STA Releases Provisions on the Electronic Service of Tax Documents (for Trial Implementation)

The State Taxation Administration ("STA") has recently enacted and issued the Provisions on the Electronic Service of Tax Documents (for Trial Implementation) (the "Provisions"), with effect from April 1, 2020.

The Provisions mainly include five parts as below. The first is clarifying the effect of electronic service and its impacts on the rights and obligations of the recipients. It is stated that electronic service shall have the same legal effect as other means of service. The second is stressing the principle of voluntariness. Electronic service should be conditioned on the consent of the recipients. Where the recipient agrees with the electronic service, the tax authority shall enable him or her to sign the Letter of Confirmation on Electronic Service of Tax Documents either online or offline. The third is clearly specifying in what way tax documents will be electronically served. Tax authorities will serve the electronic versions of tax documents through a certain system. The fourth is standardizing the servicing operations by making clearing the criteria of successful service, the said system's automatic recording and text-message reminders. And the fifth is defining the scope of tax documents and listing certain tax documents not suitable for electronic service, such as the Decision on Tax Treatment, the Decision on Preservation Measures for Taxation, the Decision on Exit Ban, and other tax documents involved in tax inspections and tax-related administrative reconsideration.



(Source: http://www.chinatax.gov.cn/chinatax/n810341/n810755/c5140928/content.html)

Note: The link to the Chinese official website of the document is for your reference.