Preferential
Policies--Service Organization--Investment
Procedure--Concerned
Charges
Preferential
Policies: Income
Tax for Enterprises--Further
Encouragement of Foreign Investment--Further
Improvement of Software Environment for Foreign Investment
Income
Tax for Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Foreign
Enterprises:
It is prescribed by the state that the income tax
on enterprises with foreign investment shall be computed
on taxable income at the rate of 30%.
The income tax on enterprise with foreign investment
of a production nature established in Ningbo proper and
the areas within its jurisdiction shall be levied at the
reduced rate of 24%. (The income tax on enterprises with
foreign investment in Ningbo Economic & Technical
Development Zone, Daxie Island Development Zone, Ningbo
Free Trade Zone, the projects within the scope of energy,
communications, harbour, wharf, or other projects encouraged
by the state, the projects with foreign investment exceeding
USD 30 million and with long period of investment recovery,
may be levied at the reduced rate of 15%), among which
those with an operational period of more than 10 years
shall be exempted from income tax within the first two
profit-making years, and allowed a half reduction of income
tax from the third to the fifth year.
Foreign invested enterprises which is engaged in
Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry may, upon approval
by the competent department for tax affairs under the
State Council of an application filed by the enterprises,
be allowed a fifteen to thirty percent reduction of the
amount of income tax payable for a period of another ten
years following the expiration of the period for tax exemption
and reduction as provided for in the preceding paragraphs.
In
the years following the expiration of the period for tax
exemption or reduction, the export enterprises with annual
value of export products covering 70% or more of the annual
value of the total products shall be levied at the reduced
rate of 12%. (The enterprises in Ningbo Economic and Technical
Development Zone, Daxie Island Development Zone and Ningbo
Free Trade Zone will be levied at the reduced rate of
10%).
Technologically
advanced enterprises shall be levied at the reduced income
rate of 12% for an extension of 3 years following the
expiration of the period for tax exemption or reduction.
(The enterprises in Ningbo Economic and Technical Development
Zone, Daxie Island Development Zone and Ningbo Free Trade
Zone shall be levied at the reduced rate of 10% for an
extension of 3 years).
Re-investment
Tax Reimbursement:
With the approval of tax authorities, a foreign
participant who reinvests his share of profits in enterprises
in China for a period not less than five years, may obtain
a refund of 40% of the income tax already paid on the
reinvested sum. Those who reinvest in the export enterprises
or technologically advanced enterprises may obtain a refund
of all the income tax on the reinvested sum.
Local
Income Tax:
It¡¯s prescribed by the state that local income tax on
enterprises with foreign investment shall be computed
on taxable income at the rate of 3%. (Local government
can prescribe that certain trades and projects with foreign
investment would be exempted or reduced from local tax
according to local condition).
Those enterprises with foreign investment in Ningbo with
operational period of more than 10 years shall be exempted
from local income tax for 5-10 years beginning from the
first profit-making years. And those whose value of export
products reaches 70% or more can be exempted half of the
local income tax for an extension of three years.
Withholding
Income Tax:
Any foreign enterprises which has no establishment or
place in China but derives profits, interest, rent, royalties
or other income from source in Ningbo, may be levied at
the reduced rate of 10%. (except for exemption of the
income tax prescribed by law). And those provide advanced
technology, or the terms of capital or equipments are
preferential, exemption or reduction may be allowed upon
approval.
Remittance
Tax:
Profits gained by the foreign investors from the enterprises
shall be exempted from remittance tax when remitted out
of China. Customs Duties
The customs duties and import-related value-added tax
on the equipment for self-use (except for those stipulated
in ¡°Catalogue of Imported Commodities not Entitled for
Tariff Exemption for Projects with foreign Investment¡±)
imported by foreign investment project in accordance with
¡°the Encouraged Foreign Investment Industries and Restricted
Foreign Investment Industries (B) of the Catalogue for
the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (promulgated
on 31, December, 1997)¡±.
Top
Provisions
of Ningbo Municipal People¡¯s Government on
the Further Encouragement of Foreign Investment
(May
7th, 1998)
Top
The provisions on the further encouragement of
foreign investment are hereby formulated in accordance
with the state policies, rules and regulations as well
as our actual conditions in order open our city further
to the outside world, push the entire foreign investment
forward, and utilize overseas investment in a more positives,
reasonable and efficient way to promote the continuous,
rapid and healthy development of our economy.
Article
1
Foreign-funded productive projects, both encouraged and
permitted in our city, which are scheduled to operate
for a period of 10 years or more, can enjoy the following
preferential policies:
(1)
The income tax may be exempted in the first two profit-making
years and a 50 percent reduction may be allowed in the
third to fifth years. After taxation, enterprises, after
approval by the people¡¯s government at the county level
or higher on application of enterprise, shall be refunded
all of the income tax or part of it already paid on the
area-retained portion from the local finance in the light
of its finance possibilities.
