The Ministry of Finance ("MOF") and the State Oceanic Administration ("SOA") have recently formulated and released the Standards on Fees Collected for the Use of Sea Areas and the Standards on Fees Collected for the Use of Uninhabited Islands, and distributed a circular at the same time. Both standards shall come into force as of May 1, 2018.
It is made clear in the circular that from the effective date, fees charged for the use of sea areas and uninhabited islands shall be all collected under the national standards. Coastal provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities separately listed in the State Plan shall, according to local actualities, divide local sea areas into groups at different levels in a reasonable way, and formulate their local standards on fees charged for the use of sea areas that are either as stringent as, or more stringent than, the national ones. Moreover, the circular notes that local standards on such fees shall apply when the right to use seas areas is granted by means of examination and approval of applications; however, if such right is granted by means of bidding, auction or listing, the floor price shall not be lower than the fees calculated under local standards for the use of sea areas. In areas where local standards for collecting fees for the use of seas areas have not been released yet, the national standards shall apply. Furthermore, the circular stipulates that the granting of the right to use uninhabited islands is subject to minimum standards.