Measures for Announcing Tax Arrears

(Announced by Order No. 61 of the State Taxation Administration on November 26, 2025, and effective as of March 1, 2026)

Order of the State Taxation Administration                

No. 61

The Measures for the Announcement of Tax Arrears was deliberated and adopted at the third executive meeting of the State Taxation Administration on November 11, 2025. It is hereby promulgated and shall come into effect as of March 1, 2026.

Director of the State Taxation Administration: Hu Jinglin

November 26, 2025

Measures for Announcing Tax Arrears

Article 1 This measure is formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Tax Collection (hereinafter referred to as the "Tax Collection Administration Law") and its implementing rules for the purpose of standardizing the tax arrears announcement behavior of tax authorities, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of taxpayers, urging taxpayers to voluntarily pay their arrears, preventing the occurrence of new arrears, and ensuring the timely and full deposit of state tax revenue.

Article 2 The term "tax arrears" as used in these Measures refers to the taxes (including education surcharges and local education surcharges, hereinafter the same) that taxpayers have not paid beyond the time limit prescribed by tax laws and administrative regulations or beyond the tax payment period determined by the tax authorities in accordance with tax laws and administrative regulations (hereinafter referred to as the "tax payment period"), including:

(1) Taxes that taxpayers fail to pay within the tax payment period after filing tax returns;

(2) The tax payment period approved for deferred payment has expired, and the taxpayer has not paid the tax within the tax payment period;

(3) The amount of tax payable by taxpayers that has been determined by tax inspection and the tax that taxpayers have not paid within the tax payment period;

(4) The tax authority determines the tax payable by the taxpayer and the tax that the taxpayer fails to pay within the tax payment period;

(V) Other taxes that taxpayers have not paid within the tax payment period.

The late payment surcharges for the overdue taxes that have been paid will be announced together.

The tax authorities shall promptly verify the amount of outstanding taxes and late payment surcharges as stipulated in this article.

Article 3 The term "announcement authority" as used in these Measures refers to the tax bureau (branch) at or above the county level to which the tax arrears belong.

Article 4 The announcement authority shall announce the tax arrears of taxpayers on the administrative law enforcement information disclosure platform on a monthly basis. As needed, the tax arrears of taxpayers can be announced through channels such as the electronic tax bureau, tax service venues, and news media.

Depending on the severity of the circumstances, tax authorities at or above the provincial level may expose the tax arrears of some taxpayers.

Tax authorities of all provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities with independent planning status) provide services for querying tax arrears announcements within their jurisdiction on their official websites.

Article 5 The content of the tax arrears announcement is as follows:

(1) Where an enterprise or entity is in arrears with taxes, the name of the enterprise or entity, the taxpayer identification number, the name of the legal representative or person in charge, the type of certificate, the certificate number, the business location, the types of taxes in arrears, the period to which the taxes in arrears belong, the amount of taxes in arrears, the amount of late payment penalties for the taxes in arrears that have been paid, the date of arrears, and the announcing authority shall be announced.

(2) If an individual business operator owes taxes, the name of the individual business operator, the name of the operator, the taxpayer identification number, the type of identification document, the document number, the business location, the types of taxes owed, the period to which the taxes owed belong, the amount of taxes owed, the amount of late payment penalties for the taxes owed corresponding to the taxes already paid, the date of arrears, and the announcing authority shall be announced.

(3) For individuals (excluding individual industrial and commercial households) in arrears of taxes, their names, types of identification documents, identification document numbers, types of taxes in arrears, periods of tax arrears, amounts of taxes in arrears, amounts of late payment penalties corresponding to the taxes already paid in arrears, dates of arrears, and the announcing authority shall be announced.

Article 6 The announcement authority shall push the content to be announced to the taxpayer for confirmation before the announcement, and the taxpayer shall confirm it within 3 working days.

If taxpayers believe that the content of the proposed announcement contains errors in information entry or calculation, they may raise objections to the announcement authority within three working days and provide relevant supporting materials. Within three working days from the date of receiving the objection, the announcement authority shall verify the content of the tax arrears announcement with the data recorded in the tax information system and feed back the verification result to the taxpayer. If the objection is valid, the announcing authority shall promptly correct the content of the tax arrears announcement.