(2)
The great projects with a total investment of 10 million
US dollars or more, the hi-tech projects and those located
in Ningbo Economic & Technical Development Zone, Ningbo
Free-trade Zone, Daxie Development Zone, Yongjiang New
Town and the development zone at the provincial level
may be refunded 50 percent of the income tax already paid
on the area-retained portion in the sixth to tenth years
in accordance with the local finance possibilities.
(3)
Foreign-funded enterprises, where the participants shall
increase their contributions to the registered capital,
can enjoy the same preferential treatments as mentioned
in item 1 and 2 in relation to the reinvested amount.
(4)
The customs duty and the value-added tax for import are
levied on the self-use imported equipments for our key
projects according to the stipulations of the relevant
laws. Those enterprises shall, upon approval by the people¡¯s
government at the county level or higher, be refunded
year by year the value-added tax already paid on the area-retained
portion within five years after they were put into operation.
(5)
Foreign-funded enterprises, after approval by the tax
authorities, are allowed to accelerate the depreciation
of fixed assets.
Article
2
The following preferential policies will be given to the
existing enterprises, which are innovated with the aid
of foreign investment.
(1)
Foreign-funded enterprises, which are invested in premises
by the Chinese participant, shall be exempt from the adjustable
fund in changing the name of the owner in a register.
Service charge shall be not more than RMB 2,000 yuan.
(2)
For enterprise that have more surplus employees for rearrangement
and repay the heavy loan for the Chinese participant¡¯s
contribution to the registered capital, their foreign-funded
enterprises shall, after approval by the people¡¯s government
at the county level or higher, be refunded the value-added
tax already pain on the area-retained portion within three
years after they were put into operation. The refunded
amount is used to rearrange the surplus employees in the
existing enterprises and repay the loan for the Chinese
participant¡¯s contribution to the registered capital.
Article
3
The following preferential treatments will be given to
investors from abroad who invest in projects for agriculture.
(1)
Scheduled to operate for a period of 15 years or more,
foreign-funded projects on the development-oriented or
foreign exchange-acquiring agriculture, including farming,
forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and other processing
industries, may, upon approval by the people¡¯s government
at the county level or higher, be refunded all of the
agricultural tax and the specialty taxes of agriculture
and forestry already paid within three years beginning
from the income-making year. They may be exempt from the
income tax in the first two profit-making years and allowed
a 50 percent reduction in the third to fifth years. After
taxation, enterprises, upon approval by the people¡¯s government
at the county level or higher on application of enterprises,
shall be refunded all of the income tax already paid on
the area-retained portion from the local finance. In the
sixth to tenth years, they shall be refunded 50 percent
of the income tax already paid on the area-retained portion
upon approval by the people¡¯s government at the county
level or higher on application of enterprises. After the
expiration of the above treatments, enterprises shall,
upon approval by the people¡¯s government at the county
level or higher on application of enterprises, be refunded
30 percent of the income tax already paid on the area-retained
portion in the next five years.
(2)
Foreign-funded projects for agriculture in cultivation
and development of waste hill, waste mountain slopes and
flood land may, upon approval by the people¡¯s government
at the county level or higher, be refunded all of the
agricultural tax and the specialty taxes of agriculture
and forestry already paid in the first five income-making
years, and 50 percent of them in the second five years.
Article
4
The following preferential treatments will be given to
investors from abroad who invest in such infrastructure
projects as airport, port, wharf, highway, electric power,
energy, water conservation and environmental protection.
(1)
Income tax shall be levied at the rate of 15 percent upon
approval by the tax authorities. Foreign-funded enterprises,
which are scheduled to operate for a period of 15 years
or more, shall, upon approval, be refunded all of the
income tax already paid on the area-retained portion in
the first five profit-making years, and 50 percent of
them in the sixth to tenth years.
(2)
Should foreign investors invest, build and operate the
communication and transportation projects, they shall
enjoy priority in transferring the land use right along
highways on the same conditions.
(3)
Land use right, operation right or capital stock of the
infrastructure projects on communication and transportation
with their related projects in service are allowed to
be transferred to foreign investors in accordance with
laws concerned.
Article
5
Foreign investors are encouraged to invest in the hi-tech
industries.
(1)
Foreign-funded enterprises which can be confirmed as the
hi-tech ones for a period of ten years or more can enjoy
the preferential treatments, as set forth in Article 1,
and with the approval of the tax authorities, obtain a
refund of the remainder beyond 15 percent of the income
tax already paid on the area-retained portion after they
are charged, beginning from the tax year on which the
enterprise is confirmed as the hi-tech one.
(2)
Manufacturers where the hi-tech products are developed
with the aid of foreign investment may, upon approval
by the people¡¯s government at the county level or higher,
be refunded at an appropriate rate the value-added tax
already paid on the area-retained portion within two years
beginning from the date on which the manufacturer is confirmed
as the hi-tech enterprise.
Article
6
The tertiary industry is gradually opened up for foreign
investors.
