Recently, the Ministry of Finance ("MOF") has issued the Decision on Revising Six Rules Including the Measures for the Registration of Certified Public Accountants (the "Decision"), with effect from January 1, 2018.
According to the Decision, six rules, including the Measures for the Registration of Certified Public Accountants ("CPAs"), the Interim Measures for the State-Owned Assets Administration of Administrative Entities, the Interim Measures for the State-Owned Assets Administration of Public Institutions, the Financial Accounting Rules for Public Institutions, the Financial Rules for Capital Construction, and the Measures for the Administration of National Agricultural Comprehensive Development Funds and Projects, have been revised in a centralized manner to include some new articles regarding the pursuit of liability. In particular, Article 29 of the Financial Rules for Capital Construction is revised to read: "The contracting party of a construction project may agree with the construction entity in the contract that the cash deposit, up to three percent of the total settlement amount of the project, shall be reserved to secure the project's quality, and such deposit shall be cleared when the period for liability for any defects expires after the project is delivered and put into use. A construction entity with sound credit standing is allowed to provide the bank guarantee, as an alternative to the said cash deposit reserved for the project quality."