The branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) in all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the branches of the SAFE in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo; and all designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks:

To further facilitate foreign exchange receipts and payments under trade in goods, and satisfy the demand of the designated foreign exchange banks (bank) and domestic institutions (enterprise) for handling foreign exchange business through the Internet, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has formulated the Guidelines on Reviews of Electronic Documents for Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments under Trade in Goods (Guidelines, see appendix for details) and hereby issues it to you for implementation. Relevant issues are notified as follows:

I. Starting from November 1, 2016, banks may review the electronic documents of qualified enterprises in handling foreign exchange receipts and payments under trade in goods, in accordance with the existing provisions on foreign exchange administration for trade in goods, as well as the Guidelines.

II. Upon receipt of this Circular, the SAFE branches and foreign exchange administrative departments should immediately forward it to the central sub-branches (sub-branches), local commercial banks, and foreign banks within their respective jurisdiction, and all Chinese-funded banks should promptly forward it to their branches. Please report any problems encountered in the implementation to the SAFE in time.

Appendix: Guidelines on Reviews of Electronic Documents for Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments under Trade in Goods

State Administration of Foreign Exchange

September 28, 2016