SSH [2022] No. 176
Tax bureaus of all districts, and all offices, departments, agencies, and public institutions under Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration:
To fully implement decisions and arrangements of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, reduce institutional costs, and boost the confidence and growth of market entities, Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service has formulated the Measures of Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration for Taxpayer Facilitation and Business Environment Improvement in 2022 for tax and fee payers. These Measures are hereby issued to you for implementation.
Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration
December 29, 2022
Measures of Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration for Taxpayer Facilitation and Business Environment Improvement in 2022
1. Facilitating Market Entities in Tax Compliance with the “Smart+” Service System
(1) Deepening the “joint tax filing” reform. Based on the functions of “joint filing of taxes and surcharges” and “comprehensive declaration of property and behavior tax and enterprise income tax” available on Guangdong Provincial Electronic Taxation Bureau, the “joint declaration of individual income tax, provident fund, social security, disability insurance fund and trade union funds” has been launched to enable “5-in-1” filing through “one entry and one interface”. This innovation can significantly facilitate tax filing and payment.
(2) Automizing procedures for tax- and fee-related services. Procedure automation has been widely applied in tax registration information alteration, tax type identification, invoice issuance, tax declaration notification, delay penalty, and other services. The transformation from human handling to automatic handling can realize a nonstop and rapid process and 24/7 uninterrupted services and improve tax and fee payers’ experiences.
(3) Expanding the application of T-Voice. The intelligent voice robot T-Voice has been introduced to the 12366 tax service hotline, as well as the official website and WeChat official account of Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service. With this smart tax robot, tax and fee payers may enjoy 24/7 intelligent consultation services through not only text and pictures but also voice interactions.
(4) Providing “consultation-and-handling” integrated intelligent services. Smart consultation services have been upgraded. For certain services such as tax registration information alteration, tax and fee payers can initiate a consultation at the tax service interface. Similarly, they can also click the link provided at the intelligent consultation window and access the corresponding service interface. This smart feature has enabled “handling while consulting” or “consulting while handling” for users, slashing the conversion time between consultation and procedure handling.
(5) Launching the “e-CNY + tax and fee payment” service. Supported by the Finance-Taxation-Treasury-Commercial Bank Horizontal Network System, taxpayers who have an e-CNY wallet can now pay their taxes and fees with digital yuan via their bank apps, which has provided a new channel for tax and fee payments.
(6) Launching “one-click application” of tax residency certificate for Chinese enterprises “going global”. The “one-click application” for the Certificate of Chinese Tax Resident has been launched on Guangdong Provincial Electronic Taxation Bureau. With a fully automated handling procedure, qualified taxpayers can receive their certificate right after application. By minimizing the certificate handling time, this function aims to facilitate Chinese enterprises to enjoy tax treaty benefits in foreign countries and support more Guangzhou companies in “going global”.
(7) Creating smart tax service platforms for “going global” and “bringing in”. Entries have been set up on the official website and WeChat official account of the Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service, where four functional modules are established, including information release, policy guidance, service interaction, and risk alert. Featured services such as quick search of domestic and foreign tax treaties, bilingual assistance for statement filling, quick count of days of residence for non-domiciled individuals, and green channel for cross-border tax disputes are available, in a bid to provide integrated information and one-stop tax services for both Chinese businesses overseas and foreign companies in China.
(8) Establishing “GZ Tax Care” tax authority-enterprise communication groups. Grid service groups have been established on online social media platforms (WeChat, Enterprise WeChat, etc.). Tax officers provide tax and fee payers with grid services integrating “demand response, publicity, counseling, and cultural communication”, efficiently deal with the questions, difficulties, and demands of tax and fee payers in a closed-loop manner, promote the direct sharing of tax and fee policies, and enhance the understanding and mutual trust between tax authority and enterprises.
2.Boosting Virtuous Development of Market Entities Assisted by the “Smart+” Rule of Law
(9) Piloting advance tax ruling (ATR) for large enterprises. ATR service will be provided to large enterprises regarding predictable, specific, and complex tax matters upon application. This service aims to help these enterprises stabilize production and operation expectations, improve tax certainty for their business activities, and effectively reduce their tax risks.
(10) Exploring international tax certainty services. To actively respond to cross-border taxpayers’ needs for tax certainty, “online + offline” international tax certainty services are provided to companies that plan to handle complicated and cross-border tax-related matters, including acquisition of income from property transfer and technical service provision as a non-resident enterprise; permanent establishment identification, beneficial owner identification, and property income regulation applicability of tax treaties; tax residency status determination, etc. Guangzhou and Shenzhen tax authorities have jointly carried out advance rulings on international tax matters, achieving trans-regional collaboration in tax enforcement, and effectively helping taxpayers solve tax issues related to their cross-border operations.
(11) Expanding mediation services for tax and fee disputes. Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service has taken the initiative to strengthen cooperation with judicial authorities, complaint reporting departments and subdistrict offices to secure law-based governance and establish a joint mediation mechanism for tax and fee disputes. Mediation centers such as “Joint Settlement Center for Social Insurance Premium Disputes” and “Public Lawyer Consultation and Mediation Center for Tax and Fee Disputes” have been founded. Efforts have been made to listen to the demands of market entities regarding tax and fee disputes, coordinate relevant departments for mediation in a timely manner, and provide one-stop solutions to tax and fee conflicts and disputes.
