1." Implementation Measures for the Pilot Program of Water Resource Tax Reform" (Finance and Taxation [2024] No. 28)

In order to implement the principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, as well as to adhere to the relevant provisions of the Resource Tax Law of the People's Republic of China and the Water Law of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the Ministry of Water Resources have jointly issued the Implementation Measures for the Pilot Reform of the Water Resource Tax (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"). The Measures aim to strengthen the management and protection of water resource while promoting their efficient, sustainable, and safe utilization. These Measures will take effect on December 1, 2024, marking the commencement of the comprehensive implementation of the pilot reform to transition the water resource fee to a tax.

The Measures provide specific provisions regarding key elements of the water resources tax system, including taxpayers, taxable basis, tax amount standards, and tax incentives.

a)Taxpayers and Taxable Basis: The taxpayer for the water resource tax is the unit or individual that directly extracts water resources from rivers, lakes (including reservoirs, water diversion, transfer, and allocation projects, etc.), and groundwater. The water resources tax is levied based on the taxable basis, which is the volume of water extracted.

b)Tax Amount Standards: Water resource tax is applied differentiated based on the water resource conditions, type of water use, and economic development factors. The State has established a minimum average tax amount standard for all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, ensuring a consistent baseline across all regions. The specific applicable tax amounts are determined by the relevant provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal authorities. Additionally, a higher tax amount is to be set for the extraction of groundwater and for water extraction from areas facing severe water shortages or overuse.

c)Tax Incentives: Water resources tax will be exempted in five specific circumstances, including the use of water for agricultural production within prescribed limits. For agricultural water use exceeding the prescribed limits and for water used in rural centralized drinking water projects, local authorities are authorized to grant tax reductions or exemptions. Furthermore, taxpayers who meet the national water use efficiency standards (advanced quotas) will be eligible for a reduction in the water resources tax.

d)Revenue Allocation: Following the reform, all water resource tax revenue will be allocated to local governments (whereas previously, water resource fee revenue was shared between central and local governments on a 1:9 ratio), which will enhance local fiscal autonomy.

e)Tax Administration: To standardize and enhance the administration of water resources tax collection, the coordinated tax collection mechanism between tax authorities and water administration departments will be improved. Additionally, the oversight of taxpayers' water measurement facilities will be strengthened.

2."Announcement on the Comprehensive Promotion and Adoption of Digital Electronic Invoices for Railway Passenger Transport" (Announcement No. 8, 2024, by the State Administration of Taxation, Ministry of Finance, and China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.)

In line with the "Opinions on Further Deepening Tax Collection and Administration Reform" issued by the General Office of Central Committee and State Council in 2021, which calls for the orderly promotion of electronic invoices in sectors such as railways and civil aviation, and to implement the aforementioned requirements, the State Administration of Taxation, Ministry of Finance, and China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. jointly issued the "Announcement on the Comprehensive Promotion and Adoption of Digital Electronic Invoices for Railway Passenger Transport" (Announcement No. 8, 2024). The implementation of this initiative will reduce the cost of invoice use, improve the efficiency of invoice management, and meet passengers’ demand for convenient access to electronic invoices (railway electronic tickets).

Passengers may log into their 12306 accounts (including the website and mobile app, hereinafter referred to as "12306") to obtain their electronic invoice (railway electronic ticket) within 180 days after completing their journey or paying for ticket changes and cancellations. If the 180-day period has elapsed, the provisions agreed upon between the passenger and the railway transport enterprise shall apply. The railway transport enterprise shall issue the electronic invoice (railway electronic ticket) through 12306 and deliver it to the passenger via 12306, by email, or through other electronic means. Passengers can query, download, or print the electronic invoice (railway electronic ticket) through 12306. 

Currently, electronic invoice (railway electronic ticket) services are provided for domestic passenger transport ticket sales, refunds, and changes processed through the railway ticket sales and reservation system. The service is not provided for non-real-name tickets, emergency paper tickets, or China Railway Silver Tong Card/E-Ticket System tickets, etc.

3."Work Rules for the Handling Fair Competition Review Complaints" (Announcement No. 45, 2024 by the State Administration for Market Regulation)

To fully implement the decisions of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee regarding strengthening the rigid constraints on fair competition reviews and building a unified national market, the State Administration for Market Regulation has drafted the "Work Rules for the Handling Fair Competition Review Complaints" (hereinafter referred to as the "Work Rules") in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Competition Review Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulation").

