Environmental Protection Tax Law (Draft)

Environmental Protection Tax Law (Draft)

The 22nd Session of the 12th NPC Standing Committee conducted an initial deliberation of the "Environmental Protection Tax Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft)". The "People's Republic of China Environmental Protection Tax Law" is hereby released on the website of the National People's Congress, and the public may directly login to the National People's Congress website to submit comments, and may also send comments by mail to the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ((www.npc.gov.cn)）and provide comments; and may also mail comments to the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, (1 West Qianmen Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing 100805) [in Chinese: 北京市西城区前门西大街1号，邮编：100805. Indicate that it is a comment on the Environment Protection Tax Law Draft on the envelope). The period for comments concludes on: October 5, 2016.

Table of Contents

Environmental Protection Tax Law (Draft)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Chapter II: Taxation Basis and Tax Rate Payable

Chapter III: Tax Relief

Chapter IV: Taxation Management

Chapter V: Supplementary Provisions

Environmental Tax Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: This Law is formulated in order to protect and improve the environment, to reduce pollutant emission, and to promote the construction of ecological civilization.
Article 2: Within the territory of the People's Republic of China and other waters under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, enterprises, public institutions, and other production operators who directly discharge taxable pollutants into the environment are taxpayers of the environmental protection tax, and shall pay environmental protection taxes in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
Article 3: "Taxable pollutants" as used in this Law refer to atmospheric pollutants, water pollutants, solid waste and noise.
Article 4: Where enterprises, public institutions, and other producers or operators discharge taxable pollutants into centralized sewage treatment or domestic waste treatment sites, and pay treatment fees, they are exempt from the environmental protection taxes for relevant pollutants.
Where enterprises, public institutions, and other producers or operators store of dispose of solid wastes in facilities or sites that comply with national or local environmental protection standards, they are exempt from the environmental protection taxes for solid wastes.
Article 5: Where urban sewage centralized treatment or domestic waste centralized treatment sites that have been established in accordance with law discharge taxable pollutants into the environment, exceeding nationally- or locally-stipulated emission standards, they shall pay environmental protection taxes.
Where enterprises, public institutions, and other producers or operators store or dispose of solid wastes, not complying with national or local environmental protection standards, they shall pay environmental protection taxes.
Article 6: The items and rates of the environmental tax are to be executed according to the "Environmental Tax Items and Rates Table" appended to this Law.
After taking into full account the carrying capacity of the environment, the current status of pollution emission, the goal and the requirement of economic, social, and ecological development in their respective jurisdictions, the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and directly-governed municipalities may elevate the applicable tax rates of taxable pollutants above the tax rate standards stipulated by the "Environmental Protection Tax Items and Rates Table", report to the standing committees of the people's congresses at the same-level for decision, and file to the NPC Standing Committee and the State Council for recording.

Chapter II: Taxation Basis and Tax Rate Payable

Article 7: The taxation bases of taxable pollutants are determined according to the following methods:

