Register foreign Representative Office ( "RO" ) in China

[b]Introduction of Representative Offices ("ROs")[/b]-mcBWkb/U'Y

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pv;u Representative Offices (ROs) are established by foreign companies to engage in business liaison, product promotion, market research, exchange of technology and other permitted activities in China.vul$]E8]K7kd&[e

7Y}c!^t2A{ ROs are not allowed to directly engage in operational activities. The AIC usually specifies in the Business Scope, as shown in the Business License of ROs, that a RO should not engage in direct operational activities. Therefore, ROs are not a form of foreign investment in China. However, some ROs are engaged in operations in a lawful or tacitly permitted way and constitute one of the direct foreign Investment forms in China.
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The tacitly permitted way is applicable to those industries that do not require special material conditions or environment for their operations. For example, a consulting business does not need manufacturing equipment and raw materials. It only needs offices, employees and office articles. These physical conditions are necessary for other ROs as well. In practice, many ROs that are established by foreign consulting companies directly engage in consulting activities. Chinese government does not prohibit them in practice and this is reflected by the fact that the tax authorities collect business tax from these Representative Offices (RO).@/F8r&xnkNl$E
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The lawful operational activities engaged in by Representative Offices (RO) refer to those business activities permitted pursuant to the bilateral treaties between China and other countries. In the event that a bilateral treaty provides that certain types of Representative Offices (RO) are permitted to engage in operational activities, these bilateral treaties should prevail over Chinese domestic law. For example, according to the Sino-US Civil Aviation Transportation Agreement, ROs established by American civil airlines may sell civil air transportation services provided by American civil airlines, as well as engage in administration, inquiry and other business activities.7o,q2sd[
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It should be noted that up to now, only Representative Offices (RO) of foreign airlines are allowed to engage in direct operational activities in China under bilateral treaties. No other ROs of foreign companies are so permitted.r*geg"ki

"H%k9F8`t Representative Offices (RO) are important means by which foreign companies conduct business liaisons or engage in business and operational activities in China. In this respect, foreign companies refers all companies incorporated outside China, and those incorporated in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.%Epw9M:Z;sw

UC.}z"W)V A Representative Office may only engage in non-profit making activities, It can carry out the following functions: [table=98%][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]01[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Conduct research and survey for its parent enterprise in the local market; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]02[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Liaise with local and foreign contacts in China on behalf of the parent enterprise; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]03[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Conduct research and provide data and promotional materials to potential clients or trading partners; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]04[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Act as a coordinator for the parent enterprise's activities in China; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]05[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Make travel arrangements for parent enterprise representatives and potential Chinese clients; [/td][/tr][/table]
7v1bA+{/^q+r!P1tL Under no circumstances may a Representative Office do the following: [table=98%][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]01[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Directly engaged in any business for profit; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]02[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Sign contracts or deals on behalf of the parent enterprise; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]03[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Represent any firm other than its parent enterprise; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]04[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Collect money or issue invoice within China for services or products; [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]05[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Buy property or import production equipment.[/td][/tr][/table]
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[b]Features of a Representative Office[/b]
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1.1 Legal Status of a Representative Office
3b$G:\M)jV s The Representative Office is a non-legal entity operating representing its parent company. A representative office is not allowed to engage itself in business activities, issue invoices on its own, remitting outward, signing sales or purchase contracts, or receiving income from services performed but may act as a liaison and promotion office for its parent company.%g@]se
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1.2. Name
,hC p6Ed} The name of the Representative office should be in the form of "Name of the Enterprise + Name of the City + Representative Office (or Office)".^4g-is
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1.3. Business Address;X2_1\/@9AU1p
At the beginning of setting up the Representative Office, it is advised to decide the place and building where office is going to be located first, as the address of the proposed office will have to be mentioned in the application for approval. !j1| [(\@:m)Rj.z
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Note the business address must be located in commercial buildings approved by the government.