(1)
Foreign investors are encouraged to invest in scientific
research and development, education, intermediate service
and exploitative tourist facilities. Those foreign-funded
projects in operation shall be refunded the income tax
already paid on the area-retained portion within three
years beginning from the profit-making year.
(2)
Sino-foreign equity or contractual joint ventures on commercial
wholesale, retail, finance, insurance, tourism and foreign
trade shall be allowed, upon approval, to be gradually
opened up as a pilot project in our city.
(3)
Foreign investors who would make an investment in the
large scenic spot for tourism in Ningbo may enjoy the
preferential treatments in accordance with the provision
of Article 1 of the regulations.
Article
7
Foreign investors are encouraged to increase their contributions
to the registered capital or their shares of stock in
the foreign-funded enterprises. After the income tax is
charged, foreign investors, who reinvest the profits distributed
to them by their enterprises in order to expand their
enterprises or others for an operational period of not
less than five years, shall obtain a refund of 40 percent
of the income tax paid on the reinvested amount in accordance
with the stipulations of the relevant laws. In addition,
they shall be refunded 30 percent of the income tax already
paid on the area-retained portion from the local finance.
Should they reinvest in export-technologically advanced
enterprises, they shall, after approval by the local tax
authorities, be refunded all of the income tax already
paid on the reinvested amount.
Article
8
Foreign investors are encouraged to make an investment
in Ningbo Economic & Technical Development Zone, Free-trade
Zone, Daxie Development Zone, Yongjiang New Town and the
development zone at the provincial level, where the foreign-funded
enterprises for the pillar or hi-tech industries can obtain
the land use at the local bottom price and enjoy priority
in supply of water, power, gas, etc.. Graduates of universities
and colleges or with the middle-ranking titles from other
areas and regions, if they are employed, can be solved
in the removal of their domiciles to our city and the
entry of their children to our nurseries and schools by
help of the mother city on which areas depend.
Article
9
Foreign-funded enterprises are encouraged to expand their
products for export.
(1)
Foreign-funded enterprises, where domestic raw materials,
components and devices are used to turn out products mainly
for export, amounting to 5 million US dollars or more
in an annual export volume, can be given priority in tax
reimbursement, stand arrangement in Guangzhou Export commodities
Fair, and import/export quota and license allocation.
Moreover, they can help enterprises to take part in the
state-organized tender invitations for export quota.
(2)
Should foreign-funded enterprises carry out the processing
trade, they can be granted an approval by ¡°one-station¡±
service at the Foreign Investment Service Center. All
goods which are to be imported or exported in batches
from enterprises, except for the specified commodities,
are subject to once-for-all handling in the Custom-supervised
area, with the approval of the Customs, to be imported
into or exported out of our city in batches. As to the
imported equipments for the processing trade, foreign-funded
enterprises may complete the tax exemption procedure with
the Customs in the locality for record. For this, their
contract for the processing trade must be submitted, and,
upon examinations by the Customs, a manual shall be issued
to the said enterprise. The port authority in the Customs
may release the goods concerned on the check of their
manuals.
Article
10
The preferential land price shall be given to foreign-funded
enterprises.
(1)
Should foreign investors make an investment in agriculture,
infrastructure, hi-tech and key industries as well as
in Ningbo Economic & Technical Development Zone, Free-trade
Zone, Daxie Development Zone, Yongjiang New Town and the
development zone at the provincial level, with a total
amount of 10 million US dollars or more, they shall be
exempt from the land use fee, and the pre-retained site
available for their investment project may be exempt from
their down payment within five years beginning from the
date on which enterprises is granted land use right, after
land for project is approved by the local land and finance
authorities. Investors are allowed to pay the land price
by installments.
(2)
Foreign-funded enterprises with the hi-tech agriculture
may, upon approval, be exempt from various fees necessary
for land. Land rental is also available.
(3)
Encouraged projects with foreign investment, which is
scheduled to operate for a period of 15 years or more,
may be exempt from land use fee in the first five years
and allowed a 50 percent reduction in the next five years,
beginning from the date on which enterprises are granted
the land use right.
Projects
have a total investment of 10 million US dollars or less,
but they are technologically advanced and have a great
influence on the local economy. These projects may be
regarded as our key ones, and land use is guaranteed.
The
foreign-funded projects for agriculture development or
those for agriculture in cultivation and development of
waste hills, waste mountain slopes and flood land are
allowed to extend the tenure of land use for another ten
years in the light of the different purposes. Moderate
land transfer fee and rental are to be paid, or profits
of joint venture shall be shared by the participants in
proportion to their economic results after it is put into
operation.
(4)
If the Chinese participant would like to contribute its
land use right as investment, foreign-funded industrial
enterprises for technical innovation shall, upon approval,
pay the land transfer fee in 20 percent of the land price
prescribed on their economic benefits, and may do in annual
installments within 5 years. Should the existing downtown
area be reconstructed with the aid of foreign investment,
foreign-funded enterprises shall, upon approval, pay the
land transfer fee in 40 percent of the land price prescribed
on their benefits.