If a taxpayer confirms within the prescribed time limit, fails to confirm after the expiration of the time limit, or the objection handling is completed, the announcement authority shall make an announcement in accordance with the regulations.

Article 7 The announcement of tax arrears shall be approved by the person in charge of the announcing authority and then made public to the society.

Where any of the following circumstances exists in the case of tax arrears, the tax authority may not make an announcement

(1) Taxes and late payment surcharges that the tax authorities have been lawfully compensated for but have not yet been deposited into the Treasury during the bankruptcy proceedings;

(2) Taxes and late payment surcharges of enterprises that have been declared bankrupt, dissolved, or whose business licenses have been lawfully revoked, ordered to close down, or revoked, and whose legal person status has been lawfully cancelled after legal liquidation;

(3) In the process of bankruptcy reorganization or conciliation, after the tax authorities have been lawfully compensated, the taxes and late payment surcharges that have not been settled in accordance with the reorganization plan or conciliation agreement.

Where the tax arrears situation involves state secrets or other circumstances that are not suitable for public announcement, it shall not be announced upon approval by the provincial tax authority.

Article 8 Where a taxpayer has paid off all the taxes and late payment surcharges listed in the announcement, or the content of the tax arrears announcement has changed due to changes in registration information, etc., the announcement authority shall update the relevant content when issuing the tax arrears announcement in the following month.

After the tax arrears announcement is issued, if taxpayers believe that the content of the announcement does not match their actual situation or that the announcement procedure is illegal, they may raise objections in writing to the announcement authority and provide relevant supporting materials. Within five working days from the date of receiving the objection, the announcement authority shall verify the source of the tax arrears data, the announcement process, etc., and feed back the verification results to the taxpayer. If the objection is valid, the announcing authority shall promptly correct the content of the tax arrears announcement.

Article 9 The announcement authority shall not disclose the tax arrears of taxpayers beyond the scope prescribed in these Measures, and shall keep the relevant information of taxpayers confidential in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Collection and Administration Law and its implementing rules.

Article 10 Tax authorities shall strengthen the management of tax arrears. After a tax arrears occurs, in addition to making an announcement in accordance with these measures, the tax arrears shall be lawfully collected and a late payment surcharge for the tax shall be strictly calculated on a daily basis until compulsory measures are taken and the tax arrears are forcibly settled. No unit or individual may replace the implementation of legal measures such as compulsory measures and compulsory enforcement with the announcement of tax arrears, or interfere with the collection of tax arrears. The announcement authority shall designate a department to be responsible for the announcement of tax arrears and clarify the relevant responsibilities of other relevant functional departments.

Tax authorities have linked the management of tax arrears announcements with tax payment and fee payment credit, and actively participated in the construction of the social credit system.

Article 11 Where an announcement authority fails to make an announcement when it should, causing losses to the state tax revenue, the superior tax authority, in addition to ordering it to make corrections, shall handle and discipline the relevant responsible personnel in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China, the Government Disciplinary Measures Law of Public Officials of the People's Republic of China, and other relevant laws and regulations.

Article 12 Materials related to tax arrears announcements shall be included in the tax collection and administration archives and properly preserved.

Article 13 The announcement of tax arrears by withholding agents and tax guarantors shall be made in accordance with the provisions of these Measures.

Article 14 This measure shall come into effect as of March 1, 2026. The "Measures for the Announcement of Tax Arrears (Trial)" (promulgated by Order No. 9 of the State Taxation Administration and revised by Order No. 44) is simultaneously abolished.

