Interim Provisions of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area on

Article 1 [Objective] These Provisions are formulated by Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (hereinafter referred to as TEDA) with a view to facilitate the development of service outsourcing.

Article 2 [Spheres of Application] These Provisions apply to enterprises and agencies that have registered in TEDA and whose identity has been confirmed by TEDA Administrative Commission (TAC).

Article 3 [Coverage] The encouraged outsourcing services in TEDA include the outsourcing of software development, R&D & design, financial back-office, financial management, administrative management & human resources, and customer service.

Article 4 [Relevance to Other Levels of Incentives] Enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions shall follow related policies and regulations of the Central Government and Tianjin Municipal Government before these Provisions are applied as a supplement.

Article 5 [Service Outsourcing Promotion Commission] TEDA shall set up the Service Outsourcing Promotion Commission which is consisted of government department principals, industry experts, as well as representatives from enterprises, universities and training institutions. This Commission is supposed to set up a general office at the TEDA Trade Development Bureau with a view to offer multi-faceted facilitation to TEDA’s service outsourcing.

Article 6 [Special Fund] TEDA shall earmark 100 million yuan from its fiscal budget to set up the TEDA Development Fund for Service Outsourcing in which all the incentives (subsidies, financial support, etc) mentioned in these Provisions shall be itemized.

Article 7 [Match-up Incentive] Enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions may receive a 50% match-up incentive from TEDA for any service outsourcing incentive they acquired from the Central Government and Tianjin Municipal Government.

Article 8 [Subsidies for Office Purchase and Renting] Enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions shall, according to individual circumstances, receive a maximum subsidy of 1,000 yuan per square meter for office purchase of not more than 2,000 square meters within TEDA. Office renting of not more than 1,000 square meters may be subsidized at a maximum standard of 20 yuan per square meter per month. Office renting of more than 1,000 square meters may be subsidized at a maximum standard of 10 yuan per square meter per month for the extra part beyond 1,000 square meters. The period for enjoying the above mentioned subsidies is three years.

Article 9 [Quality HR Incentives] Quality HR employed by enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions are entitled to related incentives provided in the Provisions of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area  on Absorbing, Training and Rewarding Quality Human Resources.

Article 10 [Resident Registration]The TAC shall open a green passage of resident registration for senior technological and managerial HR employed by service outsourcing enterprises.

Article 11 [Intern Training] Service outsourcing enterprises in TEDA are encouraged to apply to set up intern centers for college students. Each participating student will be granted a monthly intern subsidy of 500 yuan.

Article 12 [Training Subsidies] Enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions can be subsidized for the training of employees at key positions inside China once their training plans are approved. The subsidy will be based on the number of trainees of the previous year and the subsidy quota will be based on the number of newly increased trainees. Each enterprise recipient may be subsidized at a maximum of 3,000 yuan per trainee for a maximum of 500 trainees on a yearly basis. The subsidy period is three years.

Article 13 [Training Agencies] Domestic and overseas training agencies are encouraged to organize or participate in training programs about service outsourcing. They may enjoy related incentives provided in the Interim Provisions of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area on Promoting the Development of the Modern Service Sector.

Article 14 [Quality HR Reserve] To ensure sufficient reserve and supply of quality HR to service outsourcing enterprises, TEDA will set up a cooperation and coordination mechanism with key universities through providing them catalogue of demand for quality HR, offering suggestions on curriculum arrangement, etc.

Article 15 [Scholarship] TEDA will expand the coverage of TEDA Scholarship so as to help foster more job candidates for service outsourcing enterprises.

Article 16 [Tax Incentives] Enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions may enjoy related tax incentives stipulated by the Central Government and TEDA.

I. Recognized software service outsourcing enterprises shall be entitled to the tax incentives stipulated by the Central Government and TEDA for software enterprises.

II. Service outsourcing enterprises engaged in R&D, design and creative industries shall be recognized as hi-tech enterprises and entitled to related tax incentives stipulated by the Central Government and TEDA for hi-tech enterprises.

III. Service outsourcing enterprises engaged in financial back-office, customer service center, executive administration & human resource, and financial management, etc shall be entitled to related tax incentives provided in the Interim Provisions of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area on Promoting the Development of the Modern Service Sector.

Article 17 [Support for Financing] Enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions shall be recognized as the key service targets of TEDA Small & Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Loan Guarantee Center and may enjoy loan guarantee services for financing according to the requirement of individual projects.

Article 18 [Subsidies for Software Export] Enterprises eligible for these Provisions shall be subsidized at 0.1 yuan for every one dollar of their software export income. The subsidy shall be based on the statistics provided by the Customs or the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

Article 19 [Subsidies for Telecommunications] Enterprises eligible for these Provisions shall be subsidized up to 30% for the actually occurred expenses of international private leased circuit. A maximal subsidy of 300,000 yuan may be provided on an annual basis for five years.

Article 20 [Subsidies for Certifications] Service outsourcing enterprises in TEDA are encouraged to apply for related international certifications. Those which have acquired CMMI, CMM, PCMM, ISO27001/BS7799, ISO20000 and SAS70 certificates shall be eligible for a subsidy of not more than 50% of their certification expenses. The accumulative subsidies for certifications shall be not more than 500,000 yuan.

Article 21 [Professional Exhibitions] Enterprises and agencies are encouraged to organize professional exhibitions of service outsourcing in TEDA and may, according to the Interim Provisions of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area on Promoting the Development of the Modern Service Sector, be granted incentives for part of their site rental.

Article 22 [IPR Protection] Enterprises and agencies eligible for these Provisions may receive financial support from TEDA by a certain ratio for their expenses on the protection of intellectual property rights and the cracking down on patent infringement.

Article 23 [Statistical System] A specially-tailored statistical system which can best reflect the developmental features of regional service outsourcing shall be established with a view to bolster the statistical analysis of service outsourcing. This new system shall be based on the latest leased national statistical standards.

Article 24 [Competent Authorities] Economic development authorities of TEDA shall be responsible for the recognition procedures mentioned in Article Eight, Clause Three of Article Sixteen and Article Twenty.

Labor & personnel authorities shall be responsible for the recognition procedures mentioned in Article Nine to Fifteen.

Science & technology development authorities shall be responsible for the recognition procedures mentioned in Clause One and Two of Article Sixteen, Article Eighteen, Article Nineteen, and Article Twenty-two.

Trade development authorities shall be responsible for the recognition procedures mentioned in Article Twenty-one.

Financial authorities shall be responsible for the verification and implementation of all the fiscal incentives mentioned in these Provisions.

Article 25 [Power of Interpretation] The TAC shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Provisions.

Article 26 [Time of Implementation] These Provisions shall enter into effect as of the date of issuance.