国家税务总局


关于外商投资企业出口货物有关政策问题的函(附英文)
国家税务总局



江苏省国家税务局：
近接江苏省常州市“远东”、“丰田”等10家外商投资企业给刘仲藜局长写信，反映由于外商投资企业出口货物不予退税，给企业带来一系列困难，乃至出现亏损，要求尽快兑现出口退税政策。类似的意见，其他地方也时有反映。对此，特作如下解释，请分别用口头方式向有关企业
做好工作。
关于外商投资企业出口货物的税收问题，财政部、国家税务总局已于1994年8月25日（94）财税字第058号通知作了明确规定。其主要内容是：外商投资企业生产的货物直接出口的，除另有规定外，免征增值税、消费税；销售给国内出口企业或委托国内出口企业代理出口的
，一律视同内销，照章征收增值税、消费税；直接出口的货物中，购买国内原材料所负担的进项税额不予退税。上述规定是根据公平税负以利于各类企业平等竞争和保持税收政策的连续性、稳定性的原则确定的。具体地说，对外商投资企业出口货物继续维持原来免税的政策是统盘考虑了外
商投资企业与国内企业的综合税负水平，为有利于逐步实现税负大体平衡而确定的。
当前和今后一段时期内，外商投资企业享受着多方面的税收优惠政策，其税收负担远远低于国内同类企业。
第一，今年1月1日开始，我国税收制度实行了重大改革。新税制实施后，外商投资企业与国内企业执行统一的流转税制，各行业或产品的税收负担进一步趋于合理。但为了照顾外商投资企业不致因税制改革而增加税收负担，以保持政策的连续性，全国人大常委会于1993年12月
29日通过决定，对外商投资企业因执行新流转税制而增加的税收负担，在5年内对多缴纳的部分予以返还。从而使外商投资企业的税负在规定的期限内仍维持在较低的水平。
第二，今年税制改革后，外商投资企业继续执行1991年4月全国人民代表大会通过的《中华人民共和国外商投资企业和外国企业所得税法》。依照该法的规定，外商投资企业缴纳所得税享有若干优于内资企业的优惠政策，税负水平大大低于内资企业。
第三，根据国家的有关规定，外商投资企业进口货物，在执行工商统一税时享受的一些特殊优惠政策，实行新税制后仍继续保留。
从上述各点可以看出，国家对外商投资企业在税收上给予的优惠是充分的，与国内企业相比，税收负担显然是低的。公平税负应就总体负担而言，不应只看某一环节税负的轻重。至于对外商投资企业出口货物继续实行免税政策而不实行退税政策，正是考虑了上述情况，贯彻了既要继续
保留原有的合理的税收优惠政策，又要有利于逐步实现各类企业税负大体平衡的原则。我们认为，这样做，对于逐步统一国家税收政策，促进各类企业平等竞争，进而促进市场经济的发展都是有利的。

LETTER ON POLICY QUESTION RELATED TO EXPORT GOODS OF ENTERPRISEWITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT

(State Administration of Taxation: 12 October 1994 Coded Guo ShuiHan Fa [1994] No. 558)

Whole Doc.

To Jiangsu Provincial State Tax Bureau:
We have recently acknowledged the receipt of letters written to
Director Liu Zhongli by Far East, Toyotas and eight other enterprise with
foreign investment in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, saying that
because the export goods of enterprise with foreign investment are not
given tax reimbursement, these enterprises have faced a series of
difficulties and have even suffered losses, demanding that the export tax
reimbursement policy be materialized as quickly as possible. Similar
opinions have been heard from other localities. Regarding this, we hereby
specially make the following explanations, please do proper work with
related enterprises respectively by the verbal method.
With regard to the question of taxation related to the export goods
of enterprise with foreign investment, the Ministry of Finance and the
State Administration of Taxation had made explicit stipulations in the
August 25, 1994 Circular Coded Cai Shui Zi (94) No. 058. Its main contents
are: The goods produced by enterprise with foreign investment which are
exported directly are, except otherwise there are separate stipulations,
exempt from value-added tax and consumption tax; goods sold to domestic
export-oriented enterprises or entrusted to domestic export-oriented
enterprises with exporting shall all be regarded as goods for internal
sales, and value-added tax and consumption tax shall be levied on them;
among the goods for direct export, the amount of tax borne for the
purchase of domestic raw and semi-finished materials shall not be
refunded. The above-mentioned stipulations are set down in line with the
principle of introducing fair burden to facilitate equal competition among
various types of enterprises and maintaining the continuity and stability
of the taxation policy. Specifically, maintaining the original tax
exemption policy toward the export goods of enterprise with foreign
investment is based on an overall consideration of the comprehensive level
of tax burden on enterprise with foreign investment and domestic
enterprises, it is so determined in order to facilitate a gradual
achievement of a rough balance of tax burden.
At present and for a period of time to come, enterprise with foreign
investment are enjoying preferential tax policy in many aspects, their tax
burden is much lower than that for similar domestic enterprises.

Firstly, from January 1 of this year, China introduced major reform
of its tax system. After implementation of the new tax system, a unified
turnover tax system was carried out among enterprise with foreign
investment and domestic enterprises, the tax burden on various trades or
products has become more rational. However: to ensure that tax burden on
enterprise with foreign investment will not increase as a result of tax
system reform, so as to maintain the continuity of policy, the Standing
Committee of the National people's Congress on December 29, 1993 passed a
decision that the increased tax burden on enterprise with foreign
investment due to implementation of the new turnover tax system and that
the part of extra tax payment shall be returned within five years, thereby
enabling the tax burden on enterprise with foreign investment to remain at
a relatively low level within the prescribed period.

Secondly, after the launch of tax system reform this year, enterprise
with foreign investment have continued to implement the Income Tax Law of
the People's Republic of China on enterprise with foreign investment and
Foreign Enterprises adopted by the National People's Congress in April
1991. In accordance with the stipulations of the law, enterprise with
foreign investment enjoy a number of preferential policies superior to
those for Chinese- funded enterprises in terms of income tax payment, the
level of their tax burden is much lower than that of domestically funded
enterprises.

Thirdly, in accordance with related stipulations of the state, some
special preferential policies, enjoyed by enterprise with foreign
investment for their import goods during the time when consolidated
industrial and commercial tax was being implemented, continue to be in
force.
From the above-mentioned points it can be seen that the state grants
fully preferential taxation treatment to enterprise with foreign
investment and their tax burden is obviously lower than that for domestic
enterprises. Fair tax burden refers to tax burden in general, one should
not see the weight of tax burden of only one certain link. The reason why
the tax exemption policy, rather than the tax reimbursement policy, is
implemented for enterprise with foreign investment in relation to their
export goods is that the above-mentioned situation has taken into
consideration and the principle of both maintaining the original rational
preferential taxation policy and facilitating the gradual realization of a
rough balance of tax burden on various types of enterprises. We believe
that doing so is beneficial to gradually unifying the state's taxation
policy, promoting equal competition among various types of enterprises and
proceeding to boost the development of the market economy.



1994年10月12日