JC Master Legal News Issue 1168

Key Takeaways for This Issue

The Ministry of Transport has released a comprehensive list of enterprise-related fees.
On July 9, the Ministry of Transport published on its official website a comprehensive list of enterprise-related fees levied by the Ministry and its first-level subordinate units.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has launched a special quality review of cases involving securities and futures crimes.
Recently, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate launched a special quality review of cases involving securities and futures crimes, covering procuratorial organs in 12 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Tianjin, and Liaoning. The review is scheduled to conclude in mid-August.
The Supreme People’s Court has released the first batch of typical cases involving foreign-related commercial and maritime mediation.
On July 11, the Supreme People’s Court released the first batch of six typical cases involving foreign-related commercial and maritime mediation, involving countries including Singapore, South Korea, Italy, and the United States.

Finance & Capital Markets
Financial institutions’ suitability‑management obligations have been subject to new regulations.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission recently issued the Measures for the Administration of Product Suitability at Financial Institutions (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”), aiming to ensure that financial institutions rigorously fulfill their suitability obligations and sell appropriate products through suitable channels to eligible customers. To facilitate the smooth implementation of these policies, the Measures will take effect on February 1, 2026.
The Measures require financial institutions to thoroughly understand both the products and their customers, ensuring that appropriate products are sold through suitable channels to the right customers. For investment‑type products, financial institutions are mandated to assign risk ratings and manage them on an ongoing basis; investors in such products are categorized as either professional or retail investors, with enhanced protections afforded to retail investors, including more rigorous assessments of risk tolerance, full compliance with disclosure obligations, and the provision of clear risk warnings. In addition, with respect to insurance products, the Measures also stipulate that financial institutions shall implement classified and tiered management, aligning these requirements with the tiered licensing regime for insurance sales and other related provisions.
An official from the relevant department of the National Administration of Financial Regulation stated that, for financial consumers, requiring financial institutions to fulfill their suitability obligations helps them identify risks and select products that align with their needs and risk tolerance, thereby reducing expenditures and losses that exceed their capacity. For financial institutions, strengthening suitability management—by enhancing compliance, optimizing financial services, and effectively managing risks and resolving disputes—can bolster their overall competitiveness, foster a professional, trustworthy, and responsible institutional image, and support their long-term development.

Commercial & Corporate
The Ministry of Transport has released a comprehensive list of enterprise-related fees.
On July 9, the Ministry of Transport published on its official website a comprehensive list of enterprise-related fees levied by the Ministry and its first-level subordinate units.
This list covers bid bonds, performance bonds, government procurement, construction quality, technical services, training, forensic appraisal, inspection, and exhibition services, among others. The catalog specifies the following: the maximum bid bond is 2% of the estimated value of the tendered project; the maximum performance bond is 10%; and the construction quality bond shall not exceed 3% of the final settlement amount. Fees for technical services, training, ship inspections, and exhibition services are subject to market‑determined pricing through negotiation. Government procurement security deposits are priced by the Ministry of Finance, while forensic appraisal fees are set by local competent authorities.
The State Administration for Market Regulation convened the fourth Enterprise Fair Competition Symposium of 2025.
On July 9, the State Administration for Market Regulation convened the fourth Enterprise Fair Competition Symposium of 2025, during which executives from eight companies—including TELD, Great Wall Motor, NetEase, SF Express, Du Xiaoman, and Vipshop—delivered remarks.
The conference was held under the theme “Safeguarding a Fair and Competitive Market Order and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Private Sector.” Meng Yang, Deputy Director-General of the State Administration for Market Regulation, outlined recent policy measures, emphasizing the need to strengthen fair‑competition reviews and antitrust oversight and enforcement, while improving the efficiency of investment and merger‑and‑acquisition reviews. Participating enterprises put forward views and recommendations on bolstering fair‑competition governance, with the aim of fostering a favorable market environment for private offices.
Shenzhen’s Qianhai is set to introduce a series of measures to encourage enterprises to establish and develop R&D centers.
On July 8, the Qianhai Authority of Shenzhen issued a notice soliciting public comments on the “Several Measures (Trial) of the Shenzhen Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone Administration to Encourage Enterprises to Establish and Develop R&D Centers in Qianhai (Draft for Comments).” The deadline for submitting comments is 30 days from the date of the notice’s publication.
The “Several Measures” aim to support the agglomeration and development of corporate R&D centers in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone. Key measures include: providing eligible corporate R&D centers with up to RMB 2 million in R&D readiness funding, with global R&D centers eligible for an additional cap of RMB 6 million; offering office space support, with global R&D centers enjoying two years of rent exemption and corporate R&D centers one year of rent exemption; implementing favorable tax policies by levying corporate income tax at a reduced rate of 15% on eligible corporate R&D centers; providing R&D expense subsidies of up to RMB 3 million, equivalent to 20% of total eligible expenses; offering project‑specific municipal-level support of up to RMB 100 million per project; fostering industry–university–research collaborative innovation and leveraging the Qianhai overseas‑expansion platform to expand international business; and delivering services for intellectual property creation and protection.

