Laws of the People's Republic of China

Ministry of Finance, State Administration of Taxation

Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on Education Tax Policies

CaiShui [2004] No.39

February 5, 2004

The finance offices or bureaus, the administrations of state taxation and local taxation of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities directly under state planning, and the finance bureau of Sinjiang Production and Construction Corporations:

With a view to further promoting the development of education, and upon the approval of the State Council, we hereby make the following notice on the relevant tax policies concerning education:

I.

On business tax, value-added tax and income tax

1.

Business tax shall be exempted on the income gained from educational labor services provided by the schools, which engage in the education for academic credentials.

2.

Business tax shall be exempted on the income gained from the labor services provided by students who take part in work-study program.

3.

Business tax shall be exempted on the income gained by schools for their undertaking business of technology development and technology transfer, and the relevant business of technology consultation and service.

4.

Business tax shall be exempted on the income gained from providing nursing services by nurseries or kindergartens.

5.

Business tax and enterprise income tax shall be exempted on the income gained from holding classes for advanced study, training classes by colleges and universities, secondary schools and elementary schools (excluding their subordinate entities), which are funded by governments, on condition that all the income be owned by the schools.

6.

Business tax and enterprise income tax shall be exempted on the income gained from undertaking the service items (excluding the advertisement industry, sauna bath, rubdown, oxygen public house) as prescribed in the tax items of "service industry" of the Interim Regulations on Business Tax by the enterprises, which are funded and managed by the government-funded vocational schools, and whose main purpose is to provide place of practice for the in-school students, and the business income of which is owned by the schools.

7.

The enterprises established by special education schools may enjoy the preferential policies of value-added tax and enterprise income tax of the state granted to the welfare enterprises by referring to the standards for the welfare enterprises.

8.

The donations to education by taxpayers through the non-profit public organizations or state organs within the territory of China may be fully deducted before paying enterprise income tax and individual income tax.

9.

Enterprise income tax shall be exempted temporarily on the income of technical services gained by colleges and universities and various vocational schools from technology transfer, technology training, technology consultation, technology services, and technology contract for serving various industries.

10.

No enterprise income tax shall be collected for the fees, which are collected by schools upon approval and included into the finance budget management or management of special account of capital outside the finance budget. And no enterprise income tax shall be levied upon financial appropriate funds gained by schools, and special subsidy income gained from the department in charge and the upper level entities for their enterprise development.

11.

Individual income tax shall be exempted on the income gained by an individual from his/her education savings deposit interests. And individual income tax shall be exempted on the scholarships in education granted by the people's governments at the provincial level, all the ministries and commissions of the State Council, and the entities at or above the army corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, as well as those granted by foreign organizations and international organizations. Individual income tax shall not be paid temporarily for shares or proportions of capital contribution gained by an individual as awards when the college or university he/she is working for transfers the positional technological achievements and grants personal awards in the form of share rights such as shares or proportion of capital contributions, etc.. But individual income tax shall be paid according to law for dividends gained from shares or proportion of capital contributions or income gained from transfer of share rights or proportion of capital contribution.

II.

On house tax, urban land use tax and stamp tax

House tax and urban land use tax shall be exempted on house property or land for self-use of various schools, nurseries or kindergartens whose expenditures are allocated and funded by government and those run by enterprises. And stamp tax shall be exempted on book documents issued by property owners for his property donation to schools.

III.

On tax on occupation of cultivated land, contract tax, agriculture tax and agricultural special local product tax

1.

The tax on occupation of cultivated land shall be exempted on the cultivated land requisitioned by schools or kindergartens upon approval. The specific scope of land use by the schools, which enjoy tax exemption shall include: land used for teaching houses, laboratories, playgrounds, libraries, offices and dining rooms and dormitories of the teachers, students, and employees of the full-time colleges or universities, high schools and elementary schools (including the schools funded by departments or enterprises). Tax shall not be exempted on the cultivated land occupied by schools for their undertaking of non-agricultural production and management. And the employee night schools, study classes, training centers and correspondence schools do not fall within the scope of tax exemption.

2.

Contract tax shall be exempted on the land and houses that are used for teaching and scientific research, and whose ownerships are undertaken by state organs, institutions, public organizations or military entities. Those used for teaching refer to the classroom (or teaching buildings) and other land or houses used directly for teaching. Those used for scientific research refer to the sites for scientific test and other land or houses used directly for scientific research. Contract tax on houses and land that are used for teaching, and whose ownerships are undertaken by schools and educational institutions, to whom have been issued the license for running a school upon the examination and approval of the administrative departments of education of the people's governments at or above the county level, and which were established by enterprise or institutional organizations, public organizations and other individual or citizens personally facing to society by using the non-financial educational expenditures of the state.

3.

Agriculture tax shall be exempted on the land used by agriculture academies for scientific test. The agricultural special local product tax shall be exempted on agricultural special local product income gained from scientific test made by the agriculture academies during the period of test.

IV.

On customs duty

1.

Import duties and import value-added taxes shall be exempted on the teaching apparatus, books, documents and general articles for study use directly used for education of various vocational schools, high schools, secondary schools, elementary schools and kindergartens, which are donated by overseas donators gratuitously. The foregoing donations shall not include the 20 kinds of commodities, which are not exempted from import duty as clarified by the state. Other relevant matters concerned shall be handled in accordance with the Interim Measures for the Exemption of Import Tax on Donations for Supporting the Poor and Charity Donations.

2.

The import duty and import value-added tax, and excise shall be exempted on the articles (excluding 20 commodities that are not exempted from import duty as clarified by the state) that cannot be produced domestically, and which are imported within reasonable quantity and without the purpose of seeking profit and used directly for scientific research and teaching by full-time colleges or universities above the junior college level with the academic credentials recognized by the Ministry of Education, and other schools approved by the Ministry of Finance together with the relevant departments of the State Council. The specific provisions on the scope of articles used for scientific research and teaching shall abide by the Interim Measures for the Exemption of Import Duty on Articles Used for Scientific Research and Teaching as approved by the State Council.

V.

The following preferential tax policies shall be cancelled:

1.

The provisions on exemption of income tax on the income gained from undertaking production and management by enterprises established by schools as prescribed in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 8 of the Notice on Some Preferential Policies of Enterprise Income Tax (CaiShuiZi [1994] No.001) promulgated by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation. Of which, the finance revenue increased due to cancellation of the preferential income tax policies shall be shared by the Central Finance and local finance, shall be included into special finance budget, and shall still be used fully for education. The subsidy funds that shall be owned by the Central Finance shall be listed into a special item of Central education, and used for improving the conditions for running secondary or elementary schools nationwide, especially in rural areas, and subsidizing students whose family have economic difficulties. The subsidy funds that shall be owned by local finance shall be listed into a provincial special item of education, and used mainly for improving the conditions for running secondary or elementary schools of the local regions and subsidizing rural students of middle schools and elementary schools whose family have economic difficulties.

2.

The provisions of Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 3 of the Notice on Collection of Circulation Tax on Enterprises Established by Schools (GuoShuiFa [1994] No.156), that is, value-added tax shall be exempted on the taxable goods that are produced by enterprises established by schools, and used for teaching and scientific research of the corresponding schools; and business tax shall be exempted on the taxable labor services that are provided by enterprises established by schools for serving the teaching or scientific research of the corresponding schools.

VI.

This Notice shall be implemented as of January 1,2004. In case any previous provisions are not in conformity with this Notice, this Notice shall prevail.