Recently, the General Office of the Ministry of Finance ("MOF") and the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs ("MARA") have jointly enacted and released the Interim Measures for the Disposal of Assets Formed from the Direct National Financial Subsidies During the Dissolution and Bankruptcy Liquidation of Famers' Specialized Cooperatives (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to seek opinions from the entities concerned by February 25, 2019.
Consisting of 13 articles, the Draft for Comment touch upon five aspects as below. The first is clearly specifying the basis on which this policy document is prepared, its applicable scope, and the concept of "assets formed from the direct national financial subsidies". The second is making clear the specific methods to calculate the value of assets formed from the direct national financial subsidies received by farmers' specialized cooperatives, the subjects that will dispose of such assets, and the ways in which the assets will be disposed of. The third is requiring that if there are any residual assets after the repayment of debts, the liquidation team shall re-calculate the portion of assets formed from the direct national financial subsidies in such residual assets. The fourth is clearly setting out respective duties of the government's department of finance and department of agriculture and rural affairs and of the liquidation team, and their respective liability for violations. The last is clarifying the formulation of specific measures by local governments and the effective date.