effect from the date of issuance.

The list mentioned in the Circular refers to the list of enterprises engaged in principal machine, key functional part, and numerical control system of advanced machine tool which are eligible for value-added tax (VAT) super-deduction policy, as specified in Cai Shui [2023] No. 25. According to the Circular, enterprises applying for being included in the list shall submit application via the information submission system prior to August 31, 2024, generate paper documents affixed with official seal and report them to the provincial industry and information technology departments along with necessary supporting materials. For enterprises that have been included in the 2023 list and intend to apply for the inclusion in the 2024 list, Items 2, 3, 6 and 8 of the List of Evidential Materials to be Submitted by Industrial Machine Tool Enterprises Eligible for VAT Super-deduction Policy shall be submitted once again. The Circular also clarifies that enterprises may inquire about whether they are included in the list via the information submission system after October 31, 2024.

Circular:https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2024/art_549a8290fee64b15afe2aea4ee5f934f.html

The State Taxation Administration (STA) has released the Circular on Further Facilitating Cross-region Migration of Taxpayers to Serve the Building of a Unified National Market (the "Circular"), with effect from September 1, 2024.

The Circular mainly involves: (1) proactively providing guidance to optimize prior reminders; (2) refining various scenarios to accelerate the in-process handling; and (3) providing tracking and follow-up guidance to improve subsequent services. Among others, the Circular calls for simplifying invoice usage procedures. For taxpayers adopting fully digitalized electronic invoices, the information system will automatically transfer their invoice quota to the new location. Taxpayers using tax control devices may change the tax control device information online in the case of migration within a province without cancelling the tax control device at the original tax authority. In the case of migration across provinces, taxpayers may remotely cancel the tax control device online and directly obtain a new device from the tax authority in the new location or adopt fully digitalized electronic invoices. The Circular also stresses the efforts to optimize the handling of pending matters, conduct categorized handling of tax-related risks, and improve the tax refund process.

Circular: https://fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c102424/c5233779/content.html

On August 19th, 2024, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has issued the Announcement [2024] No. 32, stating that anti-dumping duties will continue to be imposed on imports of halogenated butyl rubber originating in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

According to the Announcement, in accordance with Article 50 of the Anti-Dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2004), the MOFCOM, based on investigation results, suggested to the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council the continuation of anti-dumping measures. The Customs Tariff Commission, following the MOFCOM's suggestion, decided that from August 20, 2024, anti-dumping duties will continue to be imposed on imports of halogenated butyl rubber originating in the US, the EU, the UK, and Singapore for a period of five years.