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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; the branches of the SAFE in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo, and national Chinese-funded banks: Given the changes and adjustments to the provisions on foreign exchange administration from June 2015 to the present, the SAFE has formulated the Contents and Scoring Criteria for the Assessment of Banks’ Implementation of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration (2016) (see the Appendix). The relevant issues are hereby notified as follows: 1. The contents and scoring criteria for the assessment of banks’ implementation of regulations on foreign exchange administration for the year 2016 (from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016) are subject to the contents of the Appendix to this Circular. 2. After receiving this Circular, all branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the SAFE shall immediately forward this Circular to the central sub-branches, sub-branches, urban commercial banks, rural commercial banks, wholly foreign-funded banks, Chinese-foreign equity joint venture banks, branches of foreign banks, and rural cooperative financial institutions within their respective jurisdictions, and shall carry out fair and just assessments of the banks within their respective jurisdictions in implementing the regulations of foreign exchange administration in line with the revised contents and scoring criteria. 3. All national Chinese-funded banks shall forward this Circular to their branches within their respective jurisdictions as soon as possible, and conduct their various businesses in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations. If any problems are encountered during implementation, please report them to the relevant departments of the SAFE in a timely manner. Telephone numbers: 010-68402113 (General Affairs Department), 010-68402593 (Balance of Payments Department), 010-68402104 (Current Account Management Department), 010-68402127 (Capital Account Management Department), 010-68402378 (Supervision and Inspection Department) and 010-68402028 (Data Monitoring Center for Foreign Exchange Transaction). Appendix: Contents and Scoring Criteria for the Assessment of Banks’ Implementation of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration (2016) General Affairs Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange March 2, 2016 FILE: Contents and Scoring Criteria for the Assessment of Banks’ Implementation of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration (2016) 2016-12-19/en/2016/1219/1300.html
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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 deepen the reform of foreign exchange administration system, better serve and facilitate the business and capital operations by domestic enterprises, the SAFE decides to implement the reform of the administrative approach to foreign exchange settlement of the external debt of enterprises across the country, based on the experience from the preliminary pilot program conducted in some regions, while standardizing the management for discretionary settlement and payment of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account in a uniform manner. Relevant issues are notified as follows: First, pushing nationwide the reform of the way to manage settlement of corporate external debt Based on the experience gained by China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone, China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, efforts will be made to roll out nationwide the reform of the way to manage settlement of corporate external debt. Since this Circular becomes effective, domestic players, Chinese or foreign-funded enterprises, but not financial institutions, can go through foreign exchange settlement procedures for their external debt at their discretion. Second, unifying the policy for discretionary settlement of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account by domestic institutions Discretionary settlement of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account means that if foreign exchange receipts under the capital account including foreign exchange capital, external debt and funds recovered from overseas listing could be for discretionary settlement according to relevant policies, settlement can be handled with a bank based on the real needs of domestic institutions. Restrictive provisions on the settlement of foreign exchange receipts of domestic institutions under the capital account in existing regulations shall prevail. The proportion of discretionary settlement of foreign exchange receipts of domestic institutions under the capital account is temporarily 100% at present. The SAFE may adjust the aforesaid proportion in due time based on the BOP situations. During the course of implementing the discretionary settlement of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account, the domestic institutions can still choose the existing procedures for settlement upon payment for the use of foreign exchange receipts. For each foreign exchange settlement for domestic institutions, based on the principle of foreign exchange settlement upon payment, banks shall examine the authenticity and compliance in the use of the funds for prior transaction of foreign exchange settlement (including discretionary settlement of foreign exchange and foreign exchange settlement upon payment). Domestic transfers in original currency and cross-border outward payments of foreign exchange receipts of domestic institutions shall be processed pursuant to the prevailing regulations on foreign exchange administration. Third, RMB funds from the discretionary settlement of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account of domestic institutions shall be included in management of accounts for FX settlement and pending payment The domestic institutions shall, in principle, open accounts with their banks for capital account – foreign exchange funds settled and to be paid (“accounts for FX settlement and pending payment”) for the deposits of RMB funds from the discretionary settlement