Interpretation

Interpretation of the "Measures for the Announcement of Tax Arrears

To thoroughly implement the spirit of the Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, carry out the "Opinions on Further Deepening the Reform of Tax Collection and Administration" issued by the General Office of the Central Committee and The General Office of the State Council, further improve the quality and efficiency of tax arrears management, and create a fair and competitive tax business environment, the State Taxation Administration has formulated the "Measures for the Announcement of Tax Arrears" in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Tax Collection" and its implementing rules. The current interpretation is as follows

I. Relevant Background

The Measures for the Announcement of Tax Arrears (Trial) (promulgated by Order No. 9 of the State Administration of Taxation and revised by Order No. 44, hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") came into effect on January 1, 2005, and has played a significant role in promoting tax payment in accordance with the law and in good faith and safeguarding the national tax interests. With the rapid development of the economy and society, the reform of the tax collection and administration system has been continuously and deeply advanced. The incompatibility between the "Measures" and the practice of tax collection and administration has become increasingly prominent. To further promote the "Strengthening Foundation Project" of tax and fee collection and administration under the conditions of digital transformation, further enhance the level of tax arrears management, and fully safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of taxpayers, the State Taxation Administration has revised the "Measures".

Ii. Main Considerations for Revision

(1) Further standardize tax law enforcement. The key is to clarify the process of tax arrears announcement, the approval authority and the responsible entity, refine the content elements of the announcement, further standardize the announcement procedures and contents, and ensure that the announcement behavior is based on the law, the procedures are proper and the content is accurate.

(2) Further leverage the role of tax arrears announcements. Unify the announcement channels, optimize the announcement timeliness, and ensure that the tax arrears information is updated monthly. Link the management of tax arrears announcements with tax payment and fee payment credit to enhance the rigid constraints of tax law compliance.

(3) Further strengthen the protection of taxpayers' rights and interests. Adhere to the concept of serving and facilitating the people, increase channels for taxpayers to seek relief, and if an objection is valid, the announcement authority shall promptly correct or revoke the content of the announcement.

Iii. Main Contents of the Revision

The "Measures for Announcing Tax Arrears" consists of 14 articles. The main modifications are as follows:

(1) Strengthen the protection of taxpayers' rights and interests. Add the content of "protecting the legitimate rights and interests of taxpayers" to the legislative purpose; Add a process for pushing taxpayer confirmation and handling objections before the announcement. Taxpayers can raise objections to the content of the announcement within the prescribed period. The announcement authority will verify the objections within the prescribed period. If the objections are valid, the content of the tax arrears announcement will be corrected in a timely manner.

(II) Adjust the scope of the announcement. It should be made clear that the "outstanding education surcharge and local education surcharge" and the "late payment surcharge for the tax arrears formed corresponding to the tax arrears already paid" should be announced.

(3) Unified announcement authority. The original practice of provincial, municipal and county-level tax authorities making announcements at different levels based on the taxpayer's status and the amount of tax arrears has been revised to be announced by the tax bureau (branch) at or above the county level to which the tax arrears belong.

(4) Unify the frequency of announcements. Unify the announcement frequency to monthly announcements.

(V) Unify the announcement channels. To facilitate the public's understanding of tax arrears information, it is stipulated that the announcement authority shall publish the tax arrears situation of taxpayers on the administrative law enforcement information disclosure platform. If necessary, it may also make separate announcements through other channels. At the same time, the official websites of provincial tax authorities have been newly added to provide inquiries for tax arrears announcements within their jurisdiction.

(6) Standardize the content of announcements. Enhance the completeness of the content to facilitate the public's clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the announcement information. Add items such as "Tax arrears period" and "Date of arrears" to the announcement.

(7) Optimize the scope of non-announcement. In line with the Company Law and the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, the circumstances under which no announcement is required will be optimized. The taxes and late payment penalties that the tax authorities are legally entitled to but have not yet been deposited into the Treasury during the bankruptcy process, as well as the taxes and late payment penalties that have not been settled in accordance with court rulings, will be included in the scope of those not subject to announcement.

(8) Timely update mechanism. If a taxpayer has paid all the taxes and late payment surcharges listed in the announcement, or if the content of the tax arrears announcement changes due to changes in registration information, etc., the announcement authority shall update the relevant content when issuing the tax arrears announcement in the following month.

In addition, regulations such as strengthening the linkage management of tax arrears announcements and tax payment and fee credit have been added, and other textual modifications have been made.

Source of the article: State Taxation Administration