Domestic information

1. Optimize the pilot of the "Cross border Wealth Management Connect" business in the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and further promote the interconnectivity of the financial markets in the Greater Bay Area

The People's Bank of China, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and the Macau Monetary Authority have decided to further optimize the pilot of the "Cross border Financial Communication" business in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. One is to optimize the admission conditions for investors and support more residents of the Greater Bay Area to participate in the pilot project. The second is to expand the scope of participating institutions, add securities companies that meet the requirements as participating entities, and provide investment products and related services for individual clients of "Nanxiangtong" and "Beixiangtong". The third is to expand the scope of qualified investment products for "South to North" and "North to North", to better meet the diversified investment needs of residents in the Greater Bay Area. The fourth is to appropriately increase the limit of individual investors. Fifth, further optimize promotional sales arrangements and guide financial institutions to provide high-quality financial services to residents of the Greater Bay Area. (Source: Central Bank official website)

Lawyer's recommendation: The pilot project of the "Cross border Wealth Management Connect" business is an important measure taken by the government to support the construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, deepen financial cooperation between Guangdong Hong Kong Macao, and promote the socio-economic integration and development of the mainland and Hong Kong Macao. We are waiting to see the impact of the pilot optimization measures of the "Cross border Wealth Management Connect" business on cross-border capital flow.

2. The State Administration of Financial Supervision, the People's Bank of China, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission have released typical cases of financial consumer rights protection

The State Administration of Financial Regulation, in conjunction with the People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has released typical cases of financial consumer rights protection. This release includes a total of 28 typical cases of financial consumer rights protection, covering fields such as banking, securities, insurance, and payment. The existing financial industry has implemented regulatory policies, practiced the concept of finance for the people, and implemented good practices in improving service levels, solving people's urgent needs, and serving the real economy, In recent years, there have been typical issues of infringement on the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers discovered by financial management departments in consumer rights protection and supervision work, as well as active exploration and successful experience of financial management departments in implementing financial judicial and regulatory coordination, promoting diversified dispute resolution, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors. (Source: Official website of the State Administration of Financial Regulation)

Lawyer's recommendation: The release of typical cases is not only conducive to the implementation of regulatory policies in the financial industry, the practice of the concept of finance for the people, and good practices in improving service levels and serving the real economy, but also promotes the exploration of financial management departments in implementing financial judicial and regulatory coordination, promoting diversified dispute resolution, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors.

3. The revised guidelines for board transfer on the Beijing Stock Exchange are being steadily and orderly promoted

On October 8th, the Beijing Stock Exchange revised the "Guidelines for Continuous Supervision of Listed Companies on the Beijing Stock Exchange No. 7- Transfer Board", which mainly includes: firstly, guiding listed companies to start steadily; The second is to strengthen the responsibilities of intermediary agencies as gatekeepers; Thirdly, further streamline the program arrangement for board transfer; The fourth is to strengthen the supervision of "key minorities". In addition, the Beijing Stock Exchange, in conjunction with the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, has improved the regulatory cooperation mechanism for the transfer of shares, and promptly and properly resolved new situations and problems encountered by all parties in the market during the transfer process. The relevant collaborative arrangements will focus on market demand, further smooth the mechanism of board transfer, achieve service advancement, and promote the improvement of the quality of board transfer work. (Source: Beijing Stock Exchange official website)

Lawyer's recommendation: The revision of the "Guidelines for the Transition Board" has supplemented and improved a series of preparation requirements for listed companies to hold board meetings, further streamlining the transition process, and is conducive to promoting the practical work of the Beijing Stock Exchange's transition board listing.

4. China Association for the Promotion of Private Equity Investment Fund Filing Guidelines and List of Supporting Materials to Improve the Transparency of Fund Filing

On September 28th, the China Securities Investment Fund Industry Association integrated and optimized the current self-discipline rules for fund filing and the filing criteria in scattered key points and cases, Draft and form the "Guidelines for the Filing of Private Equity Investment Funds No. 1- Private Securities Investment Funds", "Guidelines for the Filing of Private Equity Investment Funds No. 2- Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds", and "Guidelines for the Filing of Private Equity Investment Funds No. 3- Change of Manager for Private Equity Investment Funds", and revise the list of relevant materials to promote the formation of a clear and coordinated self-discipline rule system covering the entire process of "management and retirement of private equity investment". (Source: 21 Economic Network)

Lawyer's recommendation: Against the backdrop of the current sluggish overall industry situation, the "Guidelines for Filing Private Equity Investment Funds" and supporting materials list further distinguish the filing requirements of private equity funds from those of private securities funds, making a necessary balance between guiding the healthy development of the industry and preventing systemic risks.

