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导航Document number: HSBF [2025] No. 13
Issued by: Office of Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration
Date of Issuance: October 24, 2025
Status: Full text valid
District-level tax service bureaus, tax service sub-bureaus, inspection bureaus, offices and public institutions under Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, STA,
To further improve the advance tax ruling mechanism of the Shanghai municipality and enhance the certainty of the application of tax policies, the Shanghai Municipal Tax Service revised the Administrative Measures for Advance Tax Rulings of Shanghai Municipal Tax Service (the "Measures") based on the actual work situation. The document is hereby issued for careful compliance and implementation.
Notice is hereby given.
Annexes:
Annex 1. Application for Advance Tax Ruling
Annex 2. Advance Tax Ruling Acknowledgment and Consent Form
Annex 3. Advance Tax Ruling Letter
Annex 4. Notice of Termination (Revocation) of Advance Tax Ruling
Office of Shanghai Municipal Tax Service
State Taxation Administration
October 24, 2025
Administrative Measures for Advance Tax Rulings of Shanghai Municipal Tax Service
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 To further standardize advance tax rulings in Shanghai and enhance the certainty of the application of tax policies, the Measures was formulated in accordance with the requirements for establishing a new framework of tax services and management for large enterprises.
Article 2 An advance tax ruling (hereinafter referred to as "advance ruling") in the Measures refers to a written opinion from the tax authority on the application of current tax laws, regulations, rules and norms (hereinafter referred to as "tax policies"), where an enterprise, based on the principle of mutual trust between the tax authorities and enterprises, apply for such ruling for a specific complex tax-related matter that is expected to occur in the future, or a complex tax-related matter that has occurred but not yet been declared and which is more than three months before the tax filing deadline stipulated by laws and regulations.
Article 3 An advance ruling pertains to a personalized tax service for enterprises, instead of administrative actions that have substantive impacts on the rights and obligations of enterprises. It is not subject to administrative reconsideration or judicial litigation.
Chapter II Eligible Applicants and Scope of Application
Article 4 The Measures applies to all tax-related matters in Shanghai.
Article 5 The following matters do not fall within the scope of advance ruling acceptance:
(1) Matters without definite project approval plans or those that will not occur within 24 months;
(2) Matters without reasonable business purposes or explicitly prohibited by relevant national laws and regulations;
(3) Matters for which current tax policies have clear provisions and can be directly applied;
(4) Matters substantially similar to those being handled by the administrative or judicial authorities;
(5) Matters with the same characteristics as the transaction matters completed by the applicant in the previous years and for which a tax treatment conclusion has been reached;
(6) Others.
Chapter III Application and Acceptance
Article 6 Applicants shall be entities directly liable for tax payment or withholding, and the accepting authority shall be the tax authorities with jurisdiction over applicants.
Article 7 Applicants need to file applications to the tax service halls of the competent tax authorities and submit the following application materials as required:
(1) Application for Advance Tax Ruling (see Attachment 1) in duplicate, specifying the application content (mainly including the matter for which a ruling is sought, the preferred opinion, the impact on production, operation and taxation, the situation of the enterprise involved, and the relevant tax period) and policy basis;
(2) Advance Tax Ruling Acknowledgment and Consent Form (see Attachment 2);
(3) Documents of approval, verification or ruling issued by relevant authorities if the matter requires prior approval, verification or ruling;
(4) Relevant supporting materials such as contracts, agreements, meeting minutes or feasibility study reports;
(5) Other materials as required by the tax authorities.
Article 8 Based on the application materials, the Office of the Leading Group for Taxation of Large Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as "Large Enterprises Office") of the competent tax authorities will determine whether the conditions for acceptance have been met within 5 working days from the date of receiving the application materials through desk review, on-site investigation and other methods.
(1) The application for an advance ruling will be accepted if the matter for which such ruling is sought is within the scope of application and materials are complete. After the official seal of the competent tax authority is affixed, the Application for Advance Tax Ruling should be returned to the applicant.
(2) Where a matter for which such ruling is sought is within the scope of application but materials are incomplete, the applicant should be informed of the required supplementary materials at one time.
(3) Where the matter is outside the scope of acceptance, the application shall be rejected, and the applicant shall be notified of the reasons for such rejection.
Article 9 Where the matter for which the applicant applies for such ruling pertains to one for which an advance pricing arrangement (APA) shall be signed, the application shall be referred to the international tax administration department for handling in accordance with the applicable APA procedures.
