STA Seeks Comments on the Discretionary Criteria for Tax Administrative Penalties (2026 Edition)

The State Taxation Administration (STA) has drafted the Announcement on Issuing the Discretionary Criteria for Tax Administrative Penalties (2026 Edition) (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft") to solicit public opinions by August 13, 2026.

The Draft requires tax authorities to impose administrative penalties strictly in accordance with laws and regulations and make penalty decisions within the scope of the applicable discretion criteria. The Draft includes two annexes: the Discretionary Criteria for Tax Administrative Penalties (2026 Edition) and the List of Matters Eligible for "Exemption of Tax Administrative Penalties on Minor Violations". The former covers 66 administrative penalty matters under nine categories, including tax registration, accounting books and vouchers, tax filing, tax collection, tax inspections, invoices and tax certificates, tax guarantees, administration of tax-related professional services, and reporting of tax-related information. For each matter, the statutory basis, level of discretion, applicable conditions, and specific criteria are specified. The latter introduces eight administrative penalty matters drawn from the Discretionary Criteria and sets out the specific conditions under which no administrative penalty will be imposed for minor violations.



(Source: https://www.chinatax.gov.cn/chinatax/n810356/n810961/c5251121/content.html)

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