CaiShui [2003] No.1 February 27, 2003

The finance departments (bureaus), state tax bureaus and local tax bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and municipalities separately listed on the State plan:

In order to implement the Circular of the General Office of the State Council on Transmitting Several Opinions of the Office for Economic Restructure of the State Council and the State Economy and Trade Commission Concerning Promoting the Development of Chain Operations (GuoBanFa [2002] No.49) and support the development of chain operations, several issues concerning value-added tax and income tax that shall be paid by the chain enterprises in a consolidated way are hereby specified as below:

I. As for the chain enterprises under unified calculation that are operating in the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, municipalities separately listed on the State plan, where it is necessary for the head offices to file returns of and pay for the value-added tax in a consolidated way at the local tax authorities, it shall be in accordance with the Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on Several Issues Concerning Value-added Tax Payment Place of the Chain Enterprises (CaiShuiZi [1997] No.97).

II. In accordance with the Interim Regulations on Enterprise Income Tax of the People's Republic of China and Rules for the Implementation of the Interim Regulations on Enterprise Income Tax of the People's Republic of China, the head office shall pay the enterprise income tax in a consolidated way to the local tax authorities if the direct operating stores established by a domestically funded enterprise in different regions within a province meet the conditions ? they are operating in a consolidated way under a head office; they are connected by computer to the head office; their head office makes unified purchase and distribution, calculation and standardization management; and they don't open balance account of bank and don't make financial statement and account book. In accordance with the Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China for Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Foreign Enterprises and the Rules for the Implementation of the Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China for Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Foreign Enterprises, the head office of an enterprise with foreign investment engaged in cross-regional chain operations shall pay the enterprise income tax in a consolidated way to the local tax authorities.

III. After the above-mentioned cross-regional chain enterprises have paid the value-added tax and income tax in a consolidated way, in order to ensure that the financial interests of the regions where the chain stores are located will not be affected for the change of the tax payment places and to be advantageous for the development of the chain operations, the finance departments of all levels shall carefully implement the spirits of No. 49 [2002], formulate timely measures for adjusting the finance interests among the relevant regions, properly allocate the interests among the departments of all levels.

Promulgated by The Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation on 2003-2-27