Article
11
In order to make things easy for employees from foreign-funded
enterprises to go abroad on a business trip, Ningbo Foreign
Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission, on behalf of
Ningbo Municipal People¡¯s Government, is authorized to
grant their request with reference to the procedures in
examination and approval by the provincial departments
concerned.
Article
12
Appendix
(1)
Enterprises from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan are considered
to be foreign-funded enterprises and handled in accordance
with these provisions.
(2)
The power to explain these provisions is vested in Ningbo
Foreign Investment Affairs Administration.
(3)
These provisions shall come into force from the date of
promulgation.
Top
Document
of Ningbo Municipal People' GovernmentYongzheng No.5,1997
Resolution on Further Improvement of Software Environment
for Foreign Investment
(Adopted by Ningbo Municipal People's Government to)
Top
The County (or County borough) Governments,the
District Governments, the Departments of the Municipal
Government and the Units Directly under it :
In
order to create a sound environment for foreign investment,
and guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of the
foreign-invested enterprises, attract and absorb more
foreign investors and investment to Ningbo, speed up the
implementation of export-oriented-drive strategy and promote
the rapid development of the whole municipal economy,
a resolution on further improvement of software environment
for foreign investment has been made as follows:
1.
Basic Requirements for Improvement of Software Environment
for Foreign Investment
(1)
The improvement of software environment for investment
is an important task relating to further expansion of
the utilization of foreign investment and endeavor to
raise the level of opening to outside, and also an item
of system engineering concerning all the lines and aspects
in this municipality. Every district, department and unit
in the municipality shall concern, support the production
and operating activities of the foreign-invested enterprises,
actively and conscientiously help them solve problems
in production and management, and endeavor to create an
investing, administrating and managing environment according
to the international customs.
(2)
All the departments and units involving affairs of foreign
investment shall practice public administration system
and promise-of-service system, making public the content,
procedure, standard and time limit of the affair dealt
with, going through formalities at one window, strengthening
the sense of service, simplifying the formalities and
improving working efficiency and quality of service .Every
department or unit shall work at least 5 full legal days
a week and may not refuse serving the foreign businessmen
within the working time .When the person in charge of
the affairs is absent from his/her post because of other
jobs or illness, the leading cadre of the department shall
appoint another to exercise the function instead of him/her,
or give necessary explanation to the foreign businessmen
.
(3)
The foreign-invested enterprises (including enterprises
with the investment from Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan, the
same below) are the independent legal persons established
under law, their rights and interests shall be protected
by the laws of our country and their managing activities
shall also abide by the laws of our country . The comprehensive
function departments and the administrative and executive
departments shall supervise and administer foreign-invested
enterprises and safeguard their constant managing activities
and legitimate rights and interests .The authority of
the Chinese participants in sino-foreign joint ventures
and sino-foreign contractual cooperative enterprises may
not intervene the normal constant managing activities
of the enterprises and not be allowed to seal up and withhold
the property and account books of the enterprises. If
the authority has different opinions of them, it may ask
the Chinese director convey the opinions to the board
of directors .The change of the Chinese high managerial
staff shall be passed with the resolution of the board
of directors .The Chinese high managerial staff, who,
owing to their own faults, are unable to cooperate and
work together with the foreign participants, shall be
replaced in time.
2.
Improvement of the Administration and Service in the Comprehensive
Function Department
(4)
The Foreign Economic and Trade Commission of Ningbo Municipal
People's Government is the department of comprehensive
and centralized functions for foreign-invested enterprises.
The county (or county borough )governments, District governments
and the Departments of the municipal government, and the
Administrative Committees of the Ningbo Economic and Technical
Development Zone and Yongjiang New Town are the basic
administrative department for the foreign-invested enterprises.
(5)
The administrative departments for the foreign-invested
enterprises shall hold a meeting at least twice a year
to explain the policies concerning foreign affairs, to
communicate the policy documents, which should be made
public, to the foreign-invested enterprises, to increase
policy transparency and to urge the policies to be executed.
The departments shall solicit opinions and proposals from
foreign businessmen and submit them to the leadership
of the Municipal Government and distribute them to the
departments concerned for solution.
(6)
Municipal Planning Commission, Municipal Foreign Economic
& Trade Commission, County (county Borough) Planning
Committee and Foreign Economic & Trade Committee,
District Planning Committee and Foreign Economic &
Trade Committee (or Bureaus) are the examination and approval
authorities for the foreign investment project, joint
venture contracts and articles of association, and shall
provide the applying-for-foreign-investment-project unit
with the Catalog of materials and model forms of documents
needed for investment project approval, and shall make
clear at a time the amendments and requirements of the
application materials for the establishment of the foreign-invested
enterprises. The Municipal Planning Commission shall promulgate
foreign investment guiding materials at regular intervals
to explicate the lines and fields of encouragement, permission,
limitation and prohibition, and the corollary policies
concerned.
