Provisional Regulations on the Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax

Decree No. 714 issued by the Government Secretary on Septem-ber20, 1951.

Article 1 All operators of vehicles and vessels in districts where Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax is imposed shall, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations pay Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax to the respective taxation authorities.

Article 2 Domestic vessels previously subject to the payment of the Tonnage Tax (vessel dues) shall no longer be subject to payment of the Tonnage Tax and shall, without exception, be subject to payment of the Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax. Foreign vessels and Chinese vessels leased by foreign businesses shall, however, continue to be subject to the Tonnage Tax, but not the Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax.

Article 3 Provincial (municipal) People's Governments shall, subject to the verification and approval of the respective administrative regional Government (military and administrative commissions), designate those districts in which the Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax is to be imposed, and shall report the districts designated to the Ministry of Finance of the Central People's Government for the record. Provinces (municipalities) directly under the Central Government shall, prior to the imposition of the tax, report the districts designated to the Ministry of Finance of the Central People's Government for verification and approval.

Article 4 A person using a vehicle or vessel subject to Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax shall apply to the local taxation authorities for recording, paying tax, receiving Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plates and Tax Payment Certificate.

The above-mentioned license plate and Tax Payment Certificate shall be issued by the provincial (municipal) taxation authority.

Article 5 Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax shall be collected on a quarterly basis (in January, April, July and October). Alternatively, to facilitate the payment of tax by taxpayers, the local taxation authorities may collect an aggregate amount of tax calculated on a biannual or annual basis.

Article 6 The following classes of vehicles and vessels shall be exempt from payment of Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax:

A. vehicles and vessels operated by suburban farmers for their own use;

B. fishing vessels with a deadweight capacity not exceeding one ton;

C. vehicles and vessels owned and operated by military and government units, public and private schools and social organizations for their own use;

D. pontoons and floating docks used exclusively for passengers , for the loading and unloading of cargo and the storage of goods;

E. vehicles and vessels certified by the respective local trans port administration offices and reported to the taxation authorities for appraisal and approval that they are no longer in use or have been demolished;

F. fire trucks, water sprinkler vehicles, ambulance vehicles, and ambulance vessels waste removal vehicles and waste removal vessels and ferries.

In order to obtain a tax-exempt license plate, operators of vehicles and vessels exempt from tax and listed in classes 1,2, 3 and 6 must register with the local taxation authorities and pay a fee to cover the cost of manufacturing the license plate.

Article 7 The Amounts of the Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax are as follows:

Type	Category	Unit of accounting for taxation	Quarterly tax amount due	Comments
Motorized vehicle	Passenger vehicles Delivery vehicles motorcycles	Per vehicle Per ton-net load capacity Per motorcycle Per motor tricycle	15-80 yuan 4-15 yuan 5-15 yuan 8-20 yuan
Non-motorized vehicles	Animal drawn Manually drawn Bicycles	Per vehicle Per vehicle Per vehicle	1-8 yuan 0.3-6 yuan 0.5-1 yuan	Includes pedicabs, rickshaws and other manually drawn vehicels

 

Article 8 The Amount of Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax is as follows:

 

Type	Standard tax calculation	Each season amount of tax	Comments
Motorized ships	Under 50 tons 51 to 150 tons 151 to 300 tons 301 to 500 tons 501 to 1000 tons 1001 to 1500 tons 1501 to 2000 tons 2001 to 3000 tons over 3001 tons	0.30 yuan/ton 0.35 yuan/ton 0.40 yuan/ton 0.45 yuan/ton 0.55 yuan/ton 0.65 yuan/ton 0.80 yuan/ton 0.95 yuan/ton 1.10 yuan/ton	Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage Levy is calculated according to dead weight tonnage
Non-motorized vessels	Under 10 tons 11 to 50 tons 51 to 150 tons 151 to 300 tons over 301 tons	0.15 yuan/ton 0.20 yuan/ton 0.25 yuan/ton 0.30 yuan/ton 0.35 yuan/ton	Levy is calculated according to carrying capacity Levy is calculated according to carrying capacity Levy is calculated according to carrying capacity Levy is calculated according to carrying capacity Levy is calculated according to carrying capacity

Article 9 Except where Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax is imposed on vessels according to tonnage as stipulated in the Regulations, the provincial (municipal) People's Government shall, within the range stipulated in the above provisions and according to existing local conditions, determine the amounts of tax applicable to vehicles of different classes, deadweight capacities and uses, and shall report their decisions to the People's Governments (military and administrative commissions) of the greater administrative regions for examination, approval and implementation and to the Ministry of Finance of the Central People's Government for the record. Provinces (municipalities) directly under the Central Government shall report their decisions to the Ministry of Finance of the Central People's Government for examination and approval and for the record.

Article 10 Where vehicles and vessels for which the tax due has been paid and for which license plates have been obtained are transferred to or operated in another tax district, they shall not be subject to a second tax payment or subject to additional taxes because of differences in taxation between the two districts, for the duration of the validity of the license.

Article 11 Where vehicles and vessels which are registered in districts where no Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax is imposed but frequently operated in districts where Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax is imposed, the tax must be paid to the city taxation authorities therein. Such vehicles and vessels. which are not frequently operated in districts where the Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax is imposed shall be exempt from the tax after obtaining a certificate of tax exemption from the respective People's Government at or above the local township (or village) level.

Article 12 Vehicle and vessel license plates may not be sold, given as gifts, loaned or used beyond their expiry date. Where ownership of vehicles and vessels is transferred, the license plates may be used until the expiry date of the plates; no additional tax shall be paid and no tax will be refunded during such a period.

Article 13 Where there is damage to or loss of vehicle and vessel license plates, a report shall be filed with the office that originally issued the plates, for replacement plates; no additional tax shall be paid during the period of validity of the original license plates.

Article 14 Vehicle and vessel license plates shall, in accordance with these Regulations, be placed in a conspicuous place on the vehicle or vessel to facilitate identification.

Article 15 Penalties for violation of the provisions of these Regulations are as follows:

A. persons who fail to report, register, pay tax and obtain license plates, shall, in addition to the payment of tax within a time limit, be subject to a maximum fine of three times the amount of tax due;

B. persons who violate any one of the provisions of Article 12, 13 or 14 of these Regulations shall be subject to a fine not exceeding 10 yuan;

C. persons who fail to pay tax within the prescribed time period shall 9 in addition to the payment of the tax due within a new time limit, be subject to a late payment fine of 1% of the amount of tax due for each day of delayed payment.

Article 16 Measures for the investigation and collection of Vehicle and Vessel Usage License Plate Tax shall be formulated by the provincial (municipal) taxation authorities and submitted for verification, approval and implementation to the provincial (municipal) People's Government, and level by level to the State Administration of Taxation, the Ministry of Finance and the Central People's Government for their record.

Article 17 After these Regulations are issued, the unit method of Usage License Plate Tax used by any locality, without exception, is annulled.

Article 18 These Regulations come into effect on the date of issue.