(Promulgated by the Administrative Council of the Central People's Government on December 19, 1950)
Article 1.
Any person who slaughters pigs, sheep, cattle and similar livestock shall be subject to the provisions of these Regulations and shall pay slaughter tax.
Article 2.
Every person who raises and slaughters livestock for his own consumption shall be exempt from the payment of slaughter tax; however, the portion sold, if any, shall be subject to tax.
Article 3.
Draught animals, transport animals, breeding stock, milking stock, pregnant animals and young livestock shall be protected. The various provincial (municipal) governments shall, of their own accord, formulate measures for the protection and the slaughter of animals consistent with the economic characteristics and the living habits of the people of the various localities.
Article 4.
Slaughter tax shall be imposed on the basis of a value derived from the actual weight of the animal after slaughter. The rate of tax shall be 10%. Where the tax cannot be imposed in a locality on the basis of actual weight, standard weights shall be specified for each kind of animal in respect of the value on which the tax shall be imposed.
Article 5.
The prices of meat in respect of the payment of slaughter tax shall be investigated and announced by the local tax authorities on a daily or periodical basis.
Article 6.
Slaughter tax shall be collected by the tax authorities. In localities which are relatively distant from the tax authorities, the people's government of the district or township (village) or cooperatives shall be entrusted with the collection of the tax. However, the contract method of tax collection shall not be adopted. A handling fee of 3% or less of the amount collected shall be paid to the above-mentioned tax collection agents.
Article 7.
Any person who slaughters livestock shall report to the tax authorities or the tax collection agents for examination of the slaughtered livestock and payment of tax. The sale of meat is permitted only following the issue of a certificate indicating the full payment of tax and the stamping of the meat after inspection. The sale of meat shall be strictly prohibited when considered harmful to the public health; in such circumstances no tax payment is required.
Article 8.
Slaughter houses shall gradually be established in the majority of the cities to protect the public health and facilitate the investigation and imposition of tax; measures for the administration of the slaughter houses shall be formulated by the local tax authorities together with the industry and commerce administration and the public health authorities and implemented upon examination and approval by the local people's government at the same administrative level.
Article 9.
Any person who engages exclusively in the slaughter business or in other businesses concurrently with the slaughter business shall, prior to the commencement of the slaughter business, register with the industry and commerce administration and the tax authorities; similar procedures to cancel such registration must be undertaken upon the termination of the business.
Article 10.
The following activities shall be deemed to be in violation of these Regulations and laws and the penalties shall be as follows:
(1) Any person who fails to register in accordance with these Regulations shall be liable to a fine of 300,000 Renminbi or less.
(2) Any person who slaughters livestock and sells or transports such meat without authorization shall, in addition to the tax payable, be liable to a fine not exceeding three times the amount of tax due.
(3) Cases involving persons who counterfeit seals used for certifying the payment of tax or who violate prohibitions against the slaughter of livestock shall, where the circumstances are serious, be submitted to the people's courts for disposal.
Article 11.
Every person shall report violations of the above-mentioned regulations and laws. Upon investigation and prosecution of the matter reported, the informant shall be granted a reward of an amount between 20% and 30% of the fine; on behalf of the informant, such matters shall be kept confidential.
Article 12.
The various provincial (municipal) tax authorities shall, in accordance with these Regulations, formulate measures governing the assessment and collection of slaughter tax and shall submit such measures to the people's government at the same level for examination, approval and implementation as well as to the General Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance of the Central People's Government for the record.
Article 13.
The various provincial (municipal) governments shall issue decrees governing permission to slaughter livestock as well as exemptions from slaughter tax during religious festivals in respect of national minorities within regions under their jurisdiction.
Article 14.
These Regulations shall become effective as of the date of promulgation.
This translation, together with any explanatory material, is provided courtesy of Lehman Tax & Accounting.