(7)
The confirmation of the technological advanced enterprises
and export-oriented enterprises enjoying preferential
treatment among the foreign-invested enterprises shall
be made by the Municipal Planning Commission within 10
working days.
(8)
The Municipal Urban and Rural Construction Commission
shall enhance the coordinating service to the links of
building plans, architectural design and construction
of the foreign-invested project. If the documents for
application are valid and complete, the examination and
approval of a single item shall be made within 15 working
days and the examination and approval of a comprehensive
project within 25 working days.
(9)
The examination and approval department for foreign-invested
projects shall finish the examination and approval within
5 working days if there is one of the following circumstances
and with valid and complete documents: 1) the examination
and approval of the non-restricted project within quota
contract, articles of association and the issuance of
the approval certificate ;2)the examination and approval
of the adjustment of the enterprise stock, scope of business,
import and export business and change of the board of
the directors, etc. 3)the examination and approval of
the recommendation of the non-restricted foreign-invested
project below 5,000,000$ (not including 5,000,000$), the
feasibility study report, or the both.
3.
Improvement of Administration and Service of Administrative
and Executive Departments
(10)
While dealing with the formalities of land use for the
foreign-invested project, the land authority shall give
priority processing to every applicant with valid and
compete documents and with its satisfaction of requirements
concerned. The assessment of the land shall be accomplished
within 15 working days and the examination and approval
of the project using land within 10 working days; and
both of them shall be submitted to the People's Government
at the same level or the higher land authority for examination
and approval.
(11)
The Industry and Commerce Administration is in charge
of the registration of the foreign-invested enterprises
and every applicant's registration with valid and complete
documents shall be accomplished within 10 working days.
The formalities for modifying enterprise's registration
shall be accomplished within 7 working days.
(12)
The tax authority shall handle tax registration applied
by the foreign-invested enterprises in time; the confirmation
of the ordinary tax payer of value added tax shall be
accomplished within 30 working days. The examination and
approval of preferential treatment for income tax and
the confirmation of reduction and exemption of income
tax enjoyed by the foreign-invested enterprises shall
be accomplished within 25 working days.
(13)
In the examination and approval of preventive health supervision,
the health administration shall accomplish it within 10
working days if the documents are valid and complete.
The examination and approval and the issuance of certificate
for the enterprise producing and engaging in food, the
guest house, the entertainment place, the store, the dining
room and the self-prepared water for living within an
enterprise, or the radioactive-material-involved unit
shall be accomplished within 15 working days.
(14)
The environment protection administration and the labor
administration shall strictly execute the "Environment
Influence Report" and "3-at-the-same-time"(design,
construction and finish check and acceptance at the same
time) system, strive to shorten the limitation of examination
and approval of various projects. The examination and
approval of the environment influence report card of the
middle or small project shall be accomplished within 5
working days, and of the environment influence report
form of the large project within 10 working days. The
official reply after examination to the Environment Influence
Report and the Inspection Form for Labor Safety and Health
Preliminary Design(check and acceptance) shall be accomplished
within 30 working days.
(15)
The foreign-invested enterprises, which has been audited
by the auditing body, generally will not be rechecked
on the same content in the same term by other executive
department of the government.
(16)
The public security sector shall ratify the residence
and the site of the office chosen by the foreign resident
businessman/ businesswoman himself/herself within 5 working
days as long as it does not involve the national security,
social order or other public interests.
(17)
The fire protection department shall finish the examination
and approval of the fire fighting item within 10 working
days and fire fighting project within 20 working days.
(18)
The person with driving license of the foreign country
and the region of Hongkong, Macao or Taiwan, or with the
international driving license, and from the country and
the region, may go through the formalities at the specified
window in the Vehicle Public Security Administration on
any working day. The person, who complies with the conditions
stipulated and has passed physical examination, the examination
of traffic safety code and safely driving common sense
and the driving on the road text (the contents of examination
for the person coming from Taiwan are according to the
Regulations of Ningbo Municipality on Safeguard of the
Investment by Taiwan Compatriots ), will be verified and
awarded the driving license of motor vehicle of the same
kind immediately. Taking examination of theory, the examinee
may bring an interpreter with him/her.
(19)
The foreign businessman or businesswoman, who comes to
Ningbo because of urgent affairs indeed, may apply to
the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office for invitation letter
or telegram of visaing the passport upon landing in China.
After authorization by the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office,
the foreign investor, the cultural and educational expert,
the engineering personnel and their family members may
be given multi-arrival-depature visas. The foreign businessman
or businesswoman, who has invested heavily and the foreigner,
who has made important contribution in the economic, technical
and cultural cooperation, may obtain the qualification
of long-term or permanent residence. The persons, who
are to be dispatched abroad as research fellows or trainees,
shall be offered convenience of application for passports.
The person among them, who comes from other province and
has worked continually for more than a year and is needed
to go abroad indeed by the enterprise, will be accepted
and heard, verified and granted passport under the law.
