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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： To further regulate the foreign currency banknotes business for domestic institutions and satisfy their demand, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has developed the Measures for Managing the Receipts and Payments of Foreign Currency Banknotes by Domestic Institutions (see appendix), which are hereby issued for your compliance and implementation. Upon receipt of this Circular, the SAFE branches and foreign exchange administration departments should immediately forward it to the central sub-branches (sub-branches), local commercial banks, and foreign banks within their respective jurisdiction, and all designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks should promptly forward it to their branches. If you have any questions during the execution of these documents, please promptly contact the Current Account Management Department of the SAFE. Appendix: Measures for Managing the Receipts and Payments of Foreign Currency Banknotes by Domestic Institutions State Administration of Foreign Exchange December 18, 2015 FILE: Measures for Managing the Receipts and Payments of Foreign Currency Banknotes by Domestic Institutions 2016-01-08/en/2016/0108/774.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; the branches in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo; and all designated foreign exchange banks: In order to further satisfy the requirements of domestic economic entities to hedge exchange-rate risks, the relevant issues with regard to foreign exchange administration for Renminbi-against-forex currency swaps (hereinafter referred to as the currency swap) provided by the designated foreign exchange banks (hereinafter referred to as the banks) to their clients are hereby notified as follows: 1. The currency swap stated in the Circular refers to a trading agreement by which both parties of the agreement exchange agreed-upon quantities of Renminbi and principal in a foreign currency within a prescribed term, in parallel with the regular exchange of interest of the two currencies. The principal is exchanged in the forms of: (1) the exchange of the principal in Renminbi and the foreign currency by both parties as per the agreed-upon exchange rate on the date when the agreement becomes effective, and the reverse exchange of the principal based on the same exchange rate and quantity on the date when the agreement expires; (2) other forms as prescribed by the Peoples Bank of China and the SAFE. Interest exchange means that one party in question pays the other party in question the amount of interest computed based on the swap-in currency on a regular basis; the interest can be computed either based on a fixed rate or on a floating rate. 2. Any bank that has acquired a one-year qualification to operate Renminbi-against-forex swaps can directly launch currency swaps for its clients. The branches of banks (branches of foreign commercial banks are deemed to be legal persons) can launch currency swaps to their clients after being authorized by their legal persons thereof. 3. The transaction elements such as currencies and terms involved in the currency swaps provided by the banks to their clients are determined by discretion of the banks. The interest rate involved in the currency swaps shall be determined by both parties in question through negotiations, but it shall comply with the regulations of the Peoples Bank of China on the administration of deposit and lending rates. The banksinterest rate of the swap-in (or swap-out) currency shall not exceed the upper (or lower) limit of the benchmark deposit (or lending) rate publicized by the Peoples Bank of China . 4. The banks shall comply with the relevant provisions on foreign exchange administration and the statistical requirements with regard to the foreign exchange swap business as specified in the documents including the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for Forward Settlement and Sales of Foreign Exchange and Renminbi-Against-Forex Swaps Provided by Designated Foreign Exchange Banks to Their Clients (Hui Fa [2006] No. 52), the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on the Distribution of the Statistical Rules for Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales by Banks (Hui Fa [2006] No. 42), etc. The banks shall submit on a monthly basis a report on the interest rate of the Renminbi involved in the currency swaps. See Appendices 1 and 2 for details. 5. In operating the currency swaps, the banks shall incorporate the interest in foreign currencies earned from their clients into the foreign exchange earnings thereof for centralized management, and shall not separately carry out foreign exchange settlement. 6. In the event that the banks deal with currency swaps in violation of the Circular, the SAFE shall impose penalties thereupon in accordance with the Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration and the relevant laws and regulations. VIII. This Circular shall enter into force as of March 1, 2011. The branches and foreign exchange administration departments of the SAFE shall, upon receipt of this Circular, forward it immediately to urban commercial banks, rural commercial banks, rural cooperative banks, and foreign-funded banks within their jurisdictions. For any problems arising from implementation, please contact the Department of the Balance of Payments of the SAFE. The telephone numbers are: 010-68402304, 68402313. January 19, 2011 affix1:Statistical Form for Renminbi Interest Rates in Currency Swaps Provided by (the name of the bank) to Clients affix2:Instructions for Completing the Statistical Form on Renminbi Interest Rates in Currency Swaps Provided by Banks to their Clients 2011-01-30/en/2011/0130/718.