Summary

On 5 March 2021, the Hainan Provincial Tax Service of the State Taxation Administration (STA), the Department of Finance of Hainan Province, and the Hainan Provincial Administration for Market Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “Three Hainan Provincial Departments”) jointly released the Announcement on Issues Related to the Substantive Operations of Enterprises in Industries Encouraged by the Hainan Free Trade Port (Hainan FTP)  (Hainan Provincial Tax Service of the STA, Announcement [2021] No. 1, or “Announcement No. 1”). Announcement No. 1 clarifies the four elements of substantive operations and the detailed requirements for applying these policies in different scenarios. This provides a greater certainty to taxpayers and can lower the taxation risks.

Background

To implement the Overall Plan for the Construction of Hainan FTP (Hainan FTP Plan), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the STA jointly released the Circular on Preferential Corporate Income Tax Policies in Hainan FTP on 23 June 2020 (Cai Shui [2020] No. 31, or “Circular 31”). This provided that enterprises in encouraged industries in the Hainan FTP, which possess business substance, are entitled to corporate income tax (CIT) at a reduced tax rate of 15%, for details please see KPMG China Tax Alert Issue 25, July 2020. Subsequently on 31 July, the Hainan Provincial Tax Service of the STA also released the Announcement on Issues Related to the Preferential Corporate Income Tax Policies in Hainan FTP (Hainan Provincial Tax Service of the STA, Announcement [2020] No. 4, or “Announcement No. 4”). These CIT incentives aim to attract more businesses, in or outside China, to make investment in Hainan FTP, and boost its development.

To effectively implement the preferential CIT policies set out in Circular 31 and Announcement No. 4, three Hainan Provincial Departments jointly released Announcement No. 1 in 2021, which specifies four elements that constitute substantive operations and details the requirements in application of these policies in different scenarios, with a view to provide clear policy guidelines and regulatory requirements for enterprises in encouraged industries that are eligible for the Hainan FTP’s preferential CIT policies so that they can fully realise the tax benefits.

Highlights

1. Detailed requirements for enterprises in “3+1” categories

For enterprises that are eligible for the Hainan FTP’s preferential CIT policies, clauses 1 to 4 of Announcement No. 1 set out the detailed requirements on substantive operations in different scenarios.

Category

Model

Detailed requirements on substantive operations

Resident enterprises

Scenario 1:

  • Registered in the FTP
  • No branches outside the FTP

All four elements—production and operations, personnel, accounts, and assets—are in the Hainan FTP

Scenario 2:

  • Registered in the FTP
  • Branches outside the FTP

Enterprise needs to exercises substantial and comprehensive management and control over the branches’ production and operations, personnel, accounts and assets

Scenario 3:

  • Registered outside the FTP
  • Branches in the FTP

Branches have business income, employee compensation and total assets corresponding to their production and operation functions

Non-resident enterprises

Scenario 4:

  • Institutions or premises in the FTP

Institutions or premises have business income, employee compensation and total assets corresponding to their production and operation functions

2. Four elements of substantive operations

The official interpretation of Announcement No. 1 details the requirements for the four elements when applying the preferential CIT policies for resident enterprises that are registered in Hainan FTP and that have no branches outside the Hainan FTP. As Announcement  No. 1 is newly introduced, we have summarised key takeaways of the four elements, general understanding in practice of the Hong Kong SAR Inland Revenue Department’s (IRD), as well as potential issues in the table below.

Four elements

Announcement No. 1’s key takeaways

IRD’s general understanding in practice

Potential issues

Production and  operations

1)Fixed production and  operation premises are  located in the Hainan  FTP

2)Major production and  operation premises are  located in the Hainan  FTP, or enterprise exercises substantial and  comprehensive management and control  over the institutions in the  Hainan FTP

“Management” refers to a  company’s management of its  daily business and the  implementation of management decisions. 

“Control” refers to a higher level of control over the overall business, including the  definition of business  strategies, formulation of strategic policies, selection of channels for business financing and review of  business performance

  • It is common for large-  scale groups to use  shared service centres to provide management  services such as  financial, HR, and legal  services. The shared service centres charge their members for the services provided. Does this situation meet the  requirement that states,  “Practitioners who meet  the enterprise’s business needs are working in the Hainan FTP”?
  • Groups handle their  financial affairs and  store their digitalised  supporting documents  centrally. Within this  context, how can they  align their operations  with the “stored in the  Hainan FTP”  requirement?
  • Can enterprises in the  Hainan FTP meet the  requirements by  engaging qualified local  intermediaries in the FTP to provide the relevant services?

Personnel

1)Practitioners who meet  the enterprise’s business  needs are working in the  Hainan FTP

2)Labour contracts or  agreements have been entered into with  enterprises in the Hainan FTP for more than 1 year

The focus is on the location  where the relevant activities  took place. Usually, services  provided by a shared services  centre to a preferential-policy  applicant in Hong Kong SAR  will be considered

Accounts

1)Accounting  documentation is stored  in the Hainan FTP

2)Primary bank account for  settlement purposes has  been opened in the Hainan FTP

The focus is on the location  where the relevant activities  took place. Whether accounting subjects and banking matters are prepared and handled in Hong Kong SAR will be considered

Assets

1)Assets that are used for  production and  operations are located in  the Hainan FTP

2)Enterprise in the Hainan FTP owns or has  the right to use the assets

Whether assets are used for  operations and whether relevant management activities  (e.g. pledge, acquisition and disposal of assets) took place in Hong Kong SAR are considered

3. Requirement on consolidated CIT payments

For enterprises that are eligible for the Hainan FTP’s preferential CIT policies, clauses 5 and 6 of Announcement No. 1 specify how taxable income and tax payable are calculated and how tax obligations are allocated among head office and branches.

Scenarios

Legal basis

Key points

Scenario 2

Announcement of the State Taxation  Administration on the Issuance of Measures for  the Collection and Administration of Corporate  Income Tax for Cross-regional Operations (STA  Announcement [2012] No. 57)

Head offices and branches need to accurately calculate their taxable income and tax payable  and pay the CIT in accordance with relevant requirements

Scenario 3

Scenario 4

Announcement on Issues Related to the  Preferential Corporate Income Tax Policies in the Hainan FTP (Hainan Provincial Tax Service of the STA, Announcement [2020] No. 4)

Taxable income and tax payable should be accurately calculated, and the CIT should be paid in accordance with relevant requirements

4. Other requirements

For enterprises that are eligible for the Hainan FTP’s preferential CIT policies, clauses 7 to 9 of Announcement No. 1 set out the other requirements:

  1. Materials retention: Supporting documents for claiming CIT incentives need to be retained as per Announcement No. 4 for tax authorities’ follow up audit and review
  2. Tax payment: Preferential CIT treatment is applicable to enterprise whose CIT is levied based on the accounting examination
  3. Effective period: Announcement No. 1 is effective from 1 January 2020 through 31 December 2024 (same as Circular 31)

Hainan FTP CIT Policies are applicable to all qualified enterprises and branches set up in Hainan FTP without restrictions on the nature of the industry. At the same time, we suggest that enterprises enjoying the policies should pay close attention to the requirements of substantive operations to reduce the tax risk.

KPMG is closely monitoring the development of the Hainan FTP. With its extensive experience, KPMG can  provide deep insights, advice and services to help enterprises access preferential policies and grow their  business.