Documents required for application

You are responsible for the preparation of the following information and documents:
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&CXhSo8E$Y&Dm/i (1) A set of incorporation documents of the applicant company, including Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate, if any; The whole set of incorporation documents together with the bankers' reference letter shall be legalised by Chinese Embassy or Consulate General in the country where the parent company is incorporated;*H pr,yg(u
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(2) Original copy of bankers' reference letter issued in the name of the applicant company and addressed to Shanghai Industry and Commerce Administrative Bureau;
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_2T%li v (3) 2 copies of original Tenancy Agreement (lease agreement) of the office premise to be used by the Representative Office; the lease term should not be less than 12 months; the tenancy agreement should be registered with Shanghai House Management Bureau;uC#I\%i&c{v

+V8{,Z1S e%MM+wv (4) Photocopy of the Certificate of Property Owner evidencing the landlord owning the property;
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(5) A brief summary of the operations and business of the applicant company, such as the principal business activities, registered address, contact phone number, name of the applicant company; the address and contact number of the managing director of the applicant company;
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,^2OC^1MEz (6) The resume, 8 pictures, passport copy, contact number of the Chief Representative and the address where the Chief Representative will be staying while she/he is China;
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X/A,K;l (7) If there is(are) Representatives to be stationed in China in addition to the Chief Representative, the resume, 2 pictures, passport copy, contact number of the Representative and the address where the Representative will be staying while she/he is China.WD!w;`%x;o
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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][b]Registration and Post-registration Procedures[/b][/font]o$o+t0WN?Qm.{9w
A. Pre-registration
-?dfD)xNv Before commencement of registration procedures stated in Section B and C stated below, all the documents and information listed above must be ready.VuJ*Roh2E Vtfj

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*T9asE(P;d w The first step is to apply for registration with the Administration for Industry and Commerce in Shanghai. Once the application is approval and Business Registration Licence issued, the post-registration procedures as listed in Section C then need to be performed.&V~yY2y`$zt

:A.@3M6t p]&R C. Post establishment Registration Procedures#\]:T@nS"pM
Upon the issuance of the Registration Certificate, we will then perform the post-establishment registration procedures, including:
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b8EM4S'P [table=98%][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]01[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Apply for the Representative Office 's stamp(Office Seal)[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]02[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Apply for the Enterprice Code License[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]03[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Register in Shanghai Statistical Bureau[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]04[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Arrange the bank account certificate and Certificate of Foreign Exchange[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]05[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Register in Shanghai Taxes Bureau[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]06[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Obtain Health Certificate for the Chief Representative[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]07[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Application for the Working Permit for the Chief Representative[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]08[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Application for the Residence permit for Chief Representative[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,4%][i][b]09[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,96%]Register in Shanghai Custom[/td][/tr][/table]

Fee for Shanghai Representative Offices Registration[FYI]

(1) The costs for application for the registration of a Representative Office in Shanghai, in particulars including the services listed in "Registration Procedures of Representative Offices" is USD$1200. A detailed breakdown is provided below:
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M Y6B.b)@)Zq [table=98%][tr][td=1,1,6%][b][color=#000000]No.[/color][/b][/td][td=1,1,64%][color=#000000][b]Steps[/b][/color][/td][td=1,1,30%][b][color=#00000]Costs (USD)[/color][/b][/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]01[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Preparation of registration application documents[/td][td=1,1,30%]100[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]02[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Application for Business Registration Licence[/td][td=1,1,30%]300[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]03[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Apply for the Representative Office 's stamp(Office Seal)[/td][td=1,1,30%]100[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]04[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Apply for the Enterprice Code License[/td][td=1,1,30%]100[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]05[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Register in Shanghai Statistical Bureau[/td][td=1,1,30%]50[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]06[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Arrange the bank account certificate and Certificate of Foreign Exchange[/td][td=1,1,30%]100[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]07[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Register in Shanghai Taxes Bureau[/td][td=1,1,30%]100[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]08[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Obtain Health Certificate for the Chief Representative[/td][td=1,1,30%]100[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]09[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Application for the Working Permit for the Chief Representative[/td][td=1,1,30%]50[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]10[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Application for the Residence permit for Chief Representative[/td][td=1,1,30%]150[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]11[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Register in Shanghai Custom[/td][td=1,1,30%]50[/td][/tr][/table]

