China revises regulations to curb fake invoices
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China released newly-revised regulations on the control of invoices Monday, setting harsher punishments for producing, selling and using fake invoices.
According to the new regulations, no organization or individual is allowed to issue invoices that don't reflect the actual services or operations being billed for. It will also be a crime to have faked invoices issued by other parties.
People who are aware of fake invoices should not receive, issue, store or deliver them, read the regulations.
Those issuing, forging and transferring fake invoices will be fined up to 500,000 yuan (76,000 U.S. dollars) -- up from the previous 50,000 yuan.
No other warrants should be substituted for invoices, and tax departments should provide convenient ways to check the authenticity of invoices, said the regulations.
Last month, the Ministry of Public Security said that police across the country had uncovered 12,900 cases of fake invoice-related crimes and confiscated 780 million fake invoices in their efforts to contain the spreading of economic crimes since 2008.
Invoice-related crimes have seen a 20 percent increase year-on-year since 2003 in China, and continue to undermine the country's taxation system as well as threatening state security, the ministry said.
The regulations, first released in 1993, aim to strengthen invoice management and financial supervision in a bid to ensure the country's tax revenues and economic order.
The revised regulations will take effect on Feb. 1, 2011.
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