of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account on a one-on-one basis, and make various payments through these accounts. The capital account, domestic asset realization account, domestic reinvestment account, special account for external debt, special account for overseas listing and other qualified accounts under the capital account under the same name which are opened by a domestic institution with the same bank outlet may share an account for FX settlement and pending payment. The RMB funds of domestic institutions from foreign exchange settlement upon payment shall not be used for payments through the accounts for FX settlement and pending payment. The scope of the receipts in the accounts for FX settlement and pending payment includes: funds transferred through foreign exchange settlement from capital account, domestic asset realization account and domestic reinvestment account, special account for external debt, special account for overseas listing and other qualified accounts under the capital account under the same name or held by an enterprise for domestic equity investments; funds transferred from the account for FX settlement and pending payment under the same name or held by an enterprise for domestic equity investment; funds returned after transfer from these accounts, pursuant to the regulations; funds returned due to revocation of the transactions; eligible RMB income, interest income in the account; and other receipts registered by the foreign exchange authority (bank) or approved by the foreign exchange authority. The scope of payments in the accounts for FX settlement and pending payment includes: payments within the business scope, payments of funds for domestic equity investments and security deposits in RMB, funds transferred to the special account for centralized funds management and the account for FX settlement and pending payment under the same name; foreign exchange purchases and payments or direct outward repayments of external debt; funds transferred to the special account for repayment of principal and interest; foreign exchange purchases and payments or direct outward remittance for repurchase of overseas shares or other payments related to overseas listing; foreign exchange purchases and payments or direct outward payments owing to capital reductions or withdrawals by foreign investors; taxes withheld and remitted by the company for overseas institutions to pay domestic authorities; proceeds from share decrease by state-owned shareholders transferred to social security fund; foreign exchange purchases and payments or direct outward payments under the current account; and other payments under the capital account registered by the foreign exchange authority (bank) or approved by the foreign exchange authority. RMB funds in the accounts for FX settlement and pending payment shall not be transferred back to foreign exchange account under the capital account through purchase of foreign exchange. RMB funds transferred from the accounts for FX settlement and pending payment for the purpose of guarantees or payments of other security deposits, unless guarantee contract is performed or deductions occur due to default, shall be returned to the accounts for FX settlement and pending payment through the original route. Fourth, use of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account by domestic institutions shall comply with the authenticity and self-use principle and not go beyond the business scope A domestic institution's foreign exchange receipts under the capital account and RMB funds gained from foreign exchange settlement could be used as expenses under the current account within its business scope as well as legitimate expenses under the capital account. A domestic institution shall comply with the following regulations in using foreign exchange receipts under the capital account and the RMB funds gained from foreign exchange settlement: (I) They shall not be used directly or indirectly as the expenses beyond the business scope or the expenses prohibited by laws and regulations; (II) Unless otherwise expressly specified, they shall not be used directly or indirectly in securities investment or other investment and wealth management than banks' principal guaranteed products; (III) They shall not be used to issue loans to non-associated companies, except the cases expressly allowed in the business scope; (IV) They shall not be used to build or buy non-self-use real estate (excluding real estate developer). Where a domestic institution and other parties have entered into a contract with regard to the use scope of receipts under the capital account, relevant funds shall not be used beyond the scope as agreed upon in the contract. Unless otherwise specified, any contract between a domestic institution and other parties shall not conflict with this Circular. Fifth, standardizing payment management with regard to receipts under the capital account and funds from settlement of foreign exchange (I) A domestic institution shall fill out the Order on Payment with Funds under the Capital Account (see Appendix) when going through foreign exchange settlement or make payments with receipts under the capital account. Where RMB funds from foreign exchange settlement are directly transferred into the account for FX settlement and pending payment, a domestic institution does not need to present to a bank any materials evidencing the purposes of funds. A domestic institution, when applying for making payments with the receipts under the capital account, including directly making outward payments after settlement of foreign exchange, without transferring the money into the account for FX settlement and pending payment, making outward payments in RMB through the account for FX settlement and pending payment, or making outward payments in foreign exchange directly through the foreign exchange account under the capital account, shall present to a bank the authenticity supporting materials that are related to the purposes of funds. (II) The banks shall, according to the business development principles of “knowing your customers,” “understanding your businesses,” and “due diligence reviews,” be responsible