What a company files in China [CN]

Every enterprise files: «企业应当于每年1月1日至6月30日，通过国家企业信用信息公示系统向市场监督管理部门报送上一年度年度报告，并向社会公示。当年设立登记的企业，自下一年起报送并公示年度报告。» — between 1 January and 30 June each year, for the previous year, published to the public; an enterprise registered in a given year starts filing the following year. The report covers contact details and status, investments, shareholders' subscribed and paid-in capital, equity transfers, websites, and financial figures (headcount, assets, liabilities, revenue, profit, tax), some of which the enterprise may choose not to publish. For a foreign-invested enterprise the Foreign Investment Information Reporting Measures add the same window — «外商投资企业应于每年1月1日至6月30日通过国家企业信用信息公示系统提交上一年度的年度报告。当年设立的外商投资企业，自下一年起报送年度报告。» — with investor and actual-controller information, operating and balance-sheet data, and industry-licence information where a special administrative measure for foreign investment applies. Since the 2019 reporting year this is one submission: the joint SAMR–MOFCOM–SAFE notice 市监信〔2019〕238号 states that foreign-invested enterprises «统一通过国家企业信用信息公示系统…报送“多报合一”年报», and SAFE branch guides for the 2025 year confirm that the FDI stock-equity registration is made through this annual report in the same 1 January – 30 June window. The older 30 September SAFE deadline is therefore not shown as a separate obligation.

Extensions and exceptions: No extension is published. The SAFE Tianjin branch guide for the 2025 year states that from 1 July a late or corrected «多报合一» report is no longer made in the publicity system but by application to the commerce authorities through the foreign investment information reporting system: «2026年7月1日后，补报或更正2025年度“多报合一”年报，应向商务部门申请，并通过外商投资信息报告管理系统办理».

The statute sets the deadline: «企业应当自年度终了之日起五个月内，向税务机关报送年度企业所得税纳税申报表，并汇算清缴，结清应缴应退税款。企业在报送企业所得税纳税申报表时，应当按照规定附送财务会计报告和其他有关资料。» — within five months after the year end, which for the statutory calendar year is 31 May, with the financial accounting report attached. The obligation does not depend on profit: the STA's settlement measures require every taxpayer that operated during the year, including trial operation, «无论是否在减税、免税期间，也无论盈利或亏损», whether or not in a tax-reduction or exemption period and whether in profit or loss, to carry out the settlement. The implementing regulations repeat that the annual return and financial report are due «无论盈利或者亏损». The same return carries the related-party transaction report forms, which are recorded separately.

Extensions and exceptions: Two mechanisms. First, when the last day is a statutory holiday it moves: «税收征管法及本细则所规定期限的最后一日是法定休假日的，以休假日期满的次日为期限的最后一日；在期限内有连续３日以上法定休假日的，按休假日天数顺延。» — this is why the record is indicative although the year is statutory. Second, a taxpayer with genuine difficulty may apply in writing, within the deadline, to file later: «确有困难，需要延期的，应当在规定的期限内向税务机关提出书面延期申请。» Separately, a taxpayer that finds an error may re-file within the settlement period: «纳税人在汇算清缴期内发现当年企业所得税申报有误的，可在汇算清缴期内重新办理企业所得税年度纳税申报。»

«企业所得税分月或者分季预缴。企业应当自月份或者季度终了之日起十五日内，向税务机关报送预缴企业所得税纳税申报表，预缴税款。» — the prepayment period is a month or a quarter, and whether a given enterprise is monthly or quarterly is fixed by the tax authority: «企业所得税分月或者分季预缴，由税务机关具体核定。» The prepayment is based on actual profit for the month or quarter or, where that is difficult, on the monthly or quarterly average of the previous year's taxable income or another method the tax authority accepts, and once chosen the method may not be changed at will within the year. The return is owed even in a loss period. The event here is the end of the enterprise's own prepayment period, which only the enterprise knows (monthly or quarterly).

Extensions and exceptions: The 15-day period moves every year with public holidays. The STA publishes the calendar for all taxes filed within 15 days after a month or quarter; for 2026 (税总办征科函〔2025〕64号, 10 December 2025) the monthly last days are 20 January, 24 February, 16 March, 20 April, 22 May, 15 June, 15 July, 17 August, 15 September, 26 October, 16 November and 15 December. A written extension application within the deadline is available under art. 37 of the Implementing Rules of the Tax Collection and Administration Law.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

The statute requires the report whenever there are dealings with related parties: «企业向税务机关报送年度企业所得税纳税申报表时，应当就其与关联方之间的业务往来，附送年度关联业务往来报告表。» The STA announcement on related-party reporting applies it to «实行查账征收的居民企业和在中国境内设立机构、场所并据实申报缴纳企业所得税的非居民企业» — resident enterprises assessed on their books, and non-resident enterprises with an establishment in China that file on actual profits. A foreign-invested company controlled by its foreign parent has, by construction, at least one related party, so for a WFOE the question is less whether the forms apply than what they must disclose. There is no size threshold for these forms; the thresholds in the same announcement govern the contemporaneous documentation, recorded separately.

