The State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") has recently issued the Circular on Clarifying Matters Concerning Administration of the Issue of Tax Payment Receipt (Textual Form) (the "Circular"), with effect from January 1, 2019.
The Circular states that, starting from January 1, 2019, Tax Payment Receipt will no longer be managed as tax receipts and certificates and thus will not bear the Tax Receipt Supervision Seal of the State Administration of Taxation thereafter, and tax authorities will be required to stamp Tax Payment Receipt with the "business seal" instead of the previous "taxation seal". Details about the specific form could be found in the appendix to the Circular. Moreover, the Circular expressly states that, if a taxpayer claims for a certificate for tax payments it has made for a certain period, the tax authority shall issue the Tax Payment Receipt, except for the circumstance specified in Article 3 of the Circular. Also, the Circular notes that, where an individual income tax payer claims for a certificate for the paid or refunded tax which is due for a tax period after January 1, 2019 (inclusive), the tax authority will issue the Tax Payment Record for individual income tax to replace the Tax Payment Receipt, under the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Matters Concerning the Substitution of the Tax Payment Record for the Tax Payment Receipt (Textual Form).