Published: May 8, 2019
Category: Business/Corporate Matters
By: David Cui
A business may need to be closed for many reasons that may be due to business failure or any other unavoidable circumstances. This article will help you understand different ways to close a company in China.
In 2017, the Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce's published the Guiding Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Reform of Simple Cancellation of Registration of Enterprises (“Guiding Opinions”) which came into effect in March of that year. Under Guiding Opinions, a company can be closed in two ways.
Scope of Application
A company may go through the simple process stipulated in the Guiding Opinions if:
Those who fail to carry out business activities after obtaining the business license (hereinafter referred to as "not opening business");
A limited liability company, a non corporate enterprise legal person, a sole proprietorship enterprise or a partnership enterprise that has not incurred any creditor's rights or debts or has completed the liquidation of the creditor's rights and debts (hereinafter referred to as "no creditor's rights and debts") before applying for cancellation of registration shall be subject to the general cancellation procedure or the simple cancellation procedure at their own discretion.
Exceptions
The "Guiding Opinions" lists eight situations that are not applicable to simple cancellation as follows:
Foreign-invested enterprises that are involved in the implementation of special access control measures stipulated by the state;
Enterprise listed in the abnormal operation or seriously illegal and dishonest behaviors;
Enterprises with their assets frozen, or that have a pledge or chattel mortgage;
Enterprise which is under investigation or administrative coercion, judicial assistance, or administrative punishment;
The unincorporated branch of the enterprise does not cancel its registration;
The enterprise with termination history in the simple cancellation process;
Approval is required before cancellation of registration according to laws, administrative regulations or decisions of the State Council;
Other circumstances not applicable to simple cancellation of registration of enterprises.
Before applying for simple cancellation, the enterprise should confirm whether these eight situations exist, and all investors should sign a letter of commitment, solemnly promise that there are no such eight situations; if the enterprise's commitment is not true, it will be illegal and dishonest, and all investors should bear the corresponding legal consequences and responsibilities, and accept the constraints and joint punishment of relevant administrative law enforcement departments. The registration authority shall conduct a form examination on whether there are exceptions in the application enterprise.
It should be noted that for the enterprises that have been listed in the list of enterprises with abnormal business operation or the list of enterprises with serious violations of the law and dishonesty, if they have been removed according to law when applying to the industrial and commercial registration authority, the registration authority can apply the simple cancellation of registration in accordance with the guidance.
If the people's court orders compulsory liquidation or declares bankruptcy, the relevant enterprise liquidation group or enterprise administrator may apply to the original registration authority for simple cancellation of registration on the strength of the people's court's ruling on the termination of compulsory liquidation procedure or bankruptcy procedure.
Conveniences
According to the current laws and regulations, the procedures of canceling enterprises are complex and time-consuming, which affects the efficiency of the market mechanism to a certain extent. Taking a company as an example, according to the relevant provisions of the company law, before applying for cancellation of registration, a company generally needs to go through a number of procedures, such as establishing a liquidation group, making an announcement in the newspaper, clearing up the creditor's rights and debts, clearing up the company's property, preparing a balance sheet and a list of property, formulating a liquidation plan, distributing the company's property, and making a liquidation report, etc., and submit an application to the registration authority, and the power of attorney of the designated representative or jointly entrusted agent, the resolution (decision) made by the company according to law, the liquidation report, the record certificate of the liquidation group, the newspaper sample of the announcement, the original and copy of the business license and other application documents for cancellation of registration.
Based on the "Presumption of Good Faith", the Guiding Opinions aims to achieve the convenience of the exit of market entities by optimizing the registration process, reducing the number of application documents, and making information public and sharing information.
As for the submission of materials, the Guiding Opinions reduced the resolutions (decisions) made by the company according to law, the record certificate of the liquidation group, the liquidation report and other documents that the enterprise must submit to the registration authority before applying for the general cancellation of registration to a letter of commitment signed by all investors, including, among other things, all investors' decisions on the dissolution and cancellation, and the commitment that the company has organized and completed the liquidation work.
For an enterprise that has not yet started business or has no creditor's rights or debts, when applying for simple cancellation of registration, it is only necessary to submit the application signed (sealed) by the legal representative (investor or executive partner), the power of attorney of the designated representative or jointly entrusted agent, the letter of commitment of all investors and the original and duplicate of the business license.
Moreover, considering the two situations of the people's court's compulsory liquidation and bankruptcy liquidation, the Guiding Opinions make it clear that the enterprises canceled by compulsory liquidation can submit the ruling of the people's court to terminate the compulsory liquidation procedure, and the enterprises canceled through bankruptcy procedure can submit the ruling of the people's court to terminate the bankruptcy procedure, without submitting the letter of commitment of all investors.
