《货物贸易外汇管理指引》(英文).doc

Annex 1:Guidelines for the Pilot Implementation of Foreign Exchange Administration of Trade in GoodsChapter IGeneral ProvisionsArticle IIn order to improve foreign exchange administration of trade in goods (hereinafter referred to as “trade”), promote the facilitation of trade, and enhance economic development in foreign-related fields, these Guidelines are formulated pursuant to the Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration.Article IIThe State sets no limitation on international payments for trade. Export revenue may either be transferred back to China or be deposited overseas. Article IIIForeign exchange receipts and payments from trade by foreign trade organizations (hereinafter referred to as “enterprises”) shall be based on authentic and lawful trading backgrounds and shall be consistent with the import and export of goods. Article IVThe financial institutions handling foreign exchange settlement and sales (hereinafter referred to as “financial institutions”) shall reasonably examine the authenticity of the trading documents and their consistency with the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade. Article VThe State Administration of Foreign Exchange and its branches (hereinafter referred to as the “foreign exchange authorities”) shall oversee and inspect implementation of the provisions of paragraph II of Article II, Article III, and IV hereof according to the law.Article VIThe foreign exchange authorities shall establish a mechanism to inspect whether the flows of imported and exported goods and the flows of capital from the receipts and payments of foreign exchange match each other, shall subject the enterprises foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade to off-site aggregate verifications and monitoring, shall subject enterprises with unusual or suspicious circumstances to on-site verifications and inspections (hereinafter referred to as “on-site verifications”), and shall carry out off-site and on-site verifications on the financial institutions regulatory compliance in handling foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade and on the timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of their filing of the relevant information. Article VIIThe foreign exchange authorities shall conduct classified management of the enterprises based on the results of the on-site verifications and the enterprises compliance with the provisions on foreign exchange administration.Article VIIIThe foreign exchange authorities shall carry out monitoring of the total amount of trade credit of the enterprises and shall manage the scale of the trade credit of the enterprises on a proportional basis.Article IXWhere a serious balance of payments disequilibrium occurs or threatens to occur, the State may take necessary protection and control measures with respect to the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade. Chapter IIManagement of the Enterprise ListArticle XThe foreign exchange authorities shall carry out registration administration based on the “List of Enterprises Involved in Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments from Trade” (hereinafter referred to as the “List”) and shall issue the List to the financial institutions in a unified way. The financial institutions shall not handle foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade for enterprises that are not included on the List. Article XIEnterprises that have obtained the right to engage in foreign trade according to the law shall handle the registration formalities for the List with the foreign exchange authorities upon the strength of the relevant materials. Where any of the registered information regarding the enterprises changes, the enterprises shall handle the alteration registration formalities with the foreign exchange authorities. Where the enterprises terminate their foreign trade business or are deprived of the right to engage in foreign trade, they shall handle the de-registration formalities with the foreign exchange authorities. The foreign exchange authorities may cancel from the List any enterprise based on its foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade and its regulatory compliance. Article XIIWhere the enterprises handle foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade, they shall sign the Letter of Confirmation for the Handling of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments from Trade in Goods and shall comply with the provisions on foreign exchange administration of the State. The foreign exchange authorities shall direct and manage any enterprises that are newly entered onto the List. Chapter IIIAdministration of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments from TradeArticle XIIIForeign exchange receipts and payments from trade of enterprises referred to hereunder shall include:(I) Payments for the export of goods collected from overseas or domestic bonded areas under customs supervision and payments for the import of goods paid overseas or to domestic bonded areas under customs supervision; (II) Payments for the export of goods collected from offshore accounts or from overseas institutions domestic accounts and payments for the import of goods paid to offshore accounts or to overseas institutions domestic accounts;(III) Domestic collections and payments under the item of deep processing and carry over trade; (IV) Collections and payments under the item of entrepôt trade; (V) Other collections and payments related to trade.Article XIVThe enterprises shall handle the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade based on the principle “the one who exports shall be the one who receives foreign exchange, and the one who imports shall be the one who pays the foreign exchange,” with exception of imports and exports for donations and other circumstances otherwise provided by the State. Where the goods are imported or exported by an agent, the agent shall be responsible for handling the formalities for the foreign exchange payments and collections. Where the goods are imported by an agent, the foreign exchange may be transferred by the principal to the agent upon the strength of the agreement with the agent or shall be purchased by the agent. Where the goods are exported by an agent, the foreign exchange collected by the agent may be transferred to the principal upon the strength of the agent agreement or it may be converted into RMB to be transferred to the principal. Article XVThe enterprises shall, according to the mode of trade, form of settlement, and capital flows, handle foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade at the financial institutions upon the strength of the required documents, and shall declare the required information on the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade. The financial institutions shall make reference to the List and the classification status, conduct a reasonable examination as required, and file the information on the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade mentioned in the preceding paragraph with the foreign exchange authorities. Article XVIThe enterprises shall report to the foreign exchange authorities within the prescribed time limit the following information which affects the matching of the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade and the import and export of goods:(I) Advance receipts, advance payments, deferred receipts, and deferred