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; the branches in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo: For the purpose of preventing financial risks from cross-border capital flows, relevant issues concerning the further strengthening of administration of foreign exchange business are hereby notified as follows: 1. Further strengthening the administration of the comprehensive positions of banks in the settlement and sales of foreign exchange. Based on the lower-limit management of the outstanding positions of banks engaging in forward foreign exchange settlement and sales on a cash basis, further adjustments were made to the lower limits of banks with outstanding negative positions on a cash basis on November 8, 2010. Specifically, the lower limit of banks with outstanding positions lower than USD-2 billion (inclusive) on November 8, 2010 shall be adjusted to 40% of the outstanding positions; in cases where the lower limits of banks with outstanding positions ranged from USD-2 to 0 billion on November 8, 2010, the lower limit shall be adjusted to 50% of the outstanding position. In cases where the current positions of banks are lower than the adjusted lower limits, the relevant positions shall be increased progressively to be adjusted to an amount within the limit before September 30, 2011 at the latest. The aforesaid provisions do not apply to foreign-funded banks that have not entered into Renminbi business and have not implemented balanced management of special Renminbi accounts for the settlement and sales of foreign exchange. 2. Strengthening foreign exchange administration for transit trade. Foreign exchange proceeds under transit trade shall be settled or transferred after external payments for the corresponding transit trade have been made by the enterprises. The banks shall, upon receipt of the foreign exchange proceeds from transit trade, transfer the proceeds into the to-be-verified accounts of the enterprises. When handling the foreign exchange settlement for the proceeds from transit trade or when transferring the proceeds into accounts under the current account, the enterprises shall submit to the banks the relevant export contracts, import contracts, and vouchers for the exchange collection/payment for the transit trade. The banks may handle the relevant procedures for foreign exchange settlement or transfer for the enterprises after verification and examination of the relevant documents. In cases where the amount of foreign exchange settlement/transfer from the transit-trade proceeds exceeds 20% of the corresponding amount of payments, the enterprises shall file an application for the handling of the relevant procedures with the foreign exchange authorities in their localities by presenting to the latter the above documents, and the banks may handle the relevant procedures for foreign exchange settlement/transfer after receiving approval from the foreign exchange authorities in their localities. 3. Reducing the basic proportion of advances on sales and deferred payments for a term of more than 90 days. The basic proportion of enterprisesadvances on sales under trade in goods or deferred payments for a term of more than 90 days shall be reduced to 20% of the total proceeds from exports or the total payments for imports during the previous 12 months respectively. 4. Strengthening the administration of the short-term external debts of financial institutions. The quotas for short-term external debts of domestic institutions in 2011 shall be further reduced based on the verified quotas for short-term external debts of domestic institutions in 2010; quotas for the outstanding short-term external debts of banks with relatively large amounts of inter-bank deposits/lending shall be reduced appropriately. This Circular shall come into force as of April 1, 2011. All branches and foreign exchange administration departments of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange shall promptly forward the Circular to all central sub-branches, sub-branches, and banks within their respective jurisdictions; all Chinese-funded banks shall promptly forward it to their branches/sub-branches. If any problems arise from implementation of this Circular, please provide feedback to the SAFE in a timely manner. Tel.: 010-68402450, 68402313, 68402446. March 18, 2011 2011-03-30/en/2011/0330/721.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; the branches in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo: In order to meet the changing needs for indirect declaration of statistics on the balance of payments, to ensure and improve the quality of data declared indirectly on the balance of payments, and to further standardize the verification of the indirect declarations of the statistics on the balance of payments, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange formulated the System for the Verification of Indirect Declarations of Statistics on the Balance of Payments (see the Appendix for details), which is hereby issued for your implementation. All branches and foreign exchange administration departments of the SAFE shall, upon receipt of this Circular, forward it immediately to the sub-branches and banks within their jurisdictions. For any problems arising from implementation, please contact the Department of the Balance of Payments of the SAFE. Tel.: 010-68402448, 68402593; E-mail address: bop@bop.safe (Intranet). January 12, 2011 2011-01-20/en/2011/0120/717.