Extensions and exceptions: The forms travel with the annual return and share its deadline, including the holiday roll-over and written extension described under the annual return record.

Four alternative tests, any one of which triggers the local file: «（一）有形资产所有权转让金额（来料加工业务按照年度进出口报关价格计算）超过2亿元。（二）金融资产转让金额超过1亿元。（三）无形资产所有权转让金额超过1亿元。（四）其他关联交易金额合计超过4000万元。» — transfers of tangible assets over 200 million yuan, of financial assets over 100 million yuan, of intangible assets over 100 million yuan, or other related-party transactions totalling over 40 million yuan. The threshold field carries the fourth test, the one a service or distribution WFOE paying fees, royalties or service charges to its group typically meets first. Two exemptions: transactions covered by an advance pricing arrangement are excluded from the count, and «企业仅与境内关联方发生关联交易的，可以不准备主体文档、本地文档和特殊事项文档» — an enterprise whose related-party transactions are only with domestic related parties need not prepare any of the documentation. The documentation must be in Chinese, cite its sources, bear the company seal and be signed by the legal representative or an authorised person, and be kept for 10 years.

Extensions and exceptions: No extension of the preparation date is published. The second clock starts only on request: «同期资料应当自税务机关要求之日起30日内提供» — the documentation must be provided within 30 days of the tax authority's request.

Two alternative conditions: «（一）年度发生跨境关联交易，且合并该企业财务报表的最终控股企业所属企业集团已准备主体文档。（二）年度关联交易总额超过10亿元。» — the enterprise had cross-border related-party transactions in the year and the group of the ultimate holding company that consolidates it has prepared a master file; or its related-party transactions for the year total over 1 billion yuan. The threshold field carries the second condition only. For a WFOE of a group that already prepares a master file elsewhere, the first condition is the one that bites, at any size, once there is a single cross-border related-party transaction. The domestic-only exemption applies as for the local file.

Extensions and exceptions: No extension is published. The clock runs from the ultimate holding company's accounting year end, not from the Chinese tax year: «主体文档应当在企业集团最终控股企业会计年度终了之日起12个月内准备完毕» — so for a group whose parent closes on a date other than 31 December the master-file date differs from every other Chinese deadline. Provision on request within 30 days, as for the local file.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

Since 1 January 2026 the basis is the Value-Added Tax Law, adopted on 25 December 2024, which replaced the earlier provisional regulations. Its art. 30: «增值税的计税期间分别为十日、十五日、一个月或者一个季度。纳税人的具体计税期间，由主管税务机关根据纳税人应纳税额的大小分别核定。不经常发生应税交易的纳税人，可以按次纳税。纳税人以一个月或者一个季度为一个计税期间的，自期满之日起十五日内申报纳税；以十日或者十五日为一个计税期间的，自次月一日起十五日内申报纳税。» — the tax period is 10 days, 15 days, a month or a quarter, set by the tax authority according to the amount of tax; monthly and quarterly filers file and pay within 15 days after the period ends, 10- and 15-day filers within 15 days from the first day of the next month. Withholding agents remitting VAT follow the same periods. A small-scale taxpayer is one whose annual taxable sales do not exceed 5 million yuan; the State Council may adjust that figure. The event is the end of the tax period the authority has assigned, which only the taxpayer knows.

Extensions and exceptions: The 15-day period moves with public holidays under the STA's yearly calendar; for 2026 (税总办征科函〔2025〕64号) the last days run from the 15th to the 26th of the month depending on the month — see the provisional EIT record for the full list. A written extension application within the deadline is available under art. 37 of the Implementing Rules of the Tax Collection and Administration Law. Offset 15 days applies to monthly and quarterly periods; for 10- and 15-day periods the 15 days run from the first day of the following month.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

Any unit paying income to individuals is the withholding agent: «以支付所得的单位或者个人为扣缴义务人». The statute sets the deadline: «扣缴义务人每月或者每次预扣、代扣的税款，应当在次月十五日内缴入国库，并向税务机关报送扣缴个人所得税申报表。» — tax withheld in a month or on each payment is remitted, and the withholding return filed, within 15 days of the following month. The STA measures require a full-coverage return, listing every individual paid: «全员全额扣缴申报，是指扣缴义务人应当在代扣税款的次月十五日内，向主管税务机关报送其支付所得的所有个人的有关信息、支付所得数额、扣除事项和数额、扣缴税款的具体数额和总额以及其他相关涉税信息资料。» Salaries are withheld by the cumulative method with a deduction of 5,000 yuan per month. The event is the end of a month in which income was paid.

