Enterprise income tax

Local income tax and property tax

Import duties

Special regulations

Foreign investment incentives offered

by Pudong New Area during the Ninth -Five-Year-Plan period

(1995-2000)


1.Five-year tax holiday and five-year reduction by half

Applicable to overseas-invested projects in such sectors of energy and mass transit i.e. airport, harbor, highway and power stations. The enterprise income tax rate for them is 15%. Those with a term of operation of more than 15 years may enjoy tax holiday from the first profit-making year through the fifth one, and reduction by half from the sixth through the tenth year, subject to approval from the tax authorities after application is submitted by the enterprise concerned.

.2.Two-year tax holiday and three-year reduction by half

Applicable to Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperative enterprises and wholly overseas-funded manufacturing businesses. Income tax rate for these enterprises is 15%. For those with the term of operation longer than 10 years may enjoy tax holiday during the first and the second profit-making year and reduction by half from the third year through the fifth year, subject to approval from the tax authorities after application is submitted by the enterprise concerned.

3.One-year tax holiday and two-year reduction by half

Applicable to foreign banks, branches of foreign banks, Sino-foreign joint venture banks, finance companies and other financial institutions, on condition that the capital fund of the said institution or the operational fund from the headquarter that exceeds US$10 million and the term of operation is longer than 10 years. In such a case, the income tax is 15%. They may also enjoy tax holiday in their first profit-making year and reduction by half in the second and third year, subject to approval from tax authorities after application is submitted by the business concerned.

4.Tax reduction for two special types of businesses

When the tax holiday and reduction period mentioned above are over, (1) an export-oriented business may enjoy a reduced 10% income tax rate, on condition that its export value accounts for more than 70% of its total production of the same year; (2) business employing advanced technologies may enjoy a reduced 10% income tax rate for another three years..

5.Foreign businesses that have not set up offices in China but regularly receive revenue in the form of dividends, interests, rents, franchise fees or other types of income from Pudong New Area may enjoy a reduced 10% income tax rate, except for those that are exempted from paying income tax according to law. Those of them that are entitled to additional reduction or a tax holiday for having provided funds or equipment or for having introduced advanced technology, in both cases on favorable terms, it is up to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government to make decisions..

6.When foreign investors in Sino-foreign joint ventures remit their share of profits out of the country, no income tax is to be levied on the amount remitted.

7..When foreign investors reinvest their share of profits in the same or other overseas-invested businesses, or in the founding of new overseas-invested businesses with a term of operation that is longer than five years, 40% of the income tax that has been levied on the reinvested amount will be refunded, subject to the ratification of the tax authorities after application is submitted by the business concerned.

If the reinvestment is made in the founding or expansion of an export-oriented business or a business employing advanced technologies with a term of operation not less than five years, the income tax that has been levied on the reinvested part will be refunded in full.

 

Local income tax and property tax

Before the end of 2000, overseas-invested businesses in Pudong are exempted from local income tax.

Overseas-invested businesses may enjoy five-year property tax holiday on new properties built by themselves or purchased in Pudong New Area for their own use from the month properties are built or purchased.

Overseas-invested businesses founded before March 31, 1996 may continue to enjoy exemption from import duties and import-related taxes on production equipment imported for their own use.

Overseas-invested businesses approved and established between April 1, 1996 and December 31, 1997 in accordance with required statutory procedures, and overseas-funded businesses importing equipment funded by foreign government loans or loans of international financial institutions are exempted from import duties and import-related VAT from January 1, 1998 on, except for those specified in the List of Non-Duty-Free-Imported Goods for Overseas-Invested Projects.

In addition, overseas-invested projects falling under the "encouraged" category and "restricted category B" in the Catalogue of Industries Inviting Foreign Investment and involving technology transfer are exempted from import duties and import-related VAT on equipment imported for their own use as part of the total investment, except for those specified in the List of Non-Duty-Free Imported Goods for Overseas-Invested Projects. Equipment imported for their own use by projects funded by loans from foreign governments or international financial institutions and equipment provided free by foreign businesses engaging in processing trade are exempted from import duties and import–related VAT except for those specified in the List of Non-Duty-Free Imported Goods for Overseas-invested Projects.

.Special regulations

  1. Three to four Sino-foreign foreign-trade joint ventures in export/import trade will be set up in the Pudong New Area on an experimental basis. The overseas partners will be chosen from among countries and regions that are representative in the trade. The Shanghai Municipal Government will first propose a plan to be examined and approved by MOFTEC as tot he business scope and trade value of the companies and then submit it to the State Council for final approval.
  2. Business operations of a bonded nature will be allowed in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone except retail trade while service trade will be gradually expanded.
  3. Once the Central Government grants approval for overseas-funded banks to engage in RMB business locally, the Pudong New Area will be permitted to be the first to make experiments in such business and individual banks registered in Pudong will be given priority in this.
  4. When conditions are ripe, and subject to approval by the People’s Bank of China, overseas financial institutions registered in the Lujiazui Finance & Trade may run branch offices in Puxi (west of the Huangpu) and the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone and a few more overseas wholly-owned and joint-venture insurance companies may be set up in the Pudong New Area.

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