for verification of the authenticity of settlement and payment of foreign exchange receipts under the capital account for domestic institutions. When handling each payment with such funds, the authenticity and compliance of the supporting documents with respect to the prior payment transaction shall be examined. The banks shall keep the supporting documents relevant to the settlement and use of the foreign exchange receipts under the capital account of domestic institutions for five years for future reference. The banks shall report the data, including the accounts related to the capital accounts, domestic asset realization accounts, domestic reinvestment account, special account for external debt, special account for overseas listing, other accounts under the capital account and accounts related to account for FX settlement and pending payment (account nature code: 2113), cross-border receipts and payments, domestic transfers, foreign exchange settlement and sales within the accounts, on a timely basis and in accordance with the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issuing the Standards Version 1.0 for Collecting Data on Foreign Exchange Transactions by Financial Institutions (Huifa No. 18 [2014]). In case of transfers of funds between the accounts for FX settlement and pending payment and other RMB accounts, the information on the domestic transfers shall be reported by filling in the documents for domestic payments and receipts and indicating the fund purpose code under the “invoice number” column (according to “7.10: Code of Purpose for Foreign Exchange Settlement” in the Circular Huifa No. 18 [2014]) ; the transaction code for other transfers than that for payments under verification of trade in goods shall be indicated as “929070”. (III) When domestic institutions fail to provide documents evidencing the authenticity for special reasons at the moment, the banks may make payments for the enterprises, provided that the obligation of due diligence investigation has been performed and the authentic background of the transactions has been verified, and may file with the foreign exchange authority through its business system with respect to the special issues on the date of payment. Banks shall collect and examine the full set of relevant supporting documents resubmitted by the domestic institutions within 20 working days upon completion of the payment and report to the foreign exchange authority through relevant business system with respect to the resubmission of the documents evidencing the authenticity of the filing of special issues. Where domestic institutions use receipt under the capital account for the purpose of reserve funds, the banks may not require submission of the aforesaid documents evidencing authenticity. The cumulative amount of payments for reserve funds by a single institution each month (including discretionary settlement of foreign exchange and foreign exchange settlement upon payment) shall not exceed an equivalent of USD 200,000. Where a domestic institution applies for settlement upon payment with all foreign exchange receipts under the capital account on a one-off basis, or payments with all the RMB funds in the account for FX settlement and pending payment, but fails to provide relevant documents evidencing the authenticity, the bank concerned shall not handle the foreign exchange settlement and payment for the institution. Sixth, further strengthening ex-post supervision and investigation of irregularities by foreign exchange authorities (I) The foreign exchange authorities shall strengthen the guidance and examination on the compliance of banks in handling such business as settlement, payment and utilization of receipts under the capital account for domestic institutions in accordance with relevant regulations including the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration (Decree No. 532 of the State Council), Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Promulgating the Measures for Administration of External Debt Registration (Huifa No. 19 [2013]), Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Printing and Distributing the Provisions on Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Direct Investments by Foreign Investors and the Supporting Documents (Huifa No. 21 [2013]), Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration of Overseas Listings (Huifa No. 54 [2014]). The manner of examination includes request for submission of written explanatory and transaction documents by relevant entities, an interview with the persons in charge, field inspections or duplication of relevant documents of the entities, and notification of any irregularities. (II) For domestic institutions and banks with violations against this Circular with respect to foreign exchange settlement, payment and utilization of receipts under the capital account, the foreign exchange authorities shall investigate and treat them according to the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration and other relevant provisions. Any bank that maliciously or seriously violates regulations may be duly required to suspend foreign exchange settlement and sales under the capital account. Any domestic institution that maliciously or seriously violates regulations may be disqualified for handling discretionary settlement of foreign exchange in accordance with the law, or have its businesses controlled by the SAFE capital account information system. Further, no services shall be provided to it with regard to other businesses under the capital account or no cancelation of business control made before they present the written notes and make rectifications. This Circular will come into effect as of the date of issuance. For the previous regulations such as the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Promulgating the Measures for Administration of External Debt Registration (Huifa No. 19 [2013]), Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration of Overseas Listings (Huifa No. 54 [2014]), Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange Concerning Reform of the Administrative Approaches to Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises (Huifa