The local taxation bureaus and sub-bureaus in each district and county,
　We hereby forward to you the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Strengthening the Collection and Administration of Foreign personnel’s Individual Income Tax (Guo Shui Fa (2004) No. 27) and notify you of the following matters. Please follow the Notice.
　1. Each bureau shall earnestly learn the documents from the State Administration of Taxation, actively follow out the document and ensure the fulfillment of the collection and administration of foreign personnel’s individual income tax.
　2. Each bureau shall, according to the document from the state bureau, carry out pertinent propaganda to foreigners and require them through various channels, such as foreign websites and tax collection services, to declare and pay the payable individual income tax unpaid in previous years before June 30. The surcharge shall be dealt with according to relevant regulations of Beijing Local Taxation Bureau.
　3. Each bureau shall keep this overdue individual income tax payment of foreign personnel for separate records and set up special archive for statistic. Meanwhile, the taxpayer units shall declare the detailed list of individual income tax and fill in the detailed declaration form of overdue individual income tax payment. Before the end of July, each bureau shall report to the city bureau the situation of this work and specific payment of overdue tax.
　4. The problems occuring during the fulfillment shall be reported to the city bureau in time.

　April 9, 2004




　Document from the State Administration of Taxation
　Guo Shui Fa (2004) No. 27

　Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Strengthening the Collection and Administration of Foreign Personnel’s Individual Income Tax

　The state taxation bureaus, local taxation bureaus and each unit in bureaus in each province, autonomous region, municipality and city specially designated in state plan,
　Along with the improvement of economic globalization and China’s opening to the outside, more and more foreigners come to China to hold a post or carry out business operations. The frequent transfer of foreign personnel and complication of related individual income tax policies make foreign personnel feel difficult to decide the taxation obligation, and tax organs to control the tax source. Underreport and underpayment of the individual income tax payable often occur. In order to strengthen the collection and administration of foreign personnel’s individual income tax and further improve the quality and efficiency of collection and administration, we hereby notify you of the following matters:
　1. Deepen the understanding and perfect the administration system
The individual income tax of foreign personnel involves in many policies, including both determination and division of international tax collection jurisdiction and specific policies and procedures related to income payable and calculation of tax payable, so it is an important item in the international taxation. Therefore, to strengthen the collection and administration of foreign personnel’s individual income tax and enable foreign personnel to correctly fulfill the taxation obligation has relations not only to the guaranty of national tax revenue but also the protection of the state’s taxation sovereignty. Each area shall deepen the understanding on the importance of strengthening the collection and administration of foreign personnel’s individual income tax, establish perfect post and responsibility system of international tax administration, enrich professional talents, improve and standardize the administration procedures and guarantee the administration of foreign personnel’s individual income tax.
　2. Execute the law in normative manner and ensure to implement the policies.
　The policies applied to the individual income tax of foreign personnel include China’s tax laws and regulations and tax agreements reached between the governments of China and other countries. Each area shall correctly understand the relevant polices by improving qualities and raise the working ability of tax officers. Each area shall further standardize the execution of laws, strictly enforce taxation discipline, straighten out the collection and administration procedures and ensure the fulfillment of the policies of foreign personnel’s individual income tax and provide foreign personnel with a open, fair and just taxation environment.
　3. Optimize the services and provide convenience for foreign personnel to pay tax according to laws.
　It is the duty and obligation of tax organs to strengthen the collection and administration of foreign personnel’s individual income tax and offer them high-quality taxation services. Each area shall take effective measure to settle for foreign personnel the problems and difficulties occurring during tax declaration and payment. Each area shall actively propagandize the tax policies through such media as network, newspaper, television, broadcasting, etc, pertinently assist the foreign personnel and withholding agents, provide them with smooth consultation channels, help them understand China’s tax laws and regulations and get familiar with tax collection and administration procedures, and improve their obey to tax laws. The cooperation between different departments shall be enhanced. Each area shall enhance the cooperation with such departments as entry and exit, industry and commerce, customs, foreign economy and trade, education, culture, sports, science and technology and so on, to establish sound information communication, timely obtain the information of foreign personnel’s employment and transfer and settle solid basis for the tax source control.
　4. Strengthen the collection and administration and carry out the work on tax arrears step by step
　Each area shall, before the end of 2004, carry out the handling of tax in arrears that focuses on encouraging taxpayers to examine and rectify by themselves. The following are details:
　(1) In case a foreigner or a withholding agent declares on his initiative the tax in arrears in the previous years before the end of June, 2004, he shall pay the tax unpaid according to laws with a surcharge of 0．5‰ of the tax in arrears per day, but he shall be exempted from the punish.
　(2) In case a foreigner fails to pay on his initiative the tax unpaid within the above-mentioned time limit, the tax hided when declaring, false declared or undeclared shall be pursued according to the Law of People’s Republic of China Concerning the Administration of Tax Collection, and the person concerned shall pay surcharge and be fined.
　5. The tax collection and administration of the individual income tax of Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan personnel and overseas Chinese shall be applied to this Notice.

　March 5, 2004