Extensions and exceptions: The 15th moves with public holidays under the STA's yearly calendar (for 2026, 税总办征科函〔2025〕64号: from the 15th to the 26th depending on the month). A written extension application within the deadline is available to withholding agents under art. 37 of the Implementing Rules of the Tax Collection and Administration Law.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

The tax arises when a taxable instrument is executed: «印花税的纳税义务发生时间为纳税人书立应税凭证或者完成证券交易的当日。» Filing follows the assessment period: «印花税按季、按年或者按次计征。实行按季、按年计征的，纳税人应当自季度、年度终了之日起十五日内申报缴纳税款；实行按次计征的，纳税人应当自纳税义务发生之日起十五日内申报缴纳税款。» — quarterly or annual filers within 15 days after the quarter or year ends, per-transaction filers within 15 days of the liability arising. Which instruments are taxable and at what rate is set by the schedule annexed to the Law, which was not legible on the page read and is not stated here. A WFOE that executes no taxable instrument in a period owes nothing for it; the record is included because contracts with suppliers and customers are, in the ordinary course, taxable instruments under the Law's schedule, but that schedule itself is not asserted.

Extensions and exceptions: The quarterly and annual 15-day periods follow the STA's yearly calendar and holiday roll-over as for the other periodic taxes; a written extension application within the deadline is available under art. 37 of the Implementing Rules of the Tax Collection and Administration Law.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

Companies, partnerships and branches of foreign companies file. The first filing is made at incorporation: «备案主体在设立登记时，应当通过相关登记注册系统备案受益所有人信息。» Entities registered before the Measures took effect on 1 November 2024 had until 1 November 2025: «在本办法实施前已经登记注册的备案主体，应当于2025年11月1日前，按照本办法规定备案受益所有人信息。» The recurring duty is event-driven: «备案主体受益所有人信息发生变化，或者不再符合本办法第三条规定的承诺免报条件的，应当自发生变化或者不符合承诺免报条件之日起30日内，通过相关登记注册系统备案受益所有人信息。» — within 30 days of any change. An exemption by undertaking exists for an entity with registered capital not exceeding 10 million yuan whose shareholders are all natural persons and which no other natural person controls or benefits from; a WFOE whose shareholder is a foreign company does not meet the all-natural-persons condition. There is no annual re-confirmation in the Measures, so no annual reminder follows from this record.

Extensions and exceptions: No extension is published. An entity that cannot complete incorporation through the registration system and registers on site files through the system within 30 days of incorporation: «无法通过相关登记注册系统办理设立登记的，可以现场办理，并在设立登记之日起30日内，通过相关登记注册系统备案受益所有人信息。»

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

The revised Company Law, in force from 1 July 2024, provides: «有限责任公司的注册资本为在公司登记机关登记的全体股东认缴的出资额。全体股东认缴的出资额由股东按照公司章程的规定自公司成立之日起五年内缴足。» — shareholders pay their subscribed contributions as the articles provide, within five years of incorporation; the articles may set an earlier date. For a company registered before 30 June 2024, State Council Decree No. 784 sets a transition: «2024年6月30日前登记设立的公司，有限责任公司剩余认缴出资期限自2027年7月1日起超过5年的，应当在2027年6月30日前将其剩余认缴出资期限调整至5年内并记载于公司章程，股东应当在调整后的认缴出资期限内足额缴纳认缴的出资额». So an older WFOE whose articles still carry a long contribution schedule must, by 30 June 2027, cut the remaining period to no more than five years from 1 July 2027, and record it in the articles. The same Decree allows the SAMR to accept the original schedule where the company's operations involve national interests or major public interests and a competent State Council department or provincial government so proposes. This is a one-off deadline per company rather than a recurring filing; it is included because it is the capital obligation a foreign-invested company is most likely to be tracking.

Extensions and exceptions: Five years is the statutory maximum; the articles of association may set an earlier date, which then governs, so the offset shown is an outer limit. For companies registered before 30 June 2024 the transition in Decree No. 784 applies instead, with the articles to be amended by 30 June 2027. The transitional article of the Company Law itself (art. 266) was not read at the primary source.

Outside the annual report, the enterprise publishes certain facts as they occur: «企业应当自下列信息形成之日起20个工作日内通过国家企业信用信息公示系统向社会公示：(一)有限责任公司股东或者股份有限公司发起人认缴和实缴的出资额、出资时间、出资方式等信息；(二)有限责任公司股东股权转让等股权变更信息» — among others, subscribed and paid-in capital, dates and form of contribution, and equity transfers, within 20 working days of the information arising. For a WFOE paying in capital in instalments, each instalment starts a new 20-working-day period. Separately, the Foreign Investment Information Reporting Measures require a change report for changes that do not involve a registration change: «不涉及企业变更登记（备案）的，外商投资企业应于变更事项发生后20个工作日内通过企业登记系统提交变更报告。» The period is in working days, which the schema's calendar-day offset cannot express, so the offset is left empty.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.