(20)
In order to run foreign-invested project and to introduce
specialized technical personnel and managerial personnel
above degree of bachelor, their urban-population-increase-fees
are exempted. The extra district specialized technical
and managerial personnel of various kind introduced in
without the change of registered permanent residence at
present, may apply to the personnel department for the
Work and Residence Permit and enjoy the treatment of registered
permanent residence according to the regulations concerned.
4.Improvement
of Management and Service of Public Utility Departments
(21)
The water supply application by the foreign-invested enterprises
with valid and complete documents and within the capacity
of water resource shall be examined and approved within
5 working days after accepting and hearing, and water
shall be supplied on time and with quality and quantity
assured according to the contract. Planned stop of supplying
water shall be announced through mass media 24 hours in
advance. During stop of supplying water caused by accident,
the department in charge shall rush to repair it and inform
the consumers concerned as soon as possible. On receiving
the report of leak, the rush-to-repair workers shall arrive
at the spot within an hour, and little leak shall be repaired
within 24 hours and bad leak shall be continually repaired
through stopping water supply.
(22)
The application for heat addition and gas supply by the
foreign-invested enterprise with valid and complete documents
and within the capacity of gas resource, shall be examined
and approved within 5 working days. The consumers shall
be informed of the planned stop of supplying gas 3 working
days in advance. During the stop of supplying gas caused
by accident, the department in charge shall rush to repair
immediately and explain to the consumers. On receiving
the report of stoppage, the rush-to-repair workers shall
arrive at the spot within 40 minutes. The ordinary repair
shall be finished within 48 hours. The application for
heat addition and heating system by self-made boiler shall
be examined and approved within 5 working days. The reparation
of the breakdown of the boiler in the collective heat
addition enterprise shall not be over 36 hours.
(23)
As to the application for use of electricity by the foreign-invested
enterprise, the electricity supplier shall show the electricity
supply plan in reply within 7 working days for the use
of low voltage electricity, and within 20 working days
for the use of high voltage electricity. The consumers
on file shall be noticed of the planned power cut 3 working
days in advance; and other consumers shall be made known
through mass media 3 working days in advance. As to the
breakdown of the electricity supply facilities, the rush-to-repair
workers shall arrive at the spot within 2 hours.
(24)
As to the installation of a single telephone in the foreign-invested
enterprise with the phone and wire available, it should
be handled immediately, and the phone should be arranged
to install, and the phone should work within 10 working
days from the date of paying the fee. If the installation
requires independent engineering construction, the time
of installation should be postponed, but not over 30 days
at most. As to the move of a single telephone, it should
work not over 10 days from the date of acceptance. As
to the reparation of breakdown of the telephone, the non-cable-trouble
shall be renovated within 24 hours from the date of acceptance,
and the cable trouble within 72 hours.
(25)
The taxi driver shall strictly observe the laws and the
regulations concerned, and provide gentle and polite service.
The taxi administration shall reply to the complaint within
3 days from the date of receiving it and finish handling
it within 7 days.
(26)
Every department concerned shall not cease or suspend
the service to the foreign-invested enterprises at will
on any excuse. The competent authorities shall take charge
of the design, the tender for construction and call for
the tenders of the new projects for water supply, electricity
supply, gas supply, post and telecommunications and heat
addition etc.; any other units shall not monopolize the
project design, the construction and the purchase of the
materials and equipment.
5.
Improvement of Management and Service of port and Finance
System
(27)
The communications and transportation, inspection, agency
providing, warehousing and storage, etc. of the port shall
speed up in catching up with the international practice,
simplifying the formalities and making the entry and exit
of passengers and cargoes convenient. The airport and
other import places shall establish the leadership-on-duty
system to guarantee the information telephone to work
soundly. When the scheduled flight, sailing date, train
or motor-coach number are in a state of disorder, the
information about new situation shall be exactly fed back
to the passengers ;the difficulties of daily life and
board and lodging, etc. of the passengers shall be appropriately
solved according to the national regulations.
(28)
As to the foreign-invested enterprises going through the
formalities of the registration at the customs with valid
and complete documents, the customs shall finish them
within 3 working days. The formalities of export and import
cargoes through the customs, shall be finished within
2 working days. The formalities of examination and approval
of tax reduction and exemption shall be finished within
3 working days. The formalities of improvement trade registration
manual shall be finished within 3 working days.(except
the bank holiday).
(29)
The application for commodity inspecting and testing certificate
and health registration certificate by the foreign-invested
enterprises with valid and complete documents shall be
handled on arrival. The appraisal of the specification,
quantity, package and damage of the imported equipment,
with the survey and appraisal conditions ready, shall
be finished within 15 working days. The handling of the
general preferential system certificate of origin shall
be finished within one working day. As to the export goods
which have passed the inspection, the inspector shall
sign and issue the release permit on the spot.
(30)
Health quarantine supervision system is carried out here,
the export container which has passed the entrance health
quarantine in Ningbo Economic and Technical development
Zone or in Ningbo Free Trade Zone, after going through
the formalities of application for export, the export
quarantine and sanitary treatment are generally exempted.