5. Supreme Court Case: Refusal of Tax Evasion and Adjudication of Innocence, Procedural Justice to Protect the Rights and Interests of Private Entrepreneurs

On October 10, 2023, the Supreme People's Court held a press conference to release typical retrial cases involving the protection of private enterprise property rights and the legitimate rights and interests of entrepreneurs. Among them, the fifth case is a tax related case. The defendant Meng Bingxiang is the actual person in charge of Aobenma Company. In October 2011, he was investigated and detained by the public security organs on suspicion of committing illegal business operations. On July 20, 2012, the public security organs transferred the clue that Aubingma Company did not declare taxes for selling houses from 2009 to 2010 and evaded paying taxes to the tax authorities. On October 15 of the same year, the tax authorities issued a decision on tax administrative processing, limiting Aobenma Company to pay more than 220000 yuan in evaded taxes and late fees within 15 days, and delivering it to Aobenma Company staff the next day. Due to Meng Bingxiang being in a state of personal detention and not being aware of the tax processing decision, Aobenma Company has not fulfilled the tax processing decision. The tax authorities have decided to transfer the clues of the case to the public security organs on November 2. The public security machine filed an investigation into the tax evasion case of Aubenma Company on November 7th. On November 13th, the prosecutor's office filed a public prosecution against Meng Bingxiang for tax evasion. In the retrial, the verdict was changed and Meng Bingxiang was acquitted. (Source: Supreme People's Court)

Lawyer's recommendation: When making administrative actions, tax authorities should follow the principles of legality and procedural justice. After making administrative penalty decisions on individuals and enterprises who evade tax obligations, they should strictly serve them on the administrative counterpart in accordance with legal procedures. The retrial verdict of this case accurately grasps the boundary between crime and non crime in the case of execution linkage. Meng Bingxiang, who failed to pay taxes and late fees in a timely manner due to ignorance of tax processing decisions, was acquitted in accordance with the law. This not only corrected the original judgment error, maintained judicial authority, but also helped to supervise and support the administration of government agencies in accordance with the law, protect the legitimate rights and interests of private entrepreneurs, and promote the construction of a legal business environment.

6. Anhui Built the First Smart "Cloud Tax Hall"

The "Cloud Tax Department" is the first smart "Cloud Tax Department" in Anhui Province, composed of the "Cloud Tax" platform, offline difficult business processing center, and tax dispute mediation center. As of now, the cloud tax business volume has accounted for 90% of the total business volume of the tax service department; The number of people in offline tax service halls has decreased month by month and has now decreased by over 80%. (Source: China Tax News)

Lawyer's recommendation: "Cloud Tax Department" is a new measure taken by the tax department to explore and optimize services. The tax department has built a three-dimensional tax service system that focuses on online taxation, supplemented by self-service taxation, and provides a bottom line for offline taxation. It promotes the optimization and upgrading of the tax business environment and assists in high-quality economic and social development. With the help of the "Cloud Tax Department", taxpayers can handle taxes more conveniently, understand policies more accurately, and handle conflicts more promptly.

Overseas information

1. FinCEN issues a proposed rulemaking notice, extending the deadline for certain companies to submit beneficial ownership information reports

With less than three months until the reporting obligations under the Federal Enterprise Transparency Act come into effect, FinCEN proposes to modify its final initial beneficial ownership information reporting rules to provide 90 days for reporting companies created or registered in 2024 to submit initial reports, rather than 30 days. (Source: fincen. gov)

Lawyer's recommendation: The extension will provide additional time for reporting companies created or registered in 2024 to understand their regulatory obligations under the reporting rules and obtain the necessary information.

2. Reform of the Australian Promoter Penalty Act: Draft for Soliciting Opinions Released

The Australian government is currently in negotiations on a draft legislative solicitation to expand the initiator penalty clause and increase ATO power. (Source: terminellison)

Lawyer's recommendation: This reform aims to strengthen the integrity of the tax system, increase the power of regulatory agencies, improve regulatory frameworks, combat misconduct in the industry, and ensure that regulatory agencies have the power they need to hold all parties accountable.