(12) Establishing the Tax Case Command Center, Intelligence Research and Judgment Center, and Joint Case Handling Center. Cross-departmental cooperation has been reinforced among tax authorities, public security departments, customs, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. With the help of big data, precise research, accurate judgment, and targeted case selection, as well as regular joint actions against tax frauds and other crimes, have been carried out to improve tax compliance and effectively maintain a fair and just tax environment.
3.Empowering the Growth of Market Entities with “Smart+” Tax Incentives
(13) Vigorously promoting rapid and direct access to tax incentives. Tax incentives have been promoted through channels such as “Guangzhou Tax Service” WeChat official account, “GZ Tax Care” tax authority-enterprise communication groups, and “Guangzhou Smart 12366” intelligent consultation platform. Rapid and direct access to tax incentives is achieved by implementing “list-based” management of preferential policies, and formulating specified guidance.
(14) Delivering targeted “tax benefit bills”. Targeted “tax benefit bills” have been delivered to key taxpayers and “specialized, refined, peculiar and innovative” small- and medium-sized enterprises that enjoy combined tax and fee incentives. These bills have helped tax and fee payers calculate the precise amount of tax credits and rebates they are entitled to, and thereby bringing them a greater sense of gain.
(15) Promoting the “Easy Refund” intelligent tax rebate service. Based on the tax credit rating and risk index, the system performs intelligent classification for corporate income tax final settlement and refunding. Eligible taxpayers may enjoy the innovative service of “automatic approval and smart refunding”, which has greatly improved the handling speed and efficiency of tax refunds.
(16) Improving the quality and efficiency of export tax rebates (exemptions). With the support by Guangdong Provincial Electronic Taxation Bureau, customized reminder services have been provided to enterprises for multiple export tax rebates (exemptions). The material submission and handling procedures have been simplified and optimized, and the entire process from declaration to review and feedback can be handled online. “Instant review” and “accelerated handling” of export tax rebates (exemptions) will be promoted. The electronic filing of documents for export enterprises has been vigorously promoted, with an aim to create more convenience and reduce tax compliance burden for taxpayers.
4. Injecting Vitality into Market Entities through “Smart+” Co-governance
(17) Deepening the application of “blockchain + tax and fee services”. To support Guangzhou’s efforts to carry out the national blockchain-based innovative application pilot program, a wide range of “blockchain + tax and fee services” have been rolled out. They include “blockchain + equity transfer”, “blockchain + employment security fund for the disabled under non-taxation revenue”, “blockchain + social security and medical insurance”, “blockchain + export tax rebate”, “blockchain + tax record verification for household registration in Guangzhou”, and “blockchain + real estate deed tax”. The application of blockchain technology has been expanded to increase the efficiency of tax and fee services.
(18) Implementing integrated taxation, social security and medical insurance services. The one-stop services related to tax, social security and medical insurance through “one service hall and one window” have been widely promoted across Guangzhou. Taxpayers who need to handle matters concerning social security and medical insurance only need to “enter one door, take one number and submit materials once” to handle registration, payment, benefit entitlement and other matters in one go. At the same time, the “tax + medical insurance” 24-hour self-service area provides more convenient payment services and channels for those handling medical insurance matters.
(19) Launching “automatic inspection” for cross-regional tax-related matters. Taxpayers in the construction and installation industry no longer need to apply for inspection when they come to operate in Guangzhou. Instead, the competent tax authority will receive the report information through internal data sharing and complete the inspection registration for them. After the automatic inspection, taxpayers from around China can handle the subsequent matters such as pre-payment, feedback, and cancellation of payment via Guangdong Provincial Electronic Taxation Bureau. This can save them the time and trouble of traveling, hence greatly relieving their tax compliance burden.
(20) Launching the function of cross-provincial electronic tax (fee) payment. Thanks to the Finance-Taxation-Treasury-Commercial Bank Horizontal Network System, enterprises from other cities no longer need to open a bank account in Guangzhou when they operate in Guangzhou; instead, they can pay taxes to the local treasury via any bank outside Guangdong. This function has greatly enhanced the tax filing experience of non-local companies.
(21) Constructing a new ecology of “contact-free” vehicle purchase tax service. A new vehicle purchase tax service model has been created. It features consultation-and-handling integrated service throughout the process, no in-person visits needed for all matters, 24/7 online self-service, and rapid responses on all terminals. Taxpayers can complete the entire process from vehicle purchase tax declaration to payment at the “Cloud Taxpayer Service Hall”. Upon completion, the tax payment information will be transferred to the public security traffic management department. Those who meet the conditions can enjoy the one-stop service of “tax payment and vehicle registration upon purchase”.
(22) Launching Guangzhou-Qingyuan “cross-city handling” for real estate transactions, taxation and registration. Convenient measures including “remote approval” and “full-process online service” have been launched for real estate transactions, taxation and registration in Guangzhou and Qingyuan. Under this policy, Guangzhou residents can enjoy cross-regional application, local (online) approval, online tax payment, electronic certificate issuance, EMS delivery service, electronic invoice and electronic tax receipt issuance in Qingyuan, and vice versa. This effectively reduces the time and cost of cross-regional operations for enterprises.