The export goods from Ningbo Economic and Technical Development
Zone and Ningbo Free Trade Zone may undergo the health
inspection nearby, to be accepted on arrival.
(31)
As to the plant and animal quarantine registered unit
for production, processing and storage of exit plant and
animal products, the quarantine supervision shall be carried
out over it, when the cargoes of which leave a port, the
formalities of quarantine leave permit is only entailed
without inspection in batches again. As for the plant
and animal products entering into the Free Trade Zone,
may be directly put into the fixed plant and animal quarantine
warehouse in the Zone after going through the formalities
of report and inspection.
(32)
The outward and inward remittance of money by the foreign-invested
enterprises shall be handled safely and precisely in time.
The outward remittance of foreign exchange, accepted in
the morning, shall be remitted on that day, and that accepted
in the afternoon, shall be remitted on the next working
day. On receiving the letter of credit signed and issued
from outside China proper, the enterprise concerned shall
be informed of it within one working day. The handling
of the business of export documentary credit conforming
the conditions, accepted in the morning, shall be finished
in the afternoon, and that accepted in the afternoon shall
be finished on the next working day. The settlement of
exchange for the foreign-invested enterprises shall be
accomplished with entering into the account on the same
day. The application for opening of a foreign exchange
account with effective documents concerned shall be handled
with the account to opened immediately.
(33)
Any insurance agency shall not increase the compulsory
insurance kind unauthorized for the foreign-invested enterprises
except the insurance kinds stipulated by the laws and
administrative regulations (ought to be promulgated in
time), nor shall entrust non-insurance agency as agent
to underwrite insurance for the foreign-invested enterprises.
Every insurance agency shall strictly observe the premium
rate specified by the People's Bank, not raising or lowering
the standard of the rate.
6.
Improvement of the Management and Service of Medium Agencies
(34)
The administrative function departments at every level
shall not compel the foreign-invested enterprise to accept
the appointed medium agencies on any grounds. The foreign-invested
enterprises has the right to choose on its own the medium
agencies of accountants, notaries, auditors, assessors
and advisors, etc.. The medium agencies shall work according
to the law, strengthen the sense of service, follow the
professional morals, handle business fairly and impartially
and collect fees under the regulations.
7.
Gradually Carrying Out National Treatment for Foreign-invested
enterprises
(35)
The new-founded foreign-invested enterprise, which produces
the products of national non-allocation and of not trading
under license, may decide the proportion of export sales
and the domestic sales on its own. The after-confirmation-approved
technological-advanced enterprise, the "food basket
engineering" and the agricultural development project
invested by foreign businessmen may decide the proportion
of the export and domestic sales on its own.
(36)
Within the jurisdiction of this municipality, fair collection
of fees is applied. In the corollary infrastructure aspects
of water supply, electricity supply, heat addition, gas
supply, drainage, communications and traffic, etc., the
foreign-invested enterprise enjoys the same treatment
and the same standard of collecting fees as the domestic-
invested enterprise .In the fields of finance, commerce,
insurance, law, labor, information, advice, design, advertisement,
etc., the foreign-invested enterprise and the domestic
enterprise shall be treated equally without discrimination
and collected fees upon the same standard.
(37)
For the unification of daily life service price, the fees
of lodging, having meal, purchasing goods and property,
seeing the doctor, going to school, buying tickets of
train, bus and ship and the tickets for sightseeing shall
be collected from the foreign businessmen and persons
of foreign nationality (including Hongkong , Macao, Taiwan
compatriots and Chinese overseas) upon the same standard
as the residents in Ningbo Municipality.
8.
Strengthening Administration of Charge Collection from
Foreign-invested Enterprises
(38)
Every Utility-Charge-Collecting administration, which
collects fees from the foreign-invested enterprises, shall
have the Charge-Collecting permit verified and issued
by the price administration, use the Utility-Charge-Collecting
invoice made and issued unitarily by the finance administration
and fill in the charge collection contents on the charge-collecting-register-supervision
card issued to the foreign-invested enterprises by the
price administration (In the annual examination and inspection,
the foreign-invested enterprises shall be invited to participate
in it.). The foreign-invested enterprises has the right
to refuse paying the fees in a condition of the regulations
being violated.
(39)
The new-increased charge collecting items or the change
of charge collecting items or standards, shall be announced
through mass media. The charge Collecting Manual shall
be compiled and printed regularly to make the foreign
businessmen convenient to understand and supervise.
(40)
Any form of invitation of the foreign-invested enterprises
to financial assistance, savings and raising funds is
prohibited. The try for gain through various forms of
apportion, such as the personnel placement and allocation
of producer goods, etc. is prohibited. The collection
of unreasonable charges by any department and unit under
the pretext of meeting, examination, comparison and assessment,
training, etc. is prohibited; the necessary charge collection
items and standards shall be examined and approved by
the price administration at the same level; the necessary
meeting and training activities shall be ratified and
agreed by the People's Government at the same level.