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wx*l (2) The service fees stated in Section 1 above also do not cover any official registration filing fees which are estimated to be around 3280RMB(~USD$410). The official registration filing fees will be billed separately with supporting official receipt issued by the Chinese Government.
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u0T,g1KT$P:U g5A (3) The service fees stated in Section 1 also do not cover document legalisation fee to be charged by the Chinese Embassy in the country where the parent company is registered. You are responsible for arranging the legalisation of the registration/incorporation documents of the parent company applying to register the Representative Office.7i cB4gh.y|p`L
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[b]FYI only, please check with your service company in detail.[/b]

Time Frame for Shanghai Representative Offices Registration

It normally takes 30 working days from receiving instructions and full particulars and necessary documents form the applicant to issue the Approval Certificate. Thereafter, the Post-establishment registration procedures take about 48 working days.
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N7T#m!r&FAr [table=98%][tr][td=1,1,6%][b][color=#000000]No.[/color][/b][/td][td=1,1,64%][b][color=#000000]Steps[/color][/b][/td][td=1,1,30%][b][color=#000000]Time (Working Days)[/color][/b][/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]01[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Preparation of registration application documents[/td][td=1,1,30%]30[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]02[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Application for Business Registration Licence[/td][td=1,1,30%]12[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]03[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Apply for the Representative Office 's stamp(Office Seal)[/td][td=1,1,30%]1[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]04[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Apply for the Enterprice Code License[/td][td=1,1,30%]3[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]05[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Register in Shanghai Statistical Bureau[/td][td=1,1,30%]1[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]06[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Arrange the bank account certificate and Certificate of Foreign Exchange[/td][td=1,1,30%]5[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]07[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Register in Shanghai Taxes Bureau[/td][td=1,1,30%]10[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]08[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Obtain Health Certificate for the Chief Representative[/td][td=1,1,30%]4[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]09[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Application for the Working Permit for the Chief Representative[/td][td=1,1,30%]5[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]10[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Application for the Residence permit for Chief Representative[/td][td=1,1,30%]5[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]11[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,64%]Register in Shanghai Custom[/td][td=1,1,30%]1[/td][/tr][/table]

Maintenance of Representative Office in Shanghai

Once the Representative Office is officially registered, it is required to maintain properly accounting records in accordance with accounting standards in China and report taxes in both monthly and quarterly basis. The details of our services are set out below and our fee schedule is set out in
gKoDZ-V NuH "Form A"P4rvl:lV,qv_
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(1) Update the books in accordance with the Chinese Accounting Standards;"]hI#LaT
(2) Prepare monthly financial statements for tax filing purpose;
ee@Fj (3) File monthly Business Tax Return and Individual Income Tax Return; O.?fEaBrF1QD
(4) File Corporate Income Tax Return
&@ oT9Hr2n (5) Audit of Financial Statements
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[b]Detailed Breakdown of Fees[/b] [ s#{!l0D@
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The figures shown in the table below are estimations and actually costs will be discussed after review of the actual operation of the representative office
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[table=98%][tr][td=1,1,6%][b][color=black]No.[/color][/b][/td][td=1,1,38%][b][color=black]Services[/color][/b][/td][td=1,1,12%][b][color=black]Period[/color][/b][/td][td=1,1,20%][b][color=black]Costs (USD)[/color][/b][/td][td=1,1,24%][b][color=black]Total (USD)[/color][/b][/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]01[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,38%]Update the books of accounts [/td][td=1,1,12%]Monthly[/td][td=1,5,20%]150USD/Month[/td][td=1,5,24%]150USD/Month[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]02[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,38%]Business Tax Filing [/td][td=1,1,12%]Quarterly[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]03[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,38%]Individual Income Tax Filing [/td][td=1,1,12%]Monthly[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]04[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,38%]Corporate Income Tax Filing [/td][td=1,1,12%]Quarterly [/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,6%][i][b]05[/b][/i][/td][td=1,1,38%]Audit of Financial Statements [/td][td=1,1,12%]Annually[/td][/tr][/table]

useful information!!!!!!!

very useful informationC _%p5XO
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(Ol4fNs:MF Richard, do you yourself have experience in helping foreign companies set up RO in China?

no, we use the service company.

HI Richard,I am a new comer, so you work for FOB forum or work in a company?

I always see foreigner is asking:+h/qU!tu6v

Q~$mCh "We want to open RO in china so please let us information how we can open and register our firm in china. "