China News Service, March 18. On March 18, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration of Taxation jointly held a press conference to release the "Two Highs" "Several Issues on the Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases Endangering Tax Collection and Administration" "Interpretation" and punish typical criminal cases that endanger tax collection and administration in accordance with the law.
Teng Wei, member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court and president of the Fourth Criminal Tribunal, introduced at the meeting that the "Interpretation" clearly clarified signing "yin and yang contracts" as one of the methods of tax evasion, providing precise guidance for judicial organs to handle such cases in the future. in accordance with.
Teng Wei introduced that the "Interpretation" focuses on how to effectively combat tax-related crimes under the new situation, protect national tax revenue, maintain tax order, promote market entities to consciously develop tax payment habits, and actively promote high-quality economic and social development.
There are 22 articles in the Interpretation. In summary, it mainly includes the following aspects.
The first is to clarify the standards for conviction and sentencing of relevant crimes.
The "Interpretation" stipulates the circumstances for conviction and sentencing of 14 charges of endangering tax collection and administration in Chapter 3, Section 6 of the Criminal Law. In particular, the standards for conviction and sentencing of the crimes stipulated in the original three tax-related judicial interpretations have been revised to keep pace with the times. Appropriate adjustments have been made, such as raising the monetary standard for conviction and sentencing of tax evasion crimes.
At the same time, in response to the proliferation of fake invoices and rampant false invoices, the "Interpretation" clarifies the conviction and sentencing standards for various invoice-related crimes such as forgery, illegal sales, purchases, and false invoices.
The second is to clarify the understanding of the relevant crimes.
The understanding of the crime of falsely issuing special VAT invoices is highly controversial in theory and practice.
Combined with the handling of relevant cases, after full and in-depth argumentation, and in accordance with the principle of proportionality of crime and punishment, the "Interpretation" has limited the crime, highlighting that the target of this crime is the core function of using special value-added tax invoices to deduct taxes. The act of making false claims for the purpose of falsely increasing performance, financing, loans, etc. is excluded from the scope of this crime to prevent heavy sentences for misdemeanors. This is not only in line with the criminal law principle of appropriate punishment for crimes, but also It is in line with the Party Central Committee’s spirit of promoting the development and growth of the private economy.
The third is to clarify the legal application of new criminal methods.
The "Interpretation" focuses on the cases of fabricating false tax calculation basis for tax evasion. In particular, several cases in the entertainment field in recent years have concealed income and property in the name of others by signing "yin and yang contracts" and other forms to evade tax, which has extremely negative consequences. The case clearly identified the signing of "yin and yang contracts" as one of the methods of tax evasion, providing a precise basis for judicial organs to handle such cases in the future.
In response to the frequent occurrence of fraudulent export tax refunds in recent years, the "Interpretation" clearly lists 8 forms of "false export declarations", providing clear guidance for judicial authorities to severely crack down on the crime of fraudulent export tax refunds.
The above prohibitive regulations have clarified the "red lines" and delineated the "minefields", which are conducive to guiding market entities to abide by the law and promote taxpayers to enhance their awareness of paying taxes in accordance with the law and consciously abide by tax laws.
The fourth is to clarify the policy of lenient penalties for back payment of taxes and recovery of tax losses.
Taxes are free of charge.
Therefore, in tax governance, criminal crackdowns are the means, but the key lies in strengthening tax supervision and cultivating taxpayer awareness.
In accordance with the criminal policy of combining leniency with severity, as well as from the consideration of maximizing recovery of tax losses, encouraging offenders to reform, and guiding market entities to consciously abide by tax laws, the "Interpretation" further clarifies the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law regarding the non-investigation of criminal liability for tax evasion crimes. Clarify the time limit for taxpayers to pay back taxes until the public security organ files a criminal case; clarify the time limit for back payment of taxes, including the time limit for deferment and installment payment approved by the tax authorities, to prevent tax evasion from being punished as soon as tax evasion is discovered When the time limit for back payment is short and the situation is difficult to remedy, the system effects stipulated in the criminal law should be maximized.
The "Interpretation" stipulates that defendants who have entered criminal proceedings can actively pay taxes to restore losses, and if the defendant's unit effectively complies with regulations and rectifications, they can also be punished leniently. If the crime is minor and does not require a penalty, they may not be prosecuted or Exemption from criminal punishment; if the circumstances are obviously minor and the harm is not great, it will not be treated as a crime.
The above provisions are conducive to encouraging perpetrators to promptly pay back taxes and stop losses after illegal acts occur, so as to achieve a win-win situation for the parties and the country.
At the same time, the "Interpretation" also stipulates that if a taxpayer evades paying taxes and the tax authorities do not issue a recovery notice in accordance with the law, they will not be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law. This urges the tax authorities and tax personnel to promptly investigate and deal with tax violations and crimes to prevent dereliction of duty.
Fifth, clarify the principles of punishment for crimes endangering tax revenue by entities and other issues.
Crimes endangering tax revenue have a high proportion of crimes committed by units.
According to statistics, crimes endangering taxation account for the top three crimes committed by private enterprises. It is necessary to clarify the principles of conviction and sentencing for crimes that endanger taxation committed by units.
In view of the importance of taxation, the "Interpretation" stipulates that the conviction and sentencing standards for crimes endangering tax collection and administration by units shall be implemented in accordance with the standards stipulated in this Interpretation, that is, in accordance with the standards for crimes committed by natural persons.
The "Interpretation" improves the execution linkage mechanism for crimes endangering tax revenue, stipulating that those who commit crimes endangering tax revenue and are not prosecuted or exempted from criminal punishment and need to be given administrative penalties, government sanctions or other sanctions shall be transferred to the relevant administrative authorities for handling according to law; the relevant administrative supervisors The agency shall promptly notify the People's Procuratorate and People's Court of the handling results.
The above provisions are conducive to preventing the situation where criminal penalties and administrative penalties for illegal actors are "incompatible with each other".
The Interpretation also stipulates the identification of joint crimes that endanger tax revenue based on the principle of joint crime.