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; the branches in Shenzhen, Dalian , Qingdao , Xiamen , and Ningbo ; and all designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks: In order to expedite the reform of the verification and writing-off system for imports and exports and to achieve the transformation of foreign exchange administration for trade in goods from the current model to aggregate verification, off-site verification, and subject-based supervision, on May 1, 2010 the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) launched a program for pilot implementation of the reform of the verification and writing-off system for foreign exchange payments for imports for trade in goods (hereinafter referred to as import verification reform) in seven regions, i.e., Tianjin, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Fujian, and Qingdao. Based on the results, the SAFE has decided to promote implementation of the import verification reform throughout the country. The relevant issues concerning the reform are hereby notified as follows: 1. The import verification reform aims to promote the facilitation of trade, reduce operating costs for enterprises and banks, and meet the new requirements for foreign trade by transforming the methods and approaches for foreign exchange administration. It is based on authenticity principles and the human-oriented concepts. Efforts will be made to effectively check cross-border capital flows in violation of the laws and regulations by comprehensively looking at and comparing all the information available about cash and goods flows of enterprises and by enhancing constant and dynamic monitoring and analysis. To fulfill this goal, the foreign exchange authorities will collect complete information about foreign exchange payments for imports and the delivery of goods by enterprises and will carry out off-site aggregate comparisons on the strength of the information system, based on which the foreign exchange payments of enterprises for imports will be monitored and analyzed through off-site monitoring and a early-warning mechanism and abnormal conduct will be identified in a timely manner. Based on the information from the off-site monitoring, early warning, and on-site verification, efforts will be made to evaluate and categorize the enterprises. The basic idea of the reform is to achieve a transformation from case-by-case verification to aggregate verification for the administration of foreign exchange payments for imports, from on-site verification to off-site inspection, and from behavioral examination to subject supervision. 2. The Interim Measures for the Administration of Foreign Exchange Payments for the Import of Goods and its detailed rules for implementation (hereinafter referred to as the Interim Measures,see Appendices 1 & 2) shall enter into effect as of December 1, 2010. As of the date of implementation of the Interim Measures, import enterprises shall make foreign exchange payments for imports in compliance with the Interim Measures. The banks will handle foreign exchange payments for import enterprises in compliance with the Interim Measures. 3. The banks shall complete connection of the verification system for the collection and payment of foreign exchange under trade (hereinafter referred to as the verification system) to their business systems and the relevant configurations before November 30, 2010, and shall search the directory of the import enterprises, registration forms for foreign exchange payments for imports, grades for classified evaluation, and so on through the verification system as of the date when the Interim Measures are implemented. 4. The import verification reform is of great significance for promoting the facilitation of trade. The branches of the SAFE, in attaching great importance to the reform, will make the overall work arrangements and endeavor to fulfill the following tasks: 1) Unify awareness of the significance of the reform and play an active role in organizing and leading the reform. All branches shall fully understand the great significance of the import verification reform, form a reform leading group headed by a relevant director to lead and oversee the progress of the reform in their respective jurisdictions, and coordinate with the relevant departments to provide strong support for the reform. Work teams consisting of business and technical staff shall be formed under the reform leading group to be responsible for implementation of the reform and for dissemination and interpretation of the policies, providing business and technical support, feedback, and so forth within their jurisdictions. 2) Implement aggregate verification, dynamic monitoring, and classified administration to improve the effectiveness of the supervision by complying with the relevant provisions of the Interim Measures. 3) Strengthen publicity and training. By complying with the overall planning of the SAFE, the branches shall fulfill their duties to disseminate and interpret the policies through various methods and shall guide and urge banks and import enterprises in immediately comprehending the general idea of the reform and the purposes of the relevant policies. The branches shall provide training of various forms to functionaries of the foreign exchange authorities, banks, and import enterprises within their jurisdictions in an effort to facilitate their comprehension of business operations under the new policies and to ensure the effective implementation of the reform measures. 4) Provide strong technical support for the installation and commissioning of the software for the verification system used in enterprises and banks within their jurisdiction. 5) Report information about implementation of the import verification reform to the SAFE on a monthly basis. 5. Emergency measures In the event that the verification system malfunctions temporarily due to data-input failures and so forth, the branches shall promptly report the circumstance to the import verification reform office of the SAFE for resolution and shall record the relevant problems. During this period, the foreign exchange authorities shall create a ledger for the import payments for which they are responsible and accordingly shall make a business record. 