Taxation
Guangdong has issued guidelines to resolve longstanding issues in real estate registration.
Recently, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Natural Resources issued the “Guiding Opinions of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Natural Resources on Accelerating the Resolution of Several Historical Legacy Issues in Real Estate Registration on State-Owned Construction Land,” which will take effect on August 4, 2025, with a validity period of five years.
Specifically, for residential projects that have been sold and delivered, if the developer has failed to pay the full land premium as stipulated in the land grant contract, or has marketed policy‑oriented housing such as affordable housing as commercial housing without making up the outstanding land premium, or has unpaid taxes and fees, the natural resources authority, after submitting the disposal plan for approval by the local government, may proceed with registration in accordance with the “separation of certificate and payment” principle, while the relevant departments pursue the collection of the outstanding land premium and taxes and fees.
For residential projects that have not yet been delivered, if the developer has failed to pay the land premium and applicable taxes and fees as required, or if self-built houses on allocated land have been sold to third parties without first making up the outstanding land premium, registration may only be processed after the outstanding land premium and taxes and fees have been paid in accordance with the law.
Optimizing the Consumption Environment for Exit‑Tax Refunds: Shanghai Releases a Three-Year Action Plan
The Shanghai Municipal Tax Service of the State Taxation Administration, together with five other departments, recently jointly issued the “Shanghai Action Plan for Optimizing the Consumption Environment for Departure Tax Refunds (2025–2027).”
The plan proposes that by 2027, the city will have more than 3,000 departure‑tax‑refund stores and over 10,000 service outlets, with “buy‑and‑refund” stores accounting for more than 80% of the total. At the same time, the threshold for tax‑refund eligibility will be lowered to RMB 200, and the cash‑refund limit will be raised to RMB 20,000. The government will also provide subsidies for the purchase of tax‑refund equipment and encourage domestic brands and Shanghai‑specific products to participate in the tax‑refund program.
Guangdong Refines the Detailed Rules for the Administration and Collection of the Water Resources Tax
Recently, the Guangdong Provincial Tax Service and the Shenzhen Municipal Tax Service, among other departments, jointly drafted the “Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration and Collection of Water Resources Tax (Draft for Public Comment).” The public is now invited to submit comments, with the consultation period running from July 3 to August 2, 2025.
The Draft for Public Comment includes provisions on incentives for industrial water conservation, preferential policies for rural drinking water, and tax filing requirements, with the aim of refining the administration of water resource taxation.

LITIGATION & ARBITRATION
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has launched a special quality review of cases involving securities and futures crimes.
Recently, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate launched a special quality review of cases involving securities and futures crimes, covering procuratorial organs in 12 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Tianjin, and Liaoning. The review is scheduled to conclude in mid-August.
This review is conducted in two phases: in the first phase, provincial procuratorates organize quality assessments of cases within their respective jurisdictions, totaling 245 cases; in the second phase, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate selects 48 cases for preliminary and follow-up reviews. The review focuses on the comprehensiveness of case file examination, the evaluation of substantive and procedural issues, as well as procedural compliance and professional standards. The aim is to identify systemic problems in handling securities and futures‑related criminal cases, enhance the capacity of the procuratorial organs, and, through case‑by‑case reviews, promote improvements in the handling of similar cases.
The Ministry of Public Security has released five typical cases of contract fraud.
On July 9, the Ministry of Public Security released five typical cases of contract fraud.
The five contract fraud cases publicized by the Ministry of Public Security include: in Inner Mongolia, Liu and others registered shell companies to pose as partners of e‑commerce platforms, defrauding merchants of over 70 million yuan in security deposits; in Shanghai, Wu and others impersonated franchise‑development channels for a tea‑brand, swindling more than 100 million yuan in franchise fees; in Jiangsu, Xu and others used a “high‑rent, low‑lease” scheme to siphon off over 20 million yuan in rental payments; in Sichuan, Liu and others forged authorization documents for gas stations, appropriating 32.7 million yuan; and in Xinjiang, Wei exploited cotton futures trading to defraud more than 32 million yuan. All cases have been referred to the procuratorial organs for review and prosecution.
The Supreme People’s Court has released the first batch of typical cases involving foreign-related commercial and maritime mediation.
On July 11, the Supreme People’s Court released the first batch of six typical cases involving foreign-related commercial and maritime mediation, involving countries including Singapore, South Korea, Italy, and the United States.
The cases summarize the Chinese courts’ experience in diversified dispute resolution in foreign-related commercial and maritime litigation, distill a new paradigm for international commercial mediation, and underscore the principle of equally protecting the legitimate rights and interests of both domestic and foreign parties. Case One addresses a quality‑related dispute over an overseas railway project, ensuring project progress through a phased performance plan. Case Two pioneers a dual‑mode mediation approach—combining technical expertise with legal guidance—to resolve an overseas construction‑quality controversy. Case Three leverages coordinated efforts between two levels of courts to settle foreign‑trade disputes and safeguard private enterprises. Case Four employs traveling court sessions to resolve a 20‑year‑long equity‑ownership dispute. Case Five adopts a “mediate one case, conclude multiple cases” strategy to address cross‑border trade disputes. Case Six introduces third‑party mediation to protect the investment interests of foreign investors.

JC Master Law Office
Address: 9th Floor, National Water Resources Building, No. 70 Qingjiang South Road, Nanjing City
Postal code: 210036
Phone: 025-84503333
Fax: 025-84505533
Website: www.jcmaster.com
This legal notice is provided solely for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or a legal analysis of any specific case. The transmission of this legal notice does not establish an attorney–client relationship between JC Master Law Office and the user or reader. JC Master Law Office assumes no responsibility for any third-party content accessible via the internet. If you do not wish to receive this legal notice, please notify us by email at jcm@jcmaster.com.
The copyright in this legal information is owned by JC Master Law Office ©. Without written permission, no organization or individual may reproduce, publish, or cite it in any form.