payments that exceed the prescribed time limit;(II) Other information to be reported. The enterprises may proactively report to the foreign exchange authorities information on the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade other than that provided for in the preceding paragraph of this Article. Chapter IVOff-site VerificationsArticle XVIIThe foreign exchange authorities shall conduct regular or irregular aggregate comparisons of the data about imports and exports and the data about the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade of the enterprises within a certain period to verify the authenticity of the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade of the enterprises and the consistency with their imports and exports. Article XVIIIThe foreign exchange authorities shall carry out specific monitoring of certain businesses, such as trade credit and entrepôt trade, and of certain market players, such as enterprises incorporated in bonded areas under customs supervision. Article XIXThe foreign exchange authorities shall conduct focal monitoring of the following enterprises:(I) Whose matching of the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade and the import and export of goods is beyond a given range;(II) Which are found to be unusual or suspicious as a result of the specific monitoring;(III) Which require focal monitoring for other reasons.Chapter VOn-site VerificationsArticle XXThe foreign exchange authorities shall carry out on-site verifications of foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade found to be unusual or suspicious during the off-site verifications of the enterprises. The foreign exchange authorities may carry out on-site verifications of the financial institutions regulatory compliance in handling the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade and on the timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of the information they have filed. Article XXIThe foreign exchange authorities may carry out on-site verifications by:(I) Requiring the enterprises or the handling financial institutions subject to the verification to provide the relevant written materials;(II) Meeting the legal representatives or the authorized person of the enterprises subject to the verification, or the principal or the authorized person of the financial institutions subject to the verification. (III) On-site reviewing and copying of the relevant materials of the enterprises or the handling financial institutions subject to the verification;(IV) Other necessary on-site verifications methods. The entities subject to the verification shall cooperate with the on-site verifications of the foreign exchange authorities and shall provide truthful explanatory reports, relevant documents, and materials, and shall not be involved in any refusals, hindrances, or concealments. Article XXIIWhere the foreign exchange authorities conduct on-site verifications in accordance with the methods provided for in subparagraph (III) of the first paragraph of Article 21 hereof, the staff responsible for the on-site verifications shall not consist of fewer than 2 persons and they shall show their relevant ID cards. Where there are fewer than 2 staff persons responsible for the on-site verifications or the staff fail to show their relevant ID cards, the entities subject to the verifications shall be entitled to refuse the verification. Chapter VIClassified ManagementArticle XXIIIThe foreign exchange authorities shall classify Category A, B, and C enterprises based on the results of the on-site verifications and their compliance with the provisions on foreign exchange administration. Article XXIVThe foreign exchange authorities shall inform the relevant enterprises of the results of the classification before publishing the lists of Category B and C enterprises. The enterprises may submit their objections to the foreign exchange authorities within 7 working days upon receipt of the notice on the results of the classification from the foreign exchange authorities. The foreign exchange authorities shall re-examine the classifications of any enterprises that register objections. Article XXVWhere the enterprises do not raise objections within the prescribed time limit or the results of their classification are confirmed by a re-examination by the foreign exchange authorities after objections are raised, the foreign exchange authorities shall disclose the information about the classified management of the enterprises to the financial institutions. The foreign exchange authorities may circulate the information about the classified management of the enterprises to the relevant regulatory authorities and disclose the above information to the public as necessary.Article XXVIThe foreign exchange authorities shall set a period of validity for the classified management of Category B and Category C enterprises, and shall make dynamic adjustments to the results of the classification. Article XXVIISimplified administration shall be applied to the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade of Category A enterprises within the period of validity for classified management. Prudential supervision shall be applied to the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade of Category B and Category C enterprises with respect to examination of the documents, the type of business and the relevant handling procedures, and the mode of settlement.Article XXVIIIThe foreign exchange authorities shall establish a mechanism to carry out verifications of the electronic data on the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade in order to manage the foreign exchange receipts and payments from the trade of Class B enterprises with by electronic data verifications. Article XXIXThe foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade of Category C enterprises and any other business determined by the foreign exchange authorities shall be subject to prior registration with the foreign exchange authorities on a case-by-case basis, and the financial institutions shall handle the relevant formalities for the enterprises upon the strength of the registration certificates issued by the foreign exchange authorities. Chapter VIISupplementary ProvisionsArticle XXX Enterprises or financial institutions that are in violation of the Guidelines or any other relevant provisions on foreign exchange administration shall be punished by the relevant foreign exchange authorities pursuant to the Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration and other relevant provisions. Article XXXIThe foreign exchange authorities may, in light of the situation in the balance of payments and the needs for foreign exchange administration, make adjustments to specific contents of the trade credit administration, registration administration, off-site inspections, and classified management. Article XXXIIThe Guidelines shall be similarly applicable to the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade of enterprises incorporated within bonded areas under customs supervision, except as otherwise provided for by the foreign exchange administration policies applicable to the bonded areas under customs supervision. Article XXXIIIThe Guidelines shall be applicable to the foreign exchange receipts and payments from trade of individual foreign trade operators. Article XXXIVThe administration of overseas deposits of export revenue shall be handled in accordance with the releva