Editor’s Note: Where an enterprise that has not paid the tax in dispute can only bring a lawsuit against the tax penalty decision, whether the people’s court should review the facts found in the tax treatment decision has long been the subject of inconsistent rulings. On September 17, 2026, the Q&A session of the ninth installment of the Supreme People’s Court’s “Administrative Adjudication Lecture Hall” responded to this issue. This article interprets the Q&A opinion point by point and, by comparison with Administrative Judgment (2026) Qiong 01 Xing Zhong No. 116 of the Haikou Intermediate People’s Court, which takes a position different from that of the Q&A opinion, sets out the review rules established by the Q&A opinion.

Editor's Note:Recently, the tax authorities in Guizhou Province released five typical cases providing compliance guidance on the VAT refund-upon-collection policy for comprehensive resource utilization. Since 2025, several listed companies have also disclosed that they or their subsidiaries were required to repay previously received VAT refunds due to issues concerning the application of the relevant policy. These cases highlight the importance for comprehensive resource utilization enterprises to accurately understand and comply with the eligibility requirements for VAT refund incentives. Drawing on these typical cases and tax administration practices, this article examines the major tax risks associated with claiming such incentives and provides compliance recommendations for reference.

Editor’s Note: On September 28, the State Taxation Administration (STA) issued the Announcement on Issuing the National Tax Administrative Penalty Discretion Benchmarks (2026 Edition) (STA Announcement No. 20 of 2026). It takes effect on November 1, 2026. Where a regional tax administrative penalty discretion benchmark is inconsistent with it, the national benchmarks prevail. Among the 66 tax administrative penalty items, the rules on fines for tax evasion deserve particular attention. This article explains and analyzes the main content of these rules for readers’ reference.

Editor's Note: In Judgment (2026) Xin 01 Xing Zhong No. 73, the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court shifted the starting point for calculating late payment surcharges from the date on which the tax payment became overdue to the day following the issuance of the tax handling decision, on the grounds that the taxpayer had no subjective fault and that the tax authority's audit procedure had exceeded the statutory time limit. Where a taxpayer fails to file tax returns due to a misinterpretation of tax policies, should the late payment surcharge be calculated from the day following the expiry of the tax payment deadline, or from the day following the issuance of the tax handling decision? This directly affects the amount of late payment surcharge. This article intends to analyze and explore the above issues in light of this case.

Editor's Note: In Judgment (2026) Xin 01 Xing Zhong No. 73, the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court shifted the starting point for calculating late payment surcharges from the date on which the tax payment became overdue to the day following the issuance of the tax handling decision, on the grounds that the taxpayer had no subjective fault and that the tax authority's audit procedure had exceeded the statutory time limit. Where a taxpayer fails to file tax returns due to a misinterpretation of tax policies, should the late payment surcharge be calculated from the day following the expiry of the tax payment deadline, or from the day following the issuance of the tax handling decision? This directly affects the amount of late payment surcharge. This article intends to analyze and explore the above issues in light of this case.

Editor's Note: In June 2025, the Provisions on the Submission of Tax-related Information by Internet Platform Enterprises (State Council Decree No. 810) officially came into effect, establishing the content of obligations and supporting liabilities for platform tax-related information submission. The Tax Collection and Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised Draft for Solicitation of Opinions) proposes to further strengthen submission liabilities. Focusing on the core obligation of tax-related information submission, this article reviews the evolution of the rules, analyzes the specific methods by which tax authorities use submitted data for supervision, and proposes compliance recommendations for platform enterprises and business operators respectively.

Editor's Note: In recent years, with the continuous development of the capital market, equity adjustments without premium within enterprises have frequently occurred to meet specific strategic or listing management requirements. As no special tax treatment policy has been introduced for equity adjustments involving individuals, transactions such as an individual shareholder transferring equity at par value often carry significant tax risks with considerable uncertainty. In such transactions, the determination of the transfer price, the justifiable reasons for a par-value transfer, and the legal consequences of an unfair pricing have always been focal points in practice for both tax authorities and taxpayers. This article takes a typical case as an entry point to analyze and evaluate the above disputes, providing suggestions for taxpayers to avoid and resolve similar controversies.

Editor's Note:Under the export tax refund policy, foreign trade enterprises must use value-added tax ("VAT") special invoices and customs declaration forms as vouchers to apply for export tax refunds. In cases of fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds, wrongdoers typically carry out operations centered on invoices and customs declaration forms: on the one hand, by paying invoice-issuing fees to have others issue false VAT special invoices to themselves, so as to match the information of another person's exported goods; on the other hand, by obtaining another person's customs declaration forms through unlawful means, thereby fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds. As for the party committing the tax fraud, it is generally held to constitute the crime of fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds; however, regarding the characterization of the party issuing false invoices, there are divergences in practice, leading to inconsistent adjudicative outcomes. Some judicial authorities hold that the conduct of the party issuing false invoices constitutes the crime of fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds; others hold that the party issuing false invoices does not constitute the crime of fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds, but rather the crime of falsely issuing VAT special invoices. Regarding the determination of the crime of falsely issuing VAT special invoices, there are also divergences—some judicial authorities hold that the party issuing false invoices independently carries out the act of false issuance and constitutes a principal offender; others hold that the party issuing false invoices provides invoices for the tax-fraud party and, together with the tax-fraud party, forms a joint crime within the scope of the crime of false issuance, and constitutes an accessory. Because the crime of fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds carries a heavier penalty than the crime of false issuance, for cases involving falsely issued tax amounts of 5 million yuan or more, if the conduct is not characterized as being an accessory to the crime of fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds, then, disregarding other circumstances, the best possible outcome would still be a fixed-term imprisonment of five years; if characterized as a principal offender in the crime of false issuance, the term of imprisonment is usually more than ten years; if characterized as an accessory to the crime of false issuance, it may be possible to lower the sentencing bracket and seek a three-year fixed-term imprisonment with suspension of sentence. The related case of false issuance and tax fraud selected inReference to Criminal Trials(Volume 147) characterizes the party issuing false invoices as committing the crime of false issuance while also finding circumstances of an accessory, thereby providing an important reference for the criminal defense of the party issuing false invoices in such cases. This article briefly analyzes the case for readers' reference.