No. 19 [2015]), Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on the Printing and Distributing of the Regulations on the Centralized Operation and Management of the Foreign Exchange Funds of MNCs (Huifa No. 36 [2015]), if there is any discrepancy between the above regulations and this Circular, this Circular shall prevail. Upon receipt of this Circular, the SAFE branches and foreign exchange administrative departments should immediately forward it to the central sub-branches, sub-branches, urban commercial banks, and foreign banks within their respective jurisdiction. All the designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks shall, upon receipt of this Circular, forward it to their respective branches and sub-branches under their jurisdiction as soon as possible. Please contact the Capital Account Administration Department of the SAFE in a timely manner if any problems are encountered in implementation of this Circular. Appendix: Order on Payment with Funds under the Capital Account State Administration of Foreign Exchange June 9, 2016 FILE: Order on Payment with Funds under the Capital Account 2016-12-19/en/2016/1219/1301.html
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FILE: Official reserve assets（2017） 2017-11-07/en/2017/1107/1341.html
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FILE: The time-series data of China's Gross External Debt Position by Sector（since2014Q4） 2017-09-29/en/2017/0929/1332.html
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FILE: Annual Report of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (2014) 2015-06-25/en/2015/0625/1280.html
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See the Appendix. FILE: Catalogue of Major Existing Laws аnd Regulations in Effect on Foreign Exchange Administration (аs of June 30, 2016) 2016-11-08/en/2016/1108/1298.html
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FILE: The time-series data of China's Gross External Debt Position by Sector（since2014Q4） 2017-12-28/en/2017/1228/1374.html
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FILE: The_time-series_data_of_Balance_of_Payments_of_China 2017-12-28/en/2017/1228/1373.html
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FILE: Annual Report of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (2004) 2005-07-25/en/2005/0725/1273.html
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The branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange 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, all the national banks and China UnionPay Co., Ltd., To enhance the monitoring and management of and safeguard the order of overseas bank card transactions, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) decides to organize the collection of the information on overseas bank card transactions in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration and the Measures for Declaration of Balance of Payments Statistics. Relevant issues are notified as follows: I. Scope of collection The overseas cash withdrawals and consumption via domestically-issued bank cards do not include bank card-based overseas transactions by non-banking payment institutions. (I) The overseas cash withdrawals via a bank card refer to cash withdrawals from the counters and ATMs of overseas financial institutions via domestically-issued bank cards. (II) Overseas consumption via a bank card refers to the a single consumption transaction worth the equivalent of more than RMB 1,000 (exclusive) with overseas brick-and-mortar stores and online franchise merchants via a domestically-issued bank card. The domestically issued bank card herein refers to the bank card issued within China with labels of bank card clearing institutions by a domestic card issuing financial institution (card issuing bank), including but not limited to debit card, and credit card (quasi-credit card and credit card). II. Reporting entity A card issuing bank shall summarize and report all the overseas transaction information via the bank cards it issued per legal person or per head office. Where the information on overseas transactions via the debit card and credit card issued by a card issuing bank is not eligible for consolidated reporting, the card issuing bank could report the information separately. III. Time of reporting The card issuing bank shall report the overseas transactions via the bank card it issued for 24 hours of the previous day before 12:00 at noon every day, Beijing time, which will not be postponed during holidays. The collection will start from September 1, 2017, with the information for the day reported on September 2 for the first time. IV. Channel of reporting The SAFE will launch the foreign exchange administration system for overseas bank card transactions (herein after referred to as bank card management system) on September 1, 2017 to collect the information on overseas bank card transactions through data interface or screen. For data interface, the card issuing bank develops the programs for data interface and uses the message transport system (MTS) of the SAFE for the connection with the bank card management system to report and receive the information on overseas bank card transactions. In the screen model, the card issuing bank logs on to the webpage of the bank card management system to report and receive the information on overseas bank card transactions. In principle, any card issuing bank that is qualified for operating foreign exchange settlements and sales shall ensure the connection with the bank card management system through interfacing; while any card issuing bank that is disqualified for operating foreign exchange settlements and sales shall ensure the connection with the bank card management system via interfacing or screen. The card issuing bank shall access the SAFE's external access network through the private wires for the connection. V. Requirements on reporting Any card issuing bank shall report the information on overseas bank card transactions in the factor and format stipulated by the SAFE (see the Appendix 1: Rules for Collecting the Data on Overseas Bank Card Transactions for more details). (I) The card issuing bank shall ensure the