The State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") has recently issued the Circular on Promoting the Online Registration of General Taxpayers Nationwide (the "Circular").
The Circular requires that, all levels of tax authorities must strengthen the overall planning and coordination, and ensure that the online registration of general taxpayers will be made possible as per this Circular and relevant requirements set out in the standards on the building of electronic tax bureaus, by November 20, 2018. Meanwhile, this Circular notes that, all provincial-level tax bureaus shall, in consideration of local actual situations of building electronic tax bureaus, realize the function of having the registration of general taxpayers processed online and add this online registration to the list of tax affairs that could be handled online in a one-stop way. In promoting this online registration, they shall earnestly straighten out business processes pursuant to relevant provisions for the registration of general taxpayers, so as to provide taxpayers with the convenience to handle registration matters online, including completing the Registration Form for General Value-added Tax Payers and checking relevant information. The procedures prepared for handling tax affairs online shall be made clear and explicit, and the user interface shall be designed to be user-friendly and easy to use.