(1) [Those of] taxable atmospheric pollutants are determined by the pollution equivalent quantity converted from the amount of pollutant emission;
(2) [Those of] taxable water pollutants are determined by the pollution equivalent quantity converted from the amount of pollutant emission;
(3) [Those of] taxable solid waste are determined by the amount of solid waste discharge;
(4) [Those of] taxable noise are determined by the number of decibels exceeding the standards stipulated by the State.
Article 8: The pollution equivalent quantity of atmospheric and water pollutants are calculated by dividing the emission amount of each pollutant by the specific pollution equivalent value of said pollutant. The specific pollution equivalent value of each taxable atmospheric and water pollutant is determined in accordance with the "Taxable Pollutants and Equivalent Values Table" appended to this Law.
Article 9: The taxable atmospheric pollutants discharged from each outlet or not from an outlet are ranked in decreasing order of their pollution equivalent numbers, and environmental protection taxes are levied on the first three pollutants.
The taxable water pollutants from each outlet, divided into heavy metals and other pollutants, are ranking in decreasing order of their pollution equivalent numbers, where environmental protection taxes are levies on the first five heavy metals pollutants and against the first three other pollutants.
The people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and directly-governed municipalities may, based on the special need for pollutant discharge reduction in their respective jurisdictions, increase the number of types of taxable pollutants discharged from the same outlet on which environmental protection taxes are levied, report to the standing committees of the people's congresses at the same level for decisions, and report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council for recording.
Article 10: The discharge amount of taxable atmospheric pollutants, water pollutants, and solid waste, and the number of decibels of noise are calculated according to the following methods and order:
(1) Where taxpayers install and use pollutant automatic monitoring instruments that comply with relevant State provisions and monitoring standards, [the aforementioned items] are calculated according to the automatic monitoring data of pollutants;
(2) Where taxpayers have not installed or used pollutant automatic monitoring instruments, [the aforementioned items] calculated according to the monitoring data issued by monitoring agencies that comply with relevant State provisions and monitoring standards;
(3) Where the conditions for monitoring are lacking due to the wide variety of pollutants discharged or for other reasons, [the aforementioned items] are calculated according to the pollution discharge coefficients or the material balance methods stipulated by the competent department for environmental protection under the State Council;
(4) Where [the aforementioned items] cannot be calculated in accordance with the methods set forth in items 1 to 3 of this Article, they are determined and calculated in accordance with the sampling measurement methods stipulated by the environmental protection departments of the local people's governments at or above the sub-districted municipal level.
Article 11: The rates payable of environmental taxes are calculated according to the following methods:
(1) The rates payable on taxable atmospheric pollutants are equal to the pollution equivalent quantity multiplied by the specific rates applied;
(2) The rates payable on taxable water pollutants are equal to the pollution equivalent quantity multiplied by the specific rates applied;
(3) The rates payable on taxable solid waste equal to the discharge amount of solid waste multiplied by the specific rates applied;
(4) The rates payable on taxable noise are the specific applicable rates that correspond to the number of decibels exceeding the standards stipulated by the State.

Chapter III: Tax Relief

Article 12: The following circumstances are exempted from environmental protection taxes:
(1) Taxable pollutants discharged by agricultural production (excluding large scale farming);
(2) Taxable pollutants discharged by mobile pollution sources such as motor vehicles, railway locomotives, off-road mobile machinery, ships, and aircrafts;
(3) Taxable pollutants discharged into the environment by urban sewage centralized treatment and domestic waste centralized treatment sites that have been established in accordance with law, not exceeding nationally- or locally-stipulated emission standards;
(4) Solid waste utilized by taxpayers in a multipurpose manner, complying with national or local environmental protection standards;
(5) Other circumstances where the State Council approves tax exemptions.
The State Council is to file the provisions on tax exemptions under aforementioned item 5 to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for record keeping.
Article 13: Where taxpayers discharge taxable atmospheric pollutants and water pollutants at a concentration less than 50% of nationally- or locally-stipulated pollutant discharge standards, environment taxes are levied at half the rate.