6. Logging on to the verification system Address of the verification system (foreign exchange authority version) http://100.1.63.3:9001/SafeChk/; Address of the verification system (bank version): http://asone.safe:9101/asone/; Address of the verification system (corporate version): http://asone.safesvc.gov.cn/asone. Contact information for the import verification reform office of the SAFE: Tel.: 010-68402546 010-68402547 Fax: 010-68402594 E-mail addresses: (Intranet) tradebus@mail.safe tradetech@mail.safe (Extranet) tradebus@mail.safe.gov.cn tradetech@mail.safe.gov.cn All branches (foreign exchange administration departments) of the SAFE shall, as of the date of promulgation of this Circular, make preparations for the relevant work and shall forward this Circular to the central sub-branches (sub-branches), banks, and import enterprises within their jurisdictions as quickly as possible. affix1:Interim Measures for the Administration of Foreign Exchange Payments for the Import of Goods affix2:Detailed Rules for Implementation of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Foreign Exchange Payments for the Import of Goods 2010-10-27/en/2010/1027/711.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; the branches in Shenzhen, Dalian , Qingdao , Xiamen , and Ningbo ; and all designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks: In order to prevent financial risks caused by cross-border flows of capital, issues related to the strengthening of the administration of foreign exchange operations are hereby notified as follows: 1. Strengthen administration of the banks comprehensive positions in the settlement and sales of foreign exchange. Implement a minimum level of management of the banks balance of positions calculated on a cash basis based on the current management of the comprehensive position limits for foreign exchange settlement and sales. The lower limit of the position shall be the position of the day on a cash basisas presented in the Daily Statement of the Comprehensive Position of Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales issued by each bank on November 8, 2010. 2. Tighten administration of online inspections of foreign exchange collections and settlement for exports. Abrogate the provision that In the event that the enterprise has an insufficient balance of foreign exchange receivables due to a delay in the transmission of data on exports, the banks may, on the strength of the letter of commitment submitted by the enterprise, settle or transfer the funds in the accounts to be verified.The banks shall, in light of the limits on the balance of foreign exchange receivables, settle or transfer the funds in the accounts to be verified. The proportion of foreign exchange collection from the processing of imported materials shall be uniformly reduced from 30 percent to 20 percent. In the event that the proportion of the actual collection of foreign exchange for customs declaration for a single batch of exported goods under trade for the processing of imported materials exceeds 20 percent, the banks shall handle the relevant business in accordance with the existing regulations on foreign exchange collection for the processing of imported materials with the proportion of exchange collected in excess of the prescribed limit. 3. Strengthen administration of the quotas on short-term external debts and the balance of external guarantees of financial institutions. In the event that banks conduct agency payments abroad for the business subsequent to the issuance of L/Cs to their customers and the total time limit of both payments exceeds 90 days, the amount under the agency payment abroad shall be incorporated into the quota control of the short-term external debt. The foreign exchange authorities shall monitor and provide early warnings about the circumstances, such as the banksborrowing of short-term external debt and the provision of external guarantees for financing in violation of the regulations, and shall impose tight restrictions on bank operations in excess of the quotas. 4. Strengthen administration of capital contributions by overseas investors of foreign-funded enterprises. In the event that the actual payer is inconsistent with the overseas investor of a foreign-funded enterprise, the foreign-funded enterprise shall submit a notarized certification of the proxy contribution when entrusting an accounting firm to consult the foreign exchange authorities for capital verification. 5. Strengthen examination of the authenticity of the settlement of funds repatriated as capital raised from overseas listings in accordance with the requirements for foreign exchange settlements for payments. The materials certifying authenticity shall be examined in accordance with the relevant regulations on foreign exchange administration for the settlement of capital funds in foreign exchange for foreign-funded enterprises. The foreign exchange settlement shall be conducted in compliance with the purposes specified in the prospectus; for any amount that exceeds the planned limit on fund raising or goes beyond the purposes stated in the prospectus, a board resolution concerning the purposes of the foreign exchange settlement shall be submitted. The foreign exchange that is to be settled and paid to the other party in the transaction shall not be settled and deposited in the Renminbi account of the enterprise. 6. Strengthen administration of overseas incorporations of companies with special purposes by domestic institutions and individuals, and impose penalties on enterprises and individuals operating in violation of the regulations. 