In June 2024, the State Council reviewed and released the Regulation, which officially came into effect on August 1, 2024. Article 22 of the Regulation stipulates: Any organization or individual may report violations of the Regulation to the market supervision and administration departments. Upon receiving a complaint, the market supervision and administration departments shall promptly process the complaint or refer it to the relevant departments for handling.

The market supervision and administration departments shall make public the contact details (such as phone numbers, mailboxes, or email addresses) for receiving complaints.

The Work Rules consist of four parts, with 27 articles in total. The main contents include:

a)General Requirements: This section mainly sets out the legislative purpose, scope of application, division of functions among market supervision and administration departments at different levels, principles for handling complaints, the authority of market supervision and administration departments at different levels in handling fair competition review complaints, the channels for reporting, and the rights and obligations of complainants.

b)Investigation Mechanism: This section mainly defines the requirements for complaint registration, the subjects of investigation under different circumstances, situations in which complaints will not be processed, the materials that need to be provided during the investigation, cases of failure to implement or improperly implement the review procedures, violations of review standards, the need to hear opinions from relevant parties, investigation deadlines, and conditions for concluding investigations.

c)Supervision and Management: This section mainly outlines the circumstances under which reminders and urgings should be made, the situations and methods for conducting interviews, the responsibilities of relevant personnel and coordination between administrative and disciplinary functions, the procedures for handling issues arising from higher-level regulatory guidance, the coordination mechanism with antitrust enforcement and supervision, public and media supervision, the aggregation and analysis of complaint-handling information, and confidentiality requirements and other relevant matters.

4.Administrative Measures for the Taxation of Import and Export Goods through the Customs of the People's Republic of China (General Administration of Customs Decree No. 272)

On October 28, 2024, the General Administration of Customs promulgated the "Administrative Measures for the Taxation of Import and Export Goods through the Customs of the People's Republic of China” (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”), which will be implemented from December 1, 2024, alongside the "Customs Law of the People's Republic of China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Customs Law").

The revisions to the Measures focus primarily on the terminology for the taxable entity, the applicable scenarios, and the scope of the law, among other aspects, and are designed to align with and complement the Customs Law.

Key revisions:

a)Terminology for the Taxable Entity and Types of Taxes Collected at the Import Stage

The term "tax obligor " will be changed to "taxpayer". Taxes collected by Customs at the import stage will include Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Consumption Tax. The Comprehensive Tax Administration Leadership Group will serve as the coordinating group to guide the collection and management of Customs taxes.

b)Cross-Border E-Commerce Operator, Customs Confidentiality Obligations, and Electronic Payment

The operator of a cross-border e-commerce platform will be the withholding agent for customs duties and customs-collected taxes at the importation stage. The confidentiality obligations of the Customs are refined. Customs and its personnel must maintain confidentiality regarding the trade secrets and personal privacy of taxpayers and withholding agents. Adapting to the trend of electronic payments, the Measures specify that taxpayers and withholding agents are allowed to use electronic payment methods to settle taxes.

c)Update of Applicable Regulation: The specific provisions in the Customs regulations regarding commodity classification, customs valuation, and origin management will be simplified and referred to as “relevant provisions”. The applicable regulation, the Customs Tariff Regulations, will be replaced with the Customs Law.、、

d)Tax Rates and Tax Assessment Rate: The import and export tax rates will be based on the date the taxpayer or withholding agent completes the declaration, rather than the date Customs accepts the declaration, with the tax assessment rate incorporated into the calculation of the tax rate. For goods that arrive at the designated destination before clearance, if Customs approves a prior declaration, the applicable tax rate will be that in effect on the date the transport vehicle arrives at the destination, and the tax assessment rate will be based on the date the declaration was submitted.

e)Formula: A formula for calculating the tariff tax amount under the composite tax assessment rate has been added, along with formulas for calculating the import value-added tax (VAT) and consumption tax.

f)The applicability of certain provisions has been expanded, including the addition of circumstances under which taxpayers may submit a written request to Customs for a tax refund or tax guarantees.

In addition to the changes listed above, the Measures have been further amended to address additional details.