财政部令第4号
（Approved by the State Council on November 16， 1992 and promulgated by Decree No. 4 of the Ministry of Finance on November 30， 1992）
颁布日期：19921130 　实施日期：19930701 　颁布单位：财政部

Chapter I General Provisions

Article l These General Rules are formulated in order to normalize the financial behaviours of the enterprises， facilitate fair competition among enterprises and strengthen their financial management and economic calculation so as to meet the needs of the development of socialist market economy in our country.

Article 2 These General Rules shall be the principles and norms that must be observed by various enterprises established within the territory of the People's Republic of China in conducting financial activities.

Article 3 An enterprise shall， within 30 days after completing business registration or its modification， submit to the competent finance department the duplicated copy of such documents or their modification as the approval certificate for the establishment of the enterprise， the business license and articles of association， etc.

Article 4 The fundamental principles guiding the enterprise's financial management shall be to establish and improve the enterprise's internal financial management system， effectively accomplish the basic work of financial management. truthfully reflect the enterprise's financial position， calculate and turn over tax to the State according to the laws， and ensure the investors' rights and interests from infringement.

Article 5 The basic tasks and methods of the enterprise's financial management shall be to effectively accomplish the work relating to the plan， control， calculation， analysis and examination of the revenue and expenditure， reasonably raise fund according to the laws， effectively utilize the enterprise's assets and actively improve economic efficiency.

Chapter II Fund Raising

Article 6 A statutory capital shall be required for the establishment of an enterprise. The capital refers to the fund registered by an enterprise with the administrative department for industry and commerce.

In terms of the investors， the capital may be classified as the State capital， the capital of legal entity， the individual capital and the foreigner's capital.

Article 7 An enterprise may， according to the laws and regulations of the State， adopt various measures to raise capital， such as seeking State investment， raising capital from various parties or issuing stocks. The investors may invest in the enterprise in such forms as cash， kinds or intangible assets.

The enterprise and the other investors may， according to the laws， claim compensation for the breach of contract with respect to investors who fail to contribute fund according to the investment contract or agreement.

Article 8 The difference of the fund contributed by the investors over the capital （including the stock premium） in the enterprise's operations of raising the capital， the statutory increment of property value through revaluation and the donated property received shall be accounted into the capital reserve.

The capital reserve may be transferred into the capital according to the relevant stipulations.

Article 9 The enterprise shall enjoy， according to the laws， the right to manage over the capital it raised， and during the period of the enterprise's operation， the investors may not withdraw their capital investment in any form except transferring to others according to the laws. Where the laws and administrative regulations stipulate otherwise， the provisions otherwise stipulated shall be observed.

Article 10 The liabilities of an enterprise include long-term liabilities and current liabilities.

The long-term liabilities refer to the debt， the maturity period of which is over one year or over an operating cycle longer than a year， including long-term borrowings， long-term bonds payable and long-term accounts payable， etc.

The current liabilities refer to the debt， the maturity period of which is within one year or within an operating cycle longer than a year， including short-term borrowings， short-term bonds payable， provision for expenses and the accounts payable or received in advance， etc.

Article 11 The accrued interest expenses of long-term liabilities incurred during the preparation period shall be accounted into the starting expenses； where incurred during the operation period， into the financial expenses； where incurred during the liquidation period， into the liquidation profit and loss. Among these， where the expenses are connected with building or purchasing the fixed asset or intangible asset， they shall be accounted into the value of the built or purchased asset before the asset is delivered and put into operation or before the final account of the completed project is made although the asset has been delivered and put into operation.

The accrued interest expenses of the current liabilities shall be accounted into financial expenses.

Chapter III The Current Assets

Article 12 The current asset refers to the asset that will be realized into cash or utilized within one year or within an operating cycle longer than a year， including cash， various deposits， inventories， receivables and prepayments， etc.

Article 13 The enterprise may set up the provision for bad debts according to the stipulations of the State. The bad debt loss incurred shall be set off against the bad debt provision. If the bad debt provision is not set up， the bad debt loss incurred may be accounted the current expenses.

The bad debt loss refers to the account receivable that cannot be collected even after the liquidation is made with the bankrupt property or the legacy when the obligor goes bankrupt or is dead， or the account receivable that remains uncollectible after three years when the obligor failed to comply with debt-redeeming obligation.

