Laws of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the State Bureau of Technology Supervision

Circular of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the State Technology Supervision Bureau on Issues concerning the Acquisition of the State Organization Code and the Import and Export Company Code by the enterprises with Foreign Investment and Enterprises with Investment from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Overseas Chinese investors

DuiWaiJingMaoZiFa [1997] No.813

December 17, 1997

Foreign Trade and Economic Commissions (Departments, Bureaus), Local Bureaus of Technology Supervision in all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, municipalities separately listed on the State plan, Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Wuhan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Xian:

In order to quicken up the execution of the Golden Gate project, improve the working efficiency and service quality, and ensure the enterprises with foreign investment and the enterprises with investment from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and overseas Chinese investors (hereinafter referred to as the Enterprises) to acquire the state organization code and the code for import and export company, some relevant issues are hereby circularized as follows:

I.

From January 1,1998, the newly established enterprises shall go to the technology supervision authority to obtain the state organization code upon presentation of one original and one duplicated copy of the establishment approval documents issued by the competent examining and approving departments (i.e. approval of the contracts and articles of association). All examining and approving departments shall make copies of the establishment approval documents for the applicants.

The enterprises approved to be established before December 31, 1997 shall obtain the state organization code from the technology supervision authority upon presentation of one original and one copy of the transcript of the enterprise with foreign investment establishment approval certificates or the establishment approval certificates for enterprises with investment from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and overseas Chinese investors (hereinafter referred to as the approval certificates).

II.

The code granting organs of the technology supervision authority grants the state organization code in the form of a notification to the applicants that are to set up enterprises and established enterprises against their establishment approval documents or certificates. The enterprises need not pay any fees for the Notification on Granting the State Organization Code.

III.

From January 1, 1998, as an experiment, the enterprises, to which the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation directly issues the approval certificates, are awarded with the state organization code by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. The competent authority in charge of code control in the State Technology Supervision Bureau supplies the range of codes and shall be periodically informed by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of the code granting related information.

IV.

From January 1, 1998, the import and export company code must be put on the approval certificate (including the newly issued approval certificate and the reissued certificate). After getting the state organization code, the enterprises shall acquire the import and export company code in line with the procedures provided in the Detailed Rules for the Enterprises with Foreign Investment to Implement the Methods of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Import and Export Company Code.

V.

The technology supervision departments take the responsibility of supervising the code quality, preventing the repetition of codes and checking out errors in the code granting process so as to ensure the code uniqueness and accuracy after the enterprises get their business license.