China News Service, July 28. According to the website of the National Development and Reform Commission, in order to implement the decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, continue to optimize the business environment, reduce the burden of notarization fees for enterprises and the public, and promote the high-quality development of the notarization industry. Recently, the National Development and Reform The Commission and the Ministry of Justice jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Improving the Price Formation Mechanism of Notary Services" (Fagai Price [2021] No. 1081, hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") to guide localities to further regulate the price of notary services.
The "Opinions" propose that by 2022, the price formation mechanism for notary services will be further improved, the price of notary services will be more reasonable, and the high price standards will be significantly reduced; by the end of 2025, the price formation mechanism for scientific, efficient, standardized and transparent notarization services will be further improved, and the people The public's satisfaction with the price of notarization services has increased significantly.
The "Opinions" include five aspects of policy measures.
One is to clearly define the scope of government pricing.
For notarization services that are closely related to people's livelihood, as well as notarization services that have regional monopolies and insufficient competition, in principle, government pricing or guidance price management shall be implemented.
The state uniformly formulates a list of notarization service items that are closely related to people's livelihood, and all localities appropriately add other notarization items on this basis to form a catalog of notarization service items with government-managed prices in the region.
The second is to improve government pricing methods.
For projects with government-managed prices, all localities are encouraged to implement maximum ceiling price management, and the notary office shall determine the specific price level within the range of the maximum ceiling price prescribed by the government.
For those that are priced in proportion to the target amount, a step-by-step reduction rate shall be established reasonably, and the maximum total amount shall be limited at the same time.
The third is to improve the price adjustment system.
The establishment and adjustment of prices must be carried out in accordance with the law to perform cost supervision and review or investigation, hearing opinions, legality review, collective review and other procedures.
Improve the dynamic adjustment mechanism of notarization service prices, conduct follow-up investigations and regular evaluations of the notarization service price policies and price levels, and optimize and improve them in a timely manner.
The fourth is to regulate the price behavior of operators.
Improve the operator’s code of conduct, and urge notary agencies to clearly mark prices, self-discipline, and compete fairly; establish a system for regular reports and inspections on the price of notarization services.
Fifth, improve the price reduction and exemption policy.
Promote the expansion of the coverage of legal aid, and clarify the policy of reducing fees for relevant notarization services for elderly people aged 80 and above, low-income households, and severely disabled people.
The "Opinions" increase the governance of notarization charges for inheritance and notarization of "expensive" real estate reflected by the society.
It is clear that for notarization matters involving the inheritance and bequest of residents' real estate, it is encouraged to price based on the real estate area, or provide two ways of pricing based on the real estate area and the ratio of the target amount at the same time, and choose from the lowest.
The rate of the first tier (that is, the first tier with the highest rate) priced in proportion to the target amount shall not exceed 0.5% and decrease in steps.
At the same time, it is stipulated that, in principle, the total cost of handling the above-mentioned notarization for a single residential real estate shall not exceed 10,000 yuan.
The "Opinions" require that local price authorities and judicial administrative departments must, in light of local conditions, formulate and implement specific policies and measures, strengthen publicity and interpretation, and respond to the concerns of the masses in a timely manner.