Article 14 The inventory refers to the materials reserved by the enterprise for the purpose of sale or consumption in the process of production and operation， including supplies， fuels， low-value and perishable articles， goods in process， semi-finished goods， finished goods， outside-produced parts and merchandise， etc.

The low-value and perishable articles and the containers used for revolving purpose， after being put into use， may be accounted into expenses in one period or in deferred periods.

The net profit or loss deriving from the inventory overage， shortage or damage， shall be accounted into the current profit and loss. Among these， the extraordinary loss of inventory damage may be accounted into the current loss.

Chapter IV The Fixed Assets

Article 15 The fixed assets refer to the assets， the service life of which is over one year， the unit value of which is above the prescribed standards， and the original physical form of which remains in the process of utilization， including building and structures， machinery equipment， transport equipment， tools and implements， etc.

Article 16 The difference between the revenue deriving from the sale of the fixed assets deducting the clearing expenditure and its book value， and the net profit or loss deriving from the inventory overage， shortage or damage of the fixed assets shall both be accounted into the current profit and loss.

Article 17 The expenditures of the construction in progress refer to the incurred expenditure for building or purchasing fixed assets or making technical innovation before the fixed assets are delivered and put into operation， including special materials such as equipment and supplies to be used for project construction， the project prepayments and the expenditures for the non-completed project.

The expenditure caused by the trial operation before the completion of the project and its related operational revenue are generally to be charged into or deducted from the cost of construction in progress.

Article 18 The fixed assets' classified depreciation life and the depreciation methods as well as the scope of calculating depreciation shall be determined by the Ministry of Finance. The enterprise， according to the stipulations of the State， selects specific depreciation methods and determines the extent of accelerating depreciation.

Starting from the next month after its operation， the depreciation of the fixed assets are to be calculated on a monthly basis. Starting from the next month after the fixed assets are out of utilization， the calculation of the depreciation ceases.

Article 19 The repair expense for the fixed assets shall be accounted into the current cost or expenses. The repair expense， when being not regular or being relatively large， may be allocated either through amortization over different periods or through the accrual method， the case shall be filed with the complement finance department for the record.

Chapter V Intangible Assets， Deferred Assets and Other Assets

Article 20 Intangible assets refer to those assets which are used by enterprises for a long time but do not have concrete physical forms， including patents， trade-marks， copyrights， land-use rights， non-patented technology， goodwill and so on.

The costs of intangible assets shall be amortized periodically within the specified time limits starting from the day of being used. Those intangible assets without specified time limits shall be amortized according to the expected service life or within a period of no less than ten years.

Article 21 Deferred assets refer to those expenses that cannot be entirely accounted into the current year's profit and loss， and need to be amortized in the following years， including starting expenses， amelioration expenses for rented fixed assets and so forth.

The starting expenses shall be amortized periodically within a period of no less than five years beginning from the day when the operation starts.

Article 22 Other assets include specially chartered reserve resources and so on.

Chapter VI External Investment

Article 23 The external investment refers to those investments in other enterprises carried out by an enterprise in the forms of cash， kinds and intangible assets or through buying such marketable securities as stocks and bonds including both short-term and long-term investments.

Short-term investments refer to the marketable securities that can be readily shifted into cash and held less than one year as well as other forms of investment no longer than one year.

Long-term investments refer to the marketable securities that are not intended to be shifted into cash in a short period and can be held more than one year as well as other forms of investment longer than one year.

Article 24 For those external investments which are made by enterprises in the form of physical property or intangible assets， the difference between the current value recognized by revaluation and the net book value shall be accounted into the capital reserve.

With regard to those external investment in the form of purchasing bonds， the differences between the actual payments and the bond's face value shall be considered as the premiums or discounts of the bonds， and both of them shall be amortized or be set off after transferring them into other accounts periodically before maturity.

With regard to those external investments in the form of purchasing stocks， when the actual payments include announced dividends， difference of the actual payments after deducting the dividends receivable shall be considered as the actual value of the external investments.

Article 25 Both profit and dividends deriving from the enterprise's external investment shall be accounted into investment returns and shall be subject to the payment of income taxes according to the stipulations of the State.

The difference between the value of the external investment realized by the enterprise and the book value of the investment shall be accounted into the current profit and loss.

Chapter Vll Cost and Expenses

Article 26 All those