Original Title: Notice on Further Standardizing the Confirmation of Tax Exemptions for Domestic and Foreign-Invested Encouraged Projects
To the Development and Reform Commissions of all cities, relevant provincial-level departments, and relevant provincial-level enterprises:

To further standardize and strengthen the management of tax exemption confirmation for domestic and foreign-funded encouraged projects and to enhance the level of investment services, in accordance with the provisions of the “Notice of the State Council on Adjusting Tax Policies for Imported Equipment” (Guo Fa [1997] No. 37), the “Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Optimizing the Processing of the ‘Certificate of Confirmation for Domestic and Foreign-Funded Projects Encouraged by the State’ for Foreign-Invested Projects” (Fa Gai Wai Zi [2021] No. 368), and other relevant documents, and in response to new situations and issues arising in current work,the relevant matters are hereby clarified as follows:

I. Scope of Application

1. Domestic investment projects that fall under the “Encouraged” category of the “Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment.”

2. Foreign-invested projects (including foreign capital reinvestment projects) that comply with the "Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment."

3. Projects utilizing loans from international financial organizations and foreign governments.

For the above projects, when importing equipment for self-use within the total investment amount, as well as technology, supporting components, and spare parts imported along with the equipment in accordance with the contract (excludingthose listed in the "Catalog of Major Technical Equipment and Products Not Eligible for Import Tax Exemption," the "Catalog of Imported Goods Not Eligible for Tax Exemption for Domestic Investment Projects," and the "Catalog of Imported Goods Not Eligible for Tax Exemption for Foreign-Invested Projects"), may apply for tax reduction or exemption procedures with customs in accordance with regulations when processing equipment import formalities, by presenting the "Confirmation Letter for Domestic and Foreign-Invested Projects Encouraged by the State" issued by the development and reform authorities, along with a list of imported equipment, and other relevant documents.

II. Procedures and Required Materials

(1) Competent Authorities and Procedures

1. Confirmation of Domestic Investment Projects Encouraged by the State

For projects with a total investment of less than 50 million yuan, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission shall issue the project confirmation certificate. After preliminary review by the municipal-level Development and Reform Commission or the relevant provincial-level competent authority, the project entity shall submit an application for confirmation of an encouraged project through the Shandong Provincial Government Service Network. Upon approval by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the project confirmation certificate shall be issued.

For projects with a total investment of 50 million yuan or more, Qingdao Customs and Jinan Customs shall directly review and process applications based on their respective jurisdictions.

2. Confirmation of Foreign-Invested Projects Encouraged by the State

For projects with a total investment of less than US$300 million, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission shall issue a project confirmation letter. Specifically: For projects with an investment of less than US$30 million, after preliminary review by the Development and Reform Commission of the prefecture-level city or the relevant provincial-level competent authority, the project entity shall submit an application for confirmation of an encouraged project through the Shandong Provincial Government Service Network;For projects with a total investment of US$30 million or more but less than US$300 million, the project entity shall submit an application for confirmation of encouraged projects directly through the Shandong Provincial Government Service Network. After review and approval by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, a project confirmation letter will be issued.

For projects with a total investment of US$300 million or more, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission conducts the preliminary review, and the National Development and Reform Commission issues the project confirmation letter. The project entity submits an application for preliminary review of the encouraged project confirmation through the Shandong Provincial Government Service Network; after preliminary review by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the application is forwarded to the National Development and Reform Commission for processing.

3. Confirmation of Projects Utilizing Loans from International Financial Institutions and Foreign Governments

For foreign loan projects approved or authorized by the State Council and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the NDRC is responsible for issuing the project confirmation letter. The project entity shall submit an application for preliminary review of project confirmation through the Shandong Provincial Government Service Network; after preliminary review by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the application shall be forwarded to the NDRC for processing.

For foreign loan projects approved, authorized, or filed at the local level, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission is responsible for issuing the project confirmation letter. The project entity submits an application for project confirmation through the Shandong Provincial Government Service Network; after review and approval by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the project confirmation letter is issued.

(2) Required Documentation

1. When applying for a "Certificate of Confirmation for Domestic and Foreign-Invested Projects Encouraged by the State" for imported equipment within the scope of authority, the following materials must be provided:

(1) One copy of the project application report, project information materials, or feasibility study report (for foreign loan projects, a funding application report and approval documents must be submitted); one copy of the project approval, authorization, or filing documents.

