The period for the Beijing-based resident representative offices of foreign enterprises (or the "Representative Offices" for short) to submit their annual reports got underway on March 1, 2024 and will continue until June 30 this year.

According to the Regulations on Registration and Administration of Resident Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprises, the Representative Offices registered in Beijing before December 31, 2023, and those having been relocated to Beijing from elsewhere between January 1 and February 29, 2024 and approved by Beijing Municipal Market Regulation Administration, must fulfill their annual reporting obligations between March 1 and June 30, 2024.

The employees of a Representative Office can log into the "National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (Beijing)" (http://bj.gsxt.gov.cn), select "Filling Corporate Information" and then "Location of Registration Authority" (Beijing), go to "Filling Annual Reports", and follow the instructions on the page to fill in the necessary information. Annual reports include information about the legal existence of the foreign enterprise concerned, the business activities of the Representative Office, and the income and expenditure statement audited by an accounting firm, among others.

In accordance with the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (or the Convention) and the requirements of the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China, the Representative Offices of enterprises from the contracting states of the Convention are no longer required to submit qualification documents certified by Chinese embassies (consulates) abroad. Instead, they may provide the notarized copies from their countries of origin and any additional certification issued by the competent local authorities.

(Source: The Beijing News)