In terms of cancellation procedures, the Guiding Opinions unifies the information publicity platform, namely the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Enterprises that have not yet started business or have no creditor's rights and debts to apply for simple cancellation of registration only need to make a 45 day (natural day) simple cancellation announcement on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System free of charge, and upload the letter of commitment of all investors without further announcement in newspapers. Within 30 days (natural days) after the expiration of the announcement period, the company may formally apply to the original registration authority for simple cancellation of registration.
The registration authority shall, within three working days, make a decision not to cancel the registration simply for the enterprises that have been challenged during the announcement period; and shall, within three working days, make a decision to approve the cancellation of registration simply for the enterprises that have not been challenged during the announcement period.
关闭中国公司的不同方式
由于许多原因，一个企业可能需要关闭，这些原因可能是由于企业倒闭或任何其他不可避免的情况。本文将帮助你了解在中国关闭公司的不同方式。
2017年，中国国家工商行政管理总局发布了《关于全面推进企业简单注销登记改革的指导意见》（简称《指导意见》），并于当年3月实施。根据指导意见，一个公司可以通过两种方式关闭。
适用范围
公司有下列情形之一的，可以按照《指导意见》规定的简易程序办理：
对领取营业执照后未开展经营活动(以下称未开业);
申请注销登记前未发生债权债务或已将债权债务清算完结(以下称无债权债务)的有限责任公司、非公司企业法人、个人独资企业、合伙企业,由其自主选择适用一般注销程序或简易注销程序。
除外情形
《指导意见》列明了不适用简易注销的8种情形，即:
涉及国家规定实施准入特别管理措施的外商投资企业;
被列入企业经营异常名录或严重违法失信企业名单的;
存在股权(投资权益)被冻结、出质或动产抵押等情形;
有正在被立案调查或采取行政强制、司法协助、被予以行政处罚等情形的;
企业所属的非法人分支机构未办理注销登记的;
曾被终止简易注销程序的;
法律、行政法规或者国务院决定规定在注销登记前需经批准的;不适用企业简易注销登记的其他情形。
企业在申请简易注销前应当对是否存在这8种情形进行确认，并由全体投资人签署承诺书，郑重承诺不存在这8种情形；如果企业承诺不实，则构成违法失信，全体投资人承担相应的法律后果和责任，并接受相关行政执法部门的约束和联合惩戒。登记机关对申请企业是否存在除外情形进行形式审查。
需要说明的是，对于曾经被列入企业经营异常名录或严重违法失信企业名单的企业，如在向工商登记机关提出申请时已经被依法移出，登记机关可以依照《指导意见》为其办理简易注销登记。
人民法院裁定强制清算或裁定宣告破产的,有关企业清算组、企业管理人可持人民法院终结强制清算程序的裁定或终结破产程序的裁定,向被强制清算人或破产人的原登记机关申请办理简易注销登记。
便利
根据现行法律规定，注销企业程序复杂、耗时较长，一定程度上影响了市场机制效率。以公司为例，根据《公司法》的有关规定，公司在申请注销登记前，一般需要经过成立清算组、在报纸上公告、清理债权债务、清理公司财产、编制资产负债表和财产清单，制定清算方案、分配公司财产、制作清算报告等若干程序，并向登记机关提交申请书、指定代表或者共同委托代理人授权委托书、公司依法作出的决议（决定）、清算报告、清算组备案证明、刊登公告的报纸样张、营业执照正副本等注销登记申请文件。
基于“诚信推定”，《指导意见》通过优化登记流程、减少申请文件、信息公开共享等，实现了市场主体退出的便利化。
在提交材料方面，《指导意见》将企业在申请普通注销登记前须向登记主管机关提交的公司依法作出的决议（决定）、清算组备案证明、清算报告等多份文书材料合并简化为全体投资人签署的包含全体投资人决定企业解散注销、组织并完成了清算工作等内容的全体投资人承诺书。对于未开业或无债权债务的企业，申请简易注销登记时只需要提交法定代表人（投资人或执行事务合伙人）签字（盖章）的申请书、指定代表或者共同委托代理人授权委托书、全体投资人承诺书和营业执照正副本即可。
同时，考虑到人民法院强制清算和破产清算两种情形，《指导意见》明确强制清算终结的企业提交人民法院终结强制清算程序的裁定，破产程序终结的企业提交人民法院终结破产程序的裁定即可，无须提交全体投资人承诺书。
在注销程序方面，《指导意见》统一了信息公示平台，即国家企业信用信息公示系统。拟申请简易注销登记的未开业或无债权债务企业，只需在国家企业信用信息公示系统上免费进行45天（自然日）的简易注销公告，并上传全体投资人承诺书，无须再在报纸上进行公告。公告期满后30天（自然日）内可以正式向原登记机关申请简易注销登记。对于公告期内被提出异议的企业,登记机关应当在3个工作日内依法作出不予简易注销登记的决定;对于公告期内未被提出异议的企业,登记机关应当在3个工作日内依法作出准予简易注销登记的决定。
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