9.
Improvement of Living Environment and Legal Environment
of Personnel of foreign nationality
(41)
The preparation of a international school should be made
actively to offer convenience for the sons and daughters
of the foreign businessmen and foreign experts to go to
school. The sons and daughters, who want to study in Ningbo,
will enjoy separate enrollment and priority admission
to a school, and the preferential treatment in entering
the high school. The International Department of Xiaoshi
Middle School, Huizhen Academy, Wanli International School
should be run better ;the primary school and kindergarten,
the conditions of which permit, shall make priority arrangement
to let the sons and daughters of the foreign persons working
or investing in Ningbo go to school.
(42)
The Municipal No.1 hospital, No.2 Hospital, Li Huili Hospital,
Women and Children Hospital are specified as the hospitals
for the foreign businessmen and foreign guests, establishing
special sickrooms, choosing the first-rate doctors to
provide proper service. The Municipal Emergency Treatment
Center is equipped with ambulances, communications and
medical first-aid equipment of superior performance to
enable the foreign businessmen, the foreign guests to
obtain immediate rescue and treatment while contracting
various acute diseases .
(43)
The industry and commerce administration shall truly and
completely perform its duty, strengthen the protection
of the intellectual property, decisively strike the tort
and unauthorized publication, and protect the copyright,
patent, trade mark privileges, and the intellectual property
of blue-print, design plan, technological description,
technical specification, software, etc. owned by the foreign-invested
enterprise according to the international customs and
national law.
(44)
The social peace and order status should be improved with
endeavor, striking a heavier blow at the criminals. In
the criminal or social security cases of the foreign-invested
enterprises or the foreign businessmen being infringed,
the public security organ shall speed up to accept and
hear the incident, to dispose it and try to perform the
detection well, in order to safeguard the security of
person and property of the foreign businessmen and their
lawful rights under the law.
(45)
The coordination work for the complaint lodged by the
foreign-invested enterprises should be further strengthen
.The coordinating departments at every level for the complaint
lodged by the foreign-invested enterprises shall make
a decision as to whether accept the lodged complaint or
not within 7 working days, and shall, within 1 month after
acceptance of the complaint, give the complainant a reply,
notifying him/her of its disposal regarding the complaint.
Every department or unit shall feed back its disposal
to the Municipal Coordinating Center for the Complaint
Lodged by the Foreign-invested Enterprises within 15 working
days from the date of receiving the disposal document
on the complaint lodged by the foreign businessman transferred
by the Center.
10.
Enhancement of Supervision over the Affairs concerning
Foreign National
(46)
In order to guarantee the implementation and execution
of this Decision and enhancement of the supervision and
examination, the Ningbo Municipal Supervision and Examination
Group for the Improvement of the Software Environment
for Foreign Investment is organized by the Municipal Supervision
Bureau, the Municipal Check-Unhealthy-Tendencies Office,
the Municipal Opening to the Outside World Office, the
Propaganda Department of the Municipal Committee, with
the Municipal Supervision Bureau as the chief of the group,
to supervise and examine the implementation of the Decision
by every department in this municipality. The supervision
and examination may be carried out through the ways of
the complaint lodged by foreign businessmen, mass prosecution,
appraisement by the foreign businessmen, regular and unregular
check, news and public opinion, etc. The NMSEG shall submit
the annual report on the implementation of the Decision
by all the departments and units to the Verification-of
-Management-by-Objective Organ of the Municipal Government,
and the Report shall be treated as a part of the annual
verification contents for all the departments and units.
The notice on the department or the unit responsible for
the failure to perform its duty according to the regulations
and requirements should be circulated to the relevant
departments and submitted to the Municipal Government
in the meaning time; as to the failure which results in
damage, the competent authority shall punish or impose
sanction against the person directly responsible for the
damage under the law; as to the person, who commits attending
dinner and receiving gifts extended as a bribe, withholding
deliberately and unreasonably, asking for things, creating
difficulties to the enterprise and violating other disciplines,
the department or unit where he/she works, shall impose
disciplinary sanction against him/her, expose his/her
wrongs before the public through mass media, even transfer
him/her from the post concerning foreign affairs to another;
if violating criminal law, he/she shall be investigated
to establish the criminal responsibility of him/her.
(47)
Every department or unit relating to foreign investment
shall establish the internal supervision and investigation
mechanism, to make the service items detailed, the service
standards quantified for the foreign-invested enterprises,
and to make the system of rewards and penalties hardened,
and the acceptance of supervision opened.
(48)
The Municipal People's Government is responsible for the
interpretation of the present Decision. The Decision shall
enter into force on the date of its promulgation. The
present Decision shall prevail over other relevant stipulations
which happen to be of contradiction to it.
Ningbo Municipality has the jurisdiction over several
counties and county boroughs. (by translator)
(If there is any discrepancy between the original Chinese
version of the Decision and this English version , the
Chinese version shall prevail.
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