7. Impose penalties on banks operating in violation of the regulations by complying strictly with the law. Banks shall strengthen verification and examination of the authenticity of transactions by their customers and the consistency of foreign exchange receipts and payments. For those bank operations in violation of the foreign exchange regulations that result in illegal inflows of funds, the foreign exchange authorities shall impose penalties in the form of fines, termination of relevant operations, circulation of notices of criticism, and so forth, and shall investigate the responsibilities of the senior management staff who are directly liable for the violations. This Circular shall come into effect as of the date of promulgation. All the branches and administrative departments of the SAFE shall, after receipt of this Circular, forward it as soon as possible to the central sub-branches, sub-branches, and banks within their jurisdictions. All Chinese-funded designated foreign exchange banks shall, after receipt of this Circular, forward it to their branches and sub-branches as soon as possible. If any problems arise in the implementation of this Circular, please report them to the SAFE in a timely manner. Tel.: 010-68402295, 68402450, 68402366 2010-11-09/en/2010/1109/712.html
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In order to increase the efficiency of funds utilization by domestic enterprises and to further promote trade facilitation, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange has, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration, decided to carry out a pilot policy for overseas deposits of export proceeds in Beijing, Guangdong (including Shenzhen), Shandong (including Qingdao), and Jiangsu for one year starting from October 1, 2010. We hereby notify you of the relevant requirements for the pilot policy as follows: 1. A domestic enterprise in a pilot region that has a desire to deposit export proceeds overseas and meets the prescribed conditions may file an application with the local branch office of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (hereinafter referred to as the foreign exchange authority) and may participate in the pilot implementation upon approval. 2. The branch or administrative department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in the pilot region (hereinafter referred to as the SAFE branch) shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Pilot Measures for the Administration of Overseas Deposits of Export Proceeds from Trade in Goods (hereinafter referred to as the Pilot Measures; see the annex), examine the qualifications of the applicants and determine the pilot enterprises in stages and batches in light of the local situations and the applications of the enterprises within its jurisdiction. During the pilot period, each SAFE branch shall approve a total of no more than ten pilot enterprises. 3. The pilot enterprises shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Pilot Measures, open and close their overseas bank accounts, receive and pay funds and handle other related businesses, and report any relevant information to the foreign exchange authority. 4. The foreign exchange authority shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Pilot Measures, administer the receipts and payments of the overseas bank accounts of the pilot enterprises, and maintain an account book for each enterprise. 5. The total amount of the overseas deposits of the export proceeds of a pilot enterprise each year shall not exceed a certain proportion of the total amount of export proceeds in the previous calendar year. This proportion shall be determined and adjusted by the SAFE branch in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Pilot Measures and the practical situation of the enterprise. 6. The foreign exchange authority shall, based on the information reported by the pilot enterprises, handle the relevant foreign exchange administrative formalities for the pilot enterprises, such as the writing-off of the export proceeds received in foreign exchange and the writing-off of the import payments made in foreign exchange (or verification of the gross foreign exchange payments for imports). The pilot enterprises shall, after the writing-off of the export proceeds received in foreign exchange, normally handle the export rebates in accordance with the relevant provisions. 7. The SAFE branch shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Pilot Measures and this Circular, make the operating rules for the local pilot match the operating requirements for this business. The pilot operational rules shall be implemented after being filed with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange before September 20, 2010. 8. The SAFE branch shall strengthen the organization and leadership of the pilot work of overseas deposits of export proceeds, form a pilot work team headed by a relevant deputy director-general, formulate specific pilot work schemes as uniformly arranged by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and earnestly organize the implementation thereof. 9. The SAFE branch shall do a good job in carrying out training regarding the policies for the pilot enterprises, strengthen publicity about the policies, earnestly study and solve the problems found in the pilot work, provide timely feedback on the pilot implementation, and report a quarterly review on the pilot work to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Timely feedback about any problems encountered in implementation should be provided to the Current Account Management Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. FILE: Appendix 1Agreement on the Reporting of Account Receipt and Payment Information FILE: Appendix 2Balance Statement for Overseas Deposits of Export Proceeds FILE: Pilot Measures for the Administration of Overseas Deposits of Export Proceeds from Trade in Goods 2010-08-27/en/2010/0827/710.html
