Penalty for Minor Tax Offences Streamlined in Yangtze River Delta Region

The Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, Jiangsu Provincial Tax Service, Zhejiang Provincial Tax Service, Anhui Provincial Tax Service and Ningbo City Tax Service , all under the State Taxation Administration, recently issued a joint announcement (Shanghai Municipal Tax Service Announcement No. 5 [2020]) outlining the preparation of a list of “first violations without penalty” for minor tax offences in the Yangtze River Delta region. The announcement will take effect on 1 August. If an offender commits any of the 18 tax offences listed in the announcement, no administrative penalty will be imposed on him or her for a first-time offence if it is minor, promptly put right and causes no harmful consequences. The listed offences include taxpayers failing to apply for tax registration, or withholding agents failing to undergo registration for withholding taxes in accordance with regulations.

Source: Shanghai Municipal Tax Service ​​​​​​​