MOFTEC, Ministry of Information Industry, State Administration of Taxation, General Administration of Customs, State Administration of Foreign Exchange and State Statistics Bureau, Relevant Question Concerning Export of Software Circular

Issued: January 4 2001
Applicability: The Circular defines export of software as the provision of software products and related services to overseas customers after clearing customs or through online transmission, including transfer or licensing of software technology, hourly charged data processing, equipment hosting, software installation and other software processing services (Section One of Part One).

Main contents: The Circular states that a software enterprise with over Rmb1 million registered capital has the right to export software by itself (Section Two of Part One). Software enterprises may apply for funding from foreign trade authorities to develop international markets or obtain ISO certification (Sections Three and Four of Part One). China Import and Export Bank will provide credit support for exporting software (Section Five of Part One). Qualified software export enterprises may apply to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) for establishment of overseas offices (Section Eight of Part One). Subject to the approval of State Administration of Taxation, tax rebates up to the taxable rate may be granted for exported software even if the applicable tax rebate rate is lower than the taxable rate (Section Six of Part One). Software export contracts are required to be registered online with MOFTEC's website (Section Two of Part Two). Procedures for the administration of software exports made directly through online transmission will be formulated separately (Section Eight of Part Two).
Related legislation: State Council, Encouraging the Development of the Software and Integrated Circuit Industries Several Policies, Jun 24 2000, CLP 2000 No.7 p48