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1. To study and propose policy suggestions on the reform of the foreign exchange administration system, prevention of the balance of payments risks, and promotion of the balance of payments equilibrium; to study and implement policy measures for the gradual advancement of the convertibility of the RMB under the capital account and the cultivation and development of the foreign exchange market; to provide suggestions and a foundation for the People's Bank of China to formulate policy on RMB exchange rate. 2. To participate in the drafting of relevant laws, regulations, and departmental rules on foreign exchange administration, releasing standard documents related to the carrying out of responsibilities. 3. To oversee the statistics and monitoring of the balance of payments and the external credit and debt, releasing relevant information according to regulations and undertaking related work concerning the monitoring of cross-border capital flows. 4. To be responsible for the supervision and management of the foreign exchange market of the state; to undertake supervision and management of the settlement and sale of foreign exchange; to cultivate and develop the foreign exchange market. 5. To be responsible for supervising and checking the authenticity and legality of the receipt and payment of foreign exchange under the current account according to law; to be responsible for implementing foreign exchange administration under the capital account according to law, and to continuously improve management work in line with the convertibility process of the RMB under the capital account; and to regulate management of overseas and domestic foreign exchange accounts. 6. To be in charge of implementing supervision and checking of foreign exchange according to law, and punishing behaviors that violate the foreign exchange administration. 7. To undertake operations and management of foreign exchange reserves, gold reserves, and other foreign exchange assets of the state. 8. To arrange development planning, standards, and criteria for IT-based foreign exchange administration and organizing relevant implementation; to realize supervision of information-sharing with the relevant administrative departments according to law. 9. To take part in relevant international financial activities. 10. To undertake other matters as assigned by the State Council and the People's Bank of China. 2017-10-26/en/2017/1026/1313.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; the branches of the SAFE in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo; and national Chinese-owned banks: In order to facilitate settlement and sales of foreign exchange by banks, and based on the Administrative Measures for Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales by Banks (People’s Bank of China Decree No. 2 [2014]), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange has formulated the Detailed Rules for Implementation of the Administrative Measures for Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales by Banks (see Appendix 1). These Rules shall come into effect as of January 1, 2015, and at the same time the documents and provisions listed in Appendix 2 shall be cancelled. Please implement these accordingly. After receiving this Circular, the branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the SAFE shall timely forward it to the central sub-branches, sub-branches, and Chinese-foreign banks within their respective jurisdictions. For any problems arising from implementation, please contact the Department of the Balance of Payments of the SAFE in a timely fashion. Tel.: 010-68402313, 68402385. Appendices: 1. Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Administrative Measures for Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales by Banks 2. Laws and Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration to be Cancelled State Administration of Foreign Exchange December 25, 2014 FILE: Detailed Rules onImplementation of the Administrative Measures for Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales by Banks FILE: Laws and Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration to be Cancelled 2015-01-20/en/2015/0120/752.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; the branches in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo; and all designated Chinese-funded foreign exchange banks: To push forward with the reform on foreign exchange administration, promote trade and investment facilitation, support the growth of the real economy and guard against the risks arising from cross-border capital flows, relevant measures are notified as follows: I. The lower limits of comprehensive positions of banks in the settlement and sales of foreign exchange will be extended. For banks with the equivalent of their foreign exchange settlements and sales over USD 200 billion, the lower limit of their positions will be adjusted to USD -5 billion; for banks with the equivalent value between USD 20 billion and USD 200 billion, the lower limit of their market-making positions will be adjusted to USD -2 billion while that of the non-market-making positions, USD -1 billion; for banks with the equivalent value between USD 1 billion and USD 20 billion, the lower limit of their market-making positions will be adjusted to USD -500 million while that of their non-market-making positions, USD -300 million; for banks with the equivalent value between USD 100 million and USD 1 billion, the lower limit of their positions will be adjusted to USD -200 million; for banks with the equivalent value below USD 100 million and those recently obtaining the qualification for foreign exchange settlements and sales, the lower limit of their positions will be adjusted to USD -50 million. These adjustments