(2) For projects with domestic investment of less than 50 million yuan or foreign investment of less than 30 million USD, the municipal development and reform commission or the relevant provincial-level competent department, based on jurisdictional affiliation, shall submit one copy of a request for confirmation of tax-exempt imported equipment to the Provincial Development and Reform Commission; for projects with foreign investment of 30 million USD or more but less than 300 million USD, the project entity shall directly submit one copy of a request for confirmation of tax-exempt imported equipment to the Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

(3) Six original copies of the list of imported equipment and technology eligible for the tax exemption policy (stamped by the municipal development and reform department, relevant provincial-level competent department, or the relevant project entity, as appropriate).

(4) One copy of the business license of the project’s legal entity (if linked to an electronic license, the system will automatically retrieve it; if data is incomplete, the applicant must submit it); for foreign-invested projects, provide one copy of the corporate equity structure diagram (tracing back to the ultimate actual controller and indicating the proportion of foreign investment).

(5) Explanation of the applicable policy provisions under the encouraged industries category.

(6) Other materials requiring explanation.

2. When applying for the preliminary review of the "Confirmation Letter for Domestic and Foreign Investment Projects Encouraged by the State" for projects above the threshold, the following materials must be provided:

(1) One copy of the project application report, project information materials, or feasibility study report (for projects financed by foreign loans, a funding application report and approval documents must be submitted); one copy of the project approval, authorization, or filing documents.

(2) One copy of the project entity’s formal request for preliminary review of the application for confirmation of tax-exempt imported equipment, submitted directly to the Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

(3) Six original copies of the list of imported equipment and technology eligible for tax exemption (stamped by the relevant enterprise).

(4) One copy of the business license of the project legal entity (if linked to an electronic license, the system will automatically retrieve it; if data is incomplete, the applicant must submit it); one copy of the enterprise equity structure diagram (tracing back to the ultimate actual controller and indicating the proportion of foreign investment).

(5) An explanation of the policy provisions under the encouraged industries category applicable to the project.

(6) Other materials requiring clarification.

(III) Issuance of Documents

For tax exemption matters within the authority of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, a one-time confirmation process is adopted, and the Provincial Development and Reform Commission issues the “Confirmation Letter for Domestic and Foreign-Invested Projects Encouraged by the State”; for project changes, a certification process is adopted, and the Provincial Development and Reform Commission issues a certificate of approval for the changes.For certain projects with extended construction periods or large-scale imported equipment where a complete list of imported equipment cannot be determined at the time of issuing the project confirmation certificate, the process may be handled by first confirming the project and subsequently confirming the list of imported equipment in batches.

III. Preliminary Review Requirements

1. All applicant entities (including municipal development and reform commissions or relevant provincial-level competent authorities) shall conduct a preliminary review of the materials in accordance with the above requirements to verify their authenticity, accuracy, and completeness.

2. The application documents submitted by each applicant shall include the following information: basic project details, organization name, nature of the project, project scope, industrial policy approval items, project duration, total investment, foreign exchange requirements, and a list of imported equipment and technologies.

IV. Project Changes

For projects that have already been approved, changes to the tax exemption confirmation letter will generally not be processed unless there are special circumstances.If, during implementation, it is indeed necessary to change major items such as the project entity, construction scope, total investment, foreign exchange requirements, implementation period, or list of imported equipment, and there are valid reasons for doing so, the original approving authority must first process the change procedures for the adjusted content in accordance with investment management regulations before the confirmation change procedures for the encouraged project can be processed. The project entity shall submit a change application through the Shandong Provincial Government Service Network; after review and approval by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, a change document will be issued.

V. Other Matters

1. The relevant provisions of the encouraged industry policies serving as the basis for the confirmation of domestic and foreign-funded encouraged projects shall be updated in a timely manner in accordance with the current national version.

2. The application process for matters related to the confirmation of domestic and foreign-funded encouraged projects shall not be handled by intermediaries or individuals other than the project legal entity or the project reporting unit. The project unit must ensure that the information submitted is true and accurate; violations will be recorded in the National Credit Information Sharing Platform.

3. The requirements of this notice are reiterated in accordance with the spirit of current national policy documents to standardize and unify relevant work and improve administrative efficiency. Please contact our Commission promptly regarding any issues encountered during implementation.

4. This notice shall take effect on the date of issuance.

Guide to the Processing of Tax Exemption Confirmation for Domestic and Foreign Investment Encouragement Projects in Shandong Province.pdf

Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission

May 31, 2024