timeliness, integrity and accuracy of the information reported. In case of information errors or omissions due to reversal and misstatement, the card issuing bank is required to timely modify the information and supplement the accurate information. (II) The zero reporting system will be adopted for the reporting. Any card issuing bank who has the overseas card bank transaction function shall report the information as required and conduct zero reporting in case that no overseas card bank transaction has occurred. VI. The overseas bank card transactions reported by the card issuing bank shall be included in the assessment of banks involved in the execution of the regulations for foreign exchange administration. Any card issuing bank that fails to report as required will be subject to relevant regulations and punishments by the SAFE in accordance with the law. VII. To guard against cross-border money laundering and other illicit activities, the SAFE will send to the card issuing banks via the bank card management system the information on individuals involved in overseas bank card transactions and other behaviors that violate regulations. The channels to send the information are the same as those through which the information on overseas bank card transactions is reported. Upon receipt of the information, the car issuing bank shall intensify the day-to-day monitoring and management of overseas bank card transactions, preventing bank cards from becoming the transaction channels for various behaviors that violate laws and regulations. VIII. The SAFE will ensure the security of the cardholder's information identified from the information on the overseas bank card transactions reported by the card issuing bank, in accordance with the law. IX. The card issuing bank shall complete the technical adjustment of its bank card system in time. In accordance with the Schedule for the Launch of the Foreign Exchange Administration System for Overseas Bank Card Transactions (seen Appendix 2) and the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on the Operating Procedures for the Collection of Foreign Exchange Data by Financial Institutions (Huifa No. 44 [2015], hereinafter referred to as Operating Procedures), the card issuing bank shall ensure preparatory tasks ranging from application for the codes of financial institutions, network access, installation and access of MTS, development of interface programs, joint debugging and testing, and system access. The interface joint debugging, interface acceptance and access for trial run of the bank card management system will be otherwise noted. The card issuing bank shall submit the Business Survey Form for Overseas Bank Card Transactions (seen Appendix 3) to the local SAFE branches and foreign exchange administrative departments (hereinafter referred to as SAFE branches) before June 12, 2017. SAFE branches shall summarize and submit the forms to the Balance of Payments Department of the SAFE before June 14 (rate@bop.safe). X. SAFE branches shall set up a construction team for the bank card management system comprised of BUs and technical departments and are required to report the contact information of the team to the Balance of Payments Department of the SAFE (rate@bop.safe) before June 5. SAFE branches shall also arrange for the work relating to the bank card management system of the card issuing banks within their jurisdiction in line with the responsibilities defined in the Operating Procedures, and evenly allocate the tasks ranging from code application of financial institutions, network access, and MTS installation and access, to joint debugging and testing, and system acceptance based on the schedule for system launch and the realities of the regions, and formulate the Worksheet of the Foreign Exchange Administration System for Overseas Bank Card Transactions (see Appendix 4) and submit it to the Science and Technology Department of the SAFE (app@ic.safe) before June 14. During the implementation, SAFE branches shall collect and review the applications of the card issuing banks within their jurisdictions and submit them to the Science and Technology Department of the SAFE, based on the time requirements of the Worksheet, and urge and coordinate the card issuing banks in completing relevant work and regularly report it to the Science and Technology Department of the SAFE. XI. This Circular will come into force as of the date of promulgation. Starting from September 1, 2017, of the access data on the individuals' foreign currency banknotes, those that involve the overseas withdrawals of foreign currency banknotes will not be reported any more (see the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issuing the Standards Version 1.1 for Collecting Data on Foreign Exchange Transactions by Financial Institutions (Huifa No. 22 [2016]) for details). Upon receipt of this Circular, SAFE branches shall immediately forward it to the central sub-branches, urban commercial banks, rural commercial banks, wholly foreign-funded banks, Chinese-foreign equity joint venture banks, branches of foreign banks and rural cooperative financial institutions and village and town banks within their respective jurisdictions. Business contact number: 010-68402399 Technical contact number: 010-68402022, 2043 (for private wire access) 010-68402424 (for access to MTS) 010-68402417, 2674 (for collection standardization and joint debugging for data reporting) Appendices: 1. Rules for Collecting the Data on Overseas Bank Card Transactions 2. Schedule for the Launch of the Foreign Exchange Administration System for Overseas Bank Card Transactions 3. Business Survey Form for Overseas Bank Card Transactions 4. Worksheet of the Foreign Exchange Administration System for Overseas Bank Card Transactions State Administration of Foreign Exchange May 26, 2017 FILE: Rules for Collecting the Data on Overseas Bank Card Transactions FILE: Schedule for the Launch of the Foreign Exchange Administration System for Overseas Bank Card Transactions FILE: Business Survey Form for Overseas Bank Card Transactions FILE: Worksheet of the Foreign Exchange Administration System for Overseas Bank Card Transactions 2017-06-02/en/2017/0602/1307.html