• Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Amendment of the Land Management Law of the People's Republic of China (“the Decision”)

The Decision was passed at the 12^th conference on 26^th August of 2019 by the 13^th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and will be implemented from 1^st January of 2020. The Decision has the following major amendments on the <Land Management Law>:

1. Remove the obstacle to the market for the rural collective managing construction land; clarify the market entering rules of the collective managing construction land and stipulate that the usufruct of collective managing construction land may be further transferred.

2. Normalize the procedure of land expropriation. More complete and detailed regulations were added in respect of the land expropriation condition, procedure and compensation.

3. Complete the management system of housing site. The right of examination and approval is devolved to township People’s governments. The exiting mechanism of housing site with voluntary compensation is officially acknowledged. 

4. Land supervision system is added into “Land Management Law”. Organization authorized by the State Department shall supervise the land usage and management of the municipal people’s governments that are defined by provincial people’s governments and the State Department.

The new modified land management law completes the relevant issues of land expropriation, abolishes the dual system that forbids the collective construction land to enter into market for transferring directly for years. It removes the institutional obstacles for the urban-rural integration development. The biggest bright spot of the amendment of the “Land Management Law” this time is to allow the collective managing construction land entering into market.

• Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Amendment of the Drug Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (“the Decision”)

The Decision was passed at the 12^th conference on 26^th August of 2019 by the 13^th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and will be implemented from 1^st December of 2019. The Decision has the following major amendments on the <Drugs Administration Law>:

1. define the permit holder system for drugs administration in respect of drugs market launching. The permit holder is responsible for the safety, effectiveness and quality controllability of the drugs during the development and production, as well as the whole sales transferring process.    

2. Except vaccines, blood products, narcotic drugs, psychotropic drugs, toxic drugs for medical use, radioactive drugs and pharmaceutical-grade chemicals usable in making illicit drugs such special managed drugs defined by the state, drugs market permit holder and drugs operation enterprise may sell drugs through network.

3. Complete drugs traceability system. It is stipulated that market permit holder, enterprises engaged in production and marketing and medical institutions should establish and implement drugs traceability system. They shall build up the traceability system by themselves respectively, providing the data is able to be interconnected.  

4. Further improve the relevant exam and approval system to increase the exam and approval efficiency. 

5. The right of exam and approval for the medicine import of small quantity for urgent clinical needs is devolved to provincial government.

The new Drugs Administrative Law takes a pragmatic approach according to the current situation but also has consideration for future possibilities. Setting drugs as base point, it upgrades the whole chain and system to give the full power of implementing the four “most” of new Drugs Administrative Law: the most rigorous standard, the strictest supervision, the sternest punishment and the most serious accountability, which further strengthen the legal system that covers the whole chain of drugs development, production, marketing and using.

• < Resource Tax Law of the People's Republic of China >  (“Resource Tax Law”)

The Resource Tax Law has been passed on 26th August of 2019 and will be implemented from 1st September of 2020. The “Provisional Regulations on Resource Tax” applied since 25^th December of 1993 will be abolished at the same time.

The Resource Tax Law brings the following three major changes:

1) it simplifies the collection period. The new law stipulates that tax payer can choose to declare and hand in tax per month or per quarter. The declaring period is changed from 10 days to 15 days to be in same step with other taxes. It will remarkably reduce the declaring frequency of tax payers and ease the taxation burden substantially.

2) It standardizes tax items and rates. It would help simplify tax declaration. The new Resource Tax Law standardizes the tax items in positive sequence list and defines the tax rates by category, This provides a institutional foundation for simplifying tax declaration.

3) It strengthens the coordination among the departments. That would be in favour of tax payers’ right and interest protection. The new Resource Tax Law clearly stipulats that taxation organs and natural resources and other relevant units should establish the supporting mechanism, as good coordination will reduce disputes of tax collection and pay and will protect tax payers’ legal right better.

Based on the actual implementing situation of the Provisional Regulations on Resource Tax, to clarify the legal nature of the taxation and providing the current taxation frame and tax rates will be remained the same in general, the legislation this time is an upgrade of the Provisional Regulations on Resource Tax into formal law. Setting up the Resource Tax Law is meaningful to improve intensive exploitation and use of resources, to push the development of green resources and to form the guiding role of the taxation.

• A Little Knowledge About Labor Law – Can Employee Reject the Business Trip Arrangement From The Employer?

One nature of labor relationship is affiliation. When employee provides his labor to employer, he is supposed to obey employer’s instructions. Unless there is a special case or else agreement in the relevant labor contract, otherwise employee should follow business trip arrangement from the employer.

PW & Partner’s advice: to avoid possible legal risk, corporation may proceed the following:

(1)  to stipulate clearly in <Employee Manual> that it will be a serious violation of company’s rules and regulations if employee reject reasonable arrangement of a business trip;

(2)  to stipulate clearly in <Labor Contract> that employee is willing to undertake reasonable business trip arranged by the employer.