Chapter IV Review and Ruling
Article 10 Where an application is accepted by the competent tax authority, the Large Enterprises Office will be responsible for the overall coordination and decide whether to issue an advance ruling. The large enterprises management department is responsible for the specific implementation.
Article 11 The Policy Service Team of the Large Enterprises Office should develop a preliminary handling opinion within 30 days after the application is accepted, and then solicit written opinions from the relevant members of the Leading Group for Taxation of Large Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the "Large Enterprises Leading Group").
Article 12 The relevant members of the Large Enterprises Leading Group shall provide written feedback within 10 working days after receiving the preliminary handling opinion.
In the event that a consensus is reached on the preliminary handling opinion, the Large Enterprises Office shall refer the matter to the Large Enterprises Leading Group for review. Should no consensus be achieved, the Large Enterprises Office shall convene a dedicated meeting to deliberate on the issue, propose a handling opinion, and present it to the Large Enterprise Leading Group for final deliberation.
Article 13 The advance ruling issued by the competent tax authority shall be documented in the Advance Tax Ruling Letter (see Attachment 3).
Article 14 The Advance Tax Ruling Letter and the corresponding materials shall be submitted to the Shanghai Municipal Tax Service (Large Enterprises Office) for review, which shall give feedback within 30 days. The competent tax authority shall send the Advance Tax Ruling Letter that has been reviewed and confirmed to the applicant and complete the Proof of Service of Tax Documents. The Advance Tax Ruling Letter that fails the review shall be resubmitted within 30 days upon revision by the competent tax authority.
Article 15 Under special circumstances such as complex matters, significant impacts, and the need to seek instructions from higher authorities, the time limits stipulated in the Measures shall be appropriately extended with the consent of the head of the Large Enterprises Office.
Article 16 The ruling process may be terminated prior to the issuance of an advance ruling in the following circumstances:
(1) The applicant requests termination;
(2) The applicant fails to provide necessary materials, which hinders the review process;
(3) Others.
Chapter V Application of Ruling
Article 17 The application of an advance ruling shall meet the following conditions:
(1) The materials submitted by the applicant are legal, true, accurate and complete;
(2) The actual tax-related matter is consistent with that stated in the application materials;
(3) Tax policies on which the tax authority's ruling is based remains unchanged.
Article 18 Following the delivery of the Advance Tax Ruling Letter, the applicant shall notify the competent tax authority within 30 days of the occurrence of a substantive change in the matter for which a ruling is sought. The applicant may reapply for an advance ruling regarding subsequent matters that may arise.
Article 19 After the competent tax authority delivers the Advance Tax Ruling Letter, the Notice of Termination (Revocation) of Advance Tax Ruling (see Attachment 4) shall be issued to the applicant in the following circumstances:
(1) Changes in tax policies on which the ruling is based have a substantive impact on the ruling;
(2) Within 24 months from the date of issuance of the Advance Tax Ruling Letter, the applicant has not carried out any business or transaction activities subject to the ruling.
Article 20 An advance ruling is only applicable to the tax-related matter for which the ruling is sought by the applicant, instead of the matters of other taxpayers or other matters for which no ruling is applied for. The applicant shall not, by reason of applying for an advance ruling, affect the fulfillment of other tax obligations.
Article 21 An advance ruling is only binding on the local tax authorities in Shanghai regarding the tax-related matter for which the applicant applies for such ruling. If meeting the conditions stipulated in Article 17, applicants have carried out tax handling in accordance with the ruling. If the tax authorities later adjust such tax handling due to other grounds, no administrative penalty shall be imposed on applicants.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 22 The Shanghai Municipal Tax Service actively promotes cross-provincial cooperation and facilitates the integration of advance tax rulings for large enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Article 23 Tax authorities and tax officials should, in accordance with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of Tax Collection and relevant work discipline on confidentiality, keep trade secrets and personal privacy of the applicant confidential and not disclose any information about the applicant.
Article 24 Matters not covered by the Measures shall be handled in accordance with laws, regulations and the provisions of the superior authorities. The Measures shall be construed by the Shanghai Municipal Tax Service.
Article 25 The Measures shall come into effect from the date of issuance. The Notice on Issuing Administrative Measures for Advance Tax Rulings of Shanghai Municipal Tax Service (Trial) (HSBF [2023] No. 33) by the Office of Shanghai Municipal Tax Service of the State Taxation Administration shall be abolished.
Annexes:
Annex 1. Application for Advance Tax Ruling
Annex 2. Advance Tax Ruling Acknowledgment and Consent Form
Annex 3. Advance Tax Ruling Letter
Annex 4. Notice of Termination (Revocation) of Advance Tax Ruling
