Preferential policies on foreign investment:
Organizations for examination and approval and consultancy:
Foreign invested projects to be set up in the Binhai New District shall be examined and approved by the municipal or district government respectively according to the amount of the investment. Projects with an investment of US$5 million or below shall be examined and approved by the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission of a district government; projects to be set up in the Tianjin Port costing an investment of US$10 million or below shall be examined and approved by the Administration of Tianjin Port; projects to be set up in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area and the bonded area of Tianjin Port costing an investment of US$30 million or below shall be examined and approved by the administrative committee of the development area or the relative office of the bonded area respectively. Any project with an foreign investment exceeding the above-mentioned figures shall be examined and approved by the Foreign Investment Service Center of the Tianjin Municipal Government and submitted to the relevant department of the state.
Procedures of examination and approval:
1. Procedure of application for the establishing a joint venture or cooperative enterprise:
a). The Chinese partner of the joint venture or cooperative enterprise should submit a project proposal, together with the legally binding instruments and creditable documents of both sides of the joint venture or cooperative enterprise to the relative department for registration.
b). The partners jointly make a feasibility study report and submit it to the department in charge for examination and approval.
c). The two sides conclude a contract or an agreement and sign the articles of association of the venture, and provide the list of nominators for its board of directors, together with their certificates of appointment, all of which should be filed with the department in charge for approval.
d.) With the approved contract and articles of association, the applicant may apply to the department in charge for a certificate of approval.
e). With the above-mentioned approved documents, the venture may file with the local industrial and commercial administration for its registration and business license.
2. Procedures for establishing a wholly foreign-owned enterprise:
a). The investors should provide the department in charge their legal instruments and creditable documents, fill the application form and present the enterprise?s articles of association.
b). With the documents approved, the enterprise should file with the local department in charge of construction in the place where the enterprise will be set up to go through the formalities for the choice of site, the use of land and other facilities for setting up of the enterprise.
c). With the approved application and the articles of association and the certificate issued by the local construction department, the enterprise should apply to the department in charge for a certificate of approval.
d). With all the approved documents, the enterprise should file with the local industrial and commercial administration for registration and the business license.
3. Preferential policies:
a). Any foreign-invested manufacture enterprise set up in the Binhai New District shall be levied a 15 percent flat income tax. If the planned duration of its operation will be 10 years or more, in the first two years since its first profit-making year, it shall be exempt from income tax and in its third-five years, a 50 percent reduction in income tax shall be levied.
b). Any foreign company who invests in such projects as airfield, seaport, railway, highway, energy (including power station), and transportation projects shall be exempt from income tax for the first five years starting from the first profit-making year and in the following five years, it shall enjoy a 50 percent reduction in income tax.
c). Foreign investors are encouraged to set up foreign funded banks and other financial institutions in the Binhai New District. At the same time, domestic financial institutions are also encouraged to set up banks, financial corporations and other financial service institutions in the district.
d). Any investor who develops a vast stretch of land in the Binhai New District shall enjoy the preferential treatment on the price of land, power supply, etc.
e) Any Chinese enterprise to be set up in the Binhai New District, which will play an important role in the development or opening up of the district, shall be granted preferential treatment accordingly by the relevant department.
4. Other preferential policies:
Apart from the preferential income tax, any foreign invested enterprises in the district of advanced technology shall be allowed to reduce its income tax to 10 percent for another three years following the expiration of the income tax reductions term. Any export-oriented enterprise whose export products in a year accounts for 70 percent of its total output value, shall enjoy a preferential 10 percent income tax. In addition, new preferential policies shall be executed on value-added tax, consumption tax, business tax, city real estate and property tax, license tax on the use of vehicles and ships, pre-drawing income tax, and personal income tax.
5. A guide to registration with the customs
a). Documents should be prepared and provided by foreign-invested enterprises:
1). A copy of the business license;
2). A copy of the certificate approved by the Tianjin Municipal People?s Government;
3). A copy of the articles of association, the contract or agreement of a joint venture or cooperative enterprise (exclusive of foreign wholly funded enterprise);
4). A copy and the original of the contract for the purchase of the land, or the purchase of a house or the lease of the lent house, and the receipts of payments;
5). A copy of the ID card of the legal representative of the enterprise;
6). The original certificate of its bank account;
7). The original copy of the report on the examination of capital.
b). Documents should be prepared and provided by a Chinese enterprise:
1). A duplicate copy of its business license;
2). A copy of the articles of association and the contract of the enterprise (exclusive of single-funded enterprise);
3). A copy and original of the contract for purchase of the land, a house or a lease of a lent house, and the receipts of payments;
4). A copy of the ID card of the legal representative of the enterprise;
5). An original certificate of its bank account;
6). An original copy of the report on the examination of capital.
