Closing an entity · liquidation and deregistration

Closing a China entity: liquidation audit, tax clearance, deregistration

Winding up a Chinese entity is a sequence, not a form. There is a liquidation committee, a statutory public notice period, a liquidation audit, tax clearance, deregistration with the market regulator, and then the foreign-exchange registration and the bank accounts. Get one step out of order and you start again. We run the audit and the sequence, and hand you documents in English at every step.

  • Seven working days for the audit — the liquidation audit report is issued in seven working days from complete documents
  • The whole sequence, in order — liquidation committee, public notice, audit, tax clearance, deregistration, FX and bank closure
  • Bilingual documents throughout — every Chinese filing has an English cover note, so head office knows what was submitted
  • Fixed fee in writing — agreed before fieldwork, with the sequence and dates listed

Timing

The order things have to happen in

Most delays we are asked to fix come from steps taken out of order.

Step one — liquidation committee and notice

The shareholders resolve to liquidate, a liquidation committee is registered, and a public notice runs for 45 days. Creditors claim within that window.

Step two — liquidation audit

We audit the position at the liquidation date: assets, liabilities, realisable values, and the liquidation gain or loss. Seven working days from complete documents.

Step three — tax clearance and deregistration

Tax clearance first, then deregistration with the market regulator, then the foreign-exchange registration and the bank accounts. Each depends on the one before it.

Scope of services

What the work actually covers

Written out in detail on purpose. If you are comparing firms, this is the list to put side by side with theirs.

Deliverables

What lands on your desk

Liquidation audit report

Signed, carrying our practice licence number, and accepted for both the tax clearance and the deregistration filing.

Liquidation financial statements

The opening position and the liquidation result, with the basis of valuation stated.

Tax clearance pack

Every tax computed to the closure date, with the settlement evidence attached.

Filing confirmations

The regulator’s deregistration confirmation and the tax bureau’s clearance, in your name.

English step-by-step record

What was filed, where, and on what date — for the group file, and for the audit of the parent.

Remittance support

The documents your bank will ask for before the remaining balance can leave China.

Also worth knowing

Related work

Statutory annual audit

If the entity is being sold rather than closed, the buyer will want an audit instead.

Group reporting pack

The final set of numbers in a format your group auditor can consolidate before the entity disappears.

Cross-border due diligence

Before you acquire or dispose of a China entity, and want the tax position verified first.

Indicative fee

Price it yourself before you talk to us

Put in your revenue or total assets and tick what you need. The number that comes out is the fixed fee we quote — on the published fee scale, not a figure invented per enquiry.

Priced on whichever is larger — the same basis the fee scale uses.

Enter your revenue or total assets above and the price appears here.

Fee bands

The scale, out in the open

The standard fee comes off the published progressive scale (Yue Jia [2011] No.308); the band is set by your annual revenue or your total assets, whichever is larger. Our fee is the standard fee after the firm discount, with the English and Chinese bilingual reports and the filing included.

Revenue or total assetsStandard feeOur fee

Standard service. Expedited service, two working days instead of five, adds 30%. Above RMB 1bn, or where the affairs are unusually complex, we quote in writing. Indicative only — the written quote governs.

Process

From first email to finished work

01  You send the basics

Entity type, what has been requested, and when it is due. One email is enough to start.

02  Scope and fixed fee

We come back within one business day with a written scope, a fixed fee and dates.

03  Documents and fieldwork

One document request list. We work from it, and visit site only where the work genuinely needs it.

04  Delivery and follow-through

Signed output in English or bilingual, plus support through whatever filing follows.

Fees

How we price it

Fixed, in writing, before fieldwork starts. The drivers below are the ones that actually move the number — we tell you which of them apply to you in the first reply, not after you have signed.

  • Entity size, number of bank accounts and transaction volume
  • Whether prior-year figures are audited or management-prepared
  • Reporting language: English, Chinese, or bilingual
  • Whether group reporting requires a GAAP reconciliation
  • How much of the bookkeeping we have to rebuild first

FAQ

Questions about closing a China entity

Can the 45-day notice period be shortened?

Generally no for a standard liquidation. It is a statutory window for creditors. There is a simplified procedure for entities with no debts and no operations, which we will tell you if you qualify for.

How long does the whole closure take?

The audit is seven working days. The sequence around it is driven by the 45-day notice and by how quickly the tax bureau clears. Typically two to four months end to end.

What if the entity has old tax problems?

They surface at tax clearance, not at deregistration. We look for them early and tell you what they will cost before you are committed, rather than letting them block the closure.

Can you deal with the bank and the foreign-exchange side?

We prepare the documents and the filings. Where your physical presence is legally required, we tell you which step and how to prepare for it.

Do you handle the employee side?

We compute and document the final payroll, social insurance and severance position. We do not represent you in a labour dispute.

Tell us where the entity is in the sequence.

Whether the shareholders have resolved yet or the notice has already run, send us what you have. You will get a written scope, a fixed fee and the order of the remaining steps.