Policy Service
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.
Top
|