Chapter IV: Taxation Management

Article 14: Environmental taxes are collected and managed by taxation authorities in accordance with the "Taxation Collection and Management Law of the People's Republic of China" and relevant provisions of this Law.
In accordance with the provisions of this Law, and of relevant laws and regulations on environmental protection, the competent departments for environmental protection are responsible for managing the monitoring of pollutants.
Local people's governments at or above the county level shall establish working mechanisms of coordinating and distributing responsibilities among taxation authorities, the competent departments for environmental protection, and other relevant units, strengthen the management of environmental protection tax collection, and ensure that tax payments are turned into the Treasury in time and in full.
Article 15: The competent departments for environmental protection and taxation authorities shall establish platforms and mechanisms for sharing tax-related information.
The competent departments for environmental protection shall, at regular intervals, transfer information on pollutant discharging institutions related to environmental protection such as their pollutant discharge licenses, pollutant discharge data, and situations of violating environmental laws and being subject to administrative penalties to taxation authorities.
Taxation authorities shall transfer, at regular intervals, taxpayers' information related to environmental protection taxes such as their tax declarations, paid taxes, tax reductions, owed taxes, and risk concerns to the competent departments for environmental protection.
Article 16: The obligation to pay taxes begins on the day the taxpayer discharges taxable pollutants.
Article 17: Taxpayers should declare and pay environmental protection taxes to the taxation authorities for the areas where taxable pollutants have been discharged.
Article 18: Environmental protection taxes are calculated on a monthly basis, to be declared and paid on a quarterly basis. Where they cannot be periodically calculated and paid, single incident declaration and payment may be made.
Article 19: Taxpayers shall make tax payment declarations and pay taxes to taxation authorities within 15 days of tax payment due date.
Taxpayers shall make tax payment declarations truthfully and in accordance with law, and are responsible for the veracity and completeness of the declarations.
Article 20: Taxation authorities shall compare the data of taxpayers' tax declarations with the relevant data transferred by the competent departments for environmental protection.
税务机关发现纳税人的纳税申报数据资料异常或者纳税人未按照规定期限办理纳税申报、有逃避纳税义务行为的，可以提请环境保护主管部门进行复核，环境保护主管部门应当自收到税务机关的数据资料之日起15日内向税务机关出具复核意见。 The taxation authorities shall adjust the taxpayer's tax amount payable in accordance with the data as reviewed by the competent departments for environmental protection.
Article 21: Where the amount of pollutant discharge is calculated in accordance with Article 10, Item 4 of this Law, the taxation authorities are to work jointly with competent departments for environmental protection to determine the type and amount of pollutant discharge, and the tax rate payable.
Article 22: For taxpayers who engage in oceanographic projects and who discharge taxable atmospheric pollutants, water pollutants, or solid waste into waters under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, the specific measures on the declaration and payment of environmental protection taxes are formulated by the competent department for taxation under the State Council in consultation with the competent department for ocean under the State Council.
Article 23: Where taxpayers, taxation authorities and competent departments for environmental protection, and their employees violate the provisions of this Law, legal responsibilities are to be pursued in accordance with the provisions of the Taxation Collection and Management Law of the People's Republic of China, the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, and other relevant laws and regulations.

Chapter V: Supplementary Provisions

Article 24: The language below has the following meanings in this law:
(1) "Pollution equivalent" refers the comprehensive index or unit of measurement for measuring the pollution of the environment by different pollutants, on the basis of the degree of harm caused to the environment by those pollutants or by the pollution discharge activities, and the technological economics of their treatment. Different pollutants that have the same pollution equivalent in the same medium have approximately the same polluting strength.
(2) "Pollutant discharge coefficient" refers to the statistical average of the amount of pollutant that should be discharged for manufacturing per unit product, under normal technical, economical, and management conditions.
（三）物料衡算，是指根据物质质量守恒原理对生产过程中使用的原料、生产的产品和产生的废物等进行测算的一种方法，原料消耗量为产品量与物料损失量之和。
Article 25: 各级人民政府应当鼓励纳税人加大环境保护建设投入，对纳税人用于污染物自动监控仪器的投资予以资金和政策支持。
Article 26: As of the date when this Law takes effect, environmental protect taxes are levied in accordance with the provisions of this Law, and pollution emission fees are no longer collected.
Article 27: This Law takes effect on xx-xx-xxxx.

Attachment 1:

Environmental Tax Items and Rates Table

噪声征税说明：
1.一个单位边界上有多处噪声超标，根据最高一处超标声级 计算应纳税额；当沿边界长度超过100米有两处以上噪声超标，按照两个单位计算应纳税额。
2. Where one institution has different operating locations, the tax rate payable shall be calculated separately, and collected together.
3. Where the environmental noise level is above standard both at day-time and night-time, the tax rate payable is calculated separately for day-time and night-time, and collected in total.
4. Where a sound source is above standard on less than 15 days within a month, the tax rate payable is calculated with a reduction by half.
5. At night-time, where there are frequent outbursts or occasional outbursts of noise above standard at the border of industrial areas, the tax rate payable is calculated based on either the equivalent continuous sound level, or the peak sound level, whichever is higher above standard.

Attachment 2：

Taxable Pollutants and Equivalent Values Table

I. Pollution Equivalent Values for Category I Water Pollutants

II. Pollution Equivalent Values for Category II Water Pollutants