shall become effective following the issuance of this Circular. II. The approach to the delivery of forward transactions for foreign exchange settlement will be diversified. When providing forward foreign exchange settlement services to institutional customers, banks may choose full or net settlement at their own discretion as a way of delivery, in conformity with the principle of satisfying actual needs. The currency and reference rate for the net forward settlement of foreign exchange are subject to the foreign exchange administration provisions on options. III. The administration of foreign exchange receipts from trade in goods will be simplified for Class-A enterprises. The foreign exchange receipts by Class-A enterprises from trade in goods (other than foreign exchange refunds and offshore entrepot transactions) will temporarily not be recorded in the accounts pending verification for receipts from exports, but will be directly recorded in the foreign exchange accounts under the current account or settled. IV. Policies for the administration of foreign exchange settlement for the external debt of Chinese and foreign-funded enterprises will be unified, with the foreign debt of by Chinese non-financial institutions subject to foreign exchange settlement in accordance with the provisions on external debt administration for foreign-funded enterprises. V. The administration of foreign exchange receipts and payments will be standardized for offshore entrepot transactions for trade in goods. When providing receipt and payment services to enterprises for offshore entrepot transactions, banks shall verify the contract, invoice, authentic and valid documents of title including shipping bill, bill of lading and warehouse receipt of each transaction, to ensure the authenticity, compliance and reasonableness of the transactions. The receipt and payment of the same offshore entrepot transaction shall be processed by the same outlet of the bank in the same currency (foreign currency or RMB). The receipts and payments for offshore entrepot transactions for Class-B enterprises subject to foreign exchange administration for trade in goods will be suspended. VI. The outward remittance administration will be standardized for foreign exchange profits from direct investments. For outward remittances of the profit equivalent of more than USD 50,000 (exclusive) by domestic institutions, banks shall review the relevant board resolution (or the partnership resolution) on profit distribution, the original copies of tax return forms and the financial statements evidencing the profits, in accordance with the principle of authentic transactions. In each outward profit remittance transaction, banks shall affix seal and endorsement to the original copies of the relevant tax return forms indicating the actual amount and date of the transaction. VII. The measures for the administration of risk reminder notifications will be standardized for trade in goods. The SAFE and its branches and sub-branches (foreign exchange authorities) may send a risk reminder notification (see the Appendix) to enterprises with significant mismatch between capital flows and goods flows or with significant one-way capital flows, requiring them to give explanations within 10 working days. For enterprises failing to give timely explanation or to provide supporting documents and give reasonable explanations, foreign exchange authorities may classify them into Class-B enterprises subject to rigorous regulations, in accordance with Article 55 under the Implementation Details of the Guidance on Foreign Exchange Administration for Trade in Goods. Such Class-B enterprises can be classified as Class-A enterprises provided that their relevant indicators remain normal for 3 consecutive months. VIII. Any companies violating this Circular will be punished by foreign exchange authorities in accordance with the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration. IX. The Circular shall take effect as of the date of promulgation. Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening Administration of Inflows of Foreign Exchange Funds (Huifa No. 20 [2013]) shall be abolished simultaneously. For the previous regulations such as the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange Concerning Printing and Distributing the Provisions for Foreign Exchange Administration of Trade in Goods (Huifa No. 38 [2012]), Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Promulgating the Measures for Administration of External Debt Registration (Huifa No. 19 [2013]), the Circular of State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Printing and Distributing of the Regulations for Foreign Exchange Administration on Trade in Services (Huifa No. 30 [2013]), the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Improving and Adjusting the Policies for Foreign Exchange Administration under the Capital Account (Huifa No. 2 [2014]), the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Abolishing and Revising Relevant Regulatory Documents Involving the Reform on Registered Capital Registration System (Huifa No. 20 [2015]), if there is any discrepancy between the above regulations and this Circular, this Circular shall prevail. On receiving this Circular, all SAFE branches and foreign exchange administrative departments shall transmit it in a timely manner to the central sub-branches, sub-branches, and designated foreign exchange banks under their administration, and implement it earnestly. Appendix: Risk Reminder Notification by XX Branch (Sub-Branch) of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange State Administration of Foreign Exchange April 26, 2016 FILE: Risk Reminder Notification by XX Branch (Sub-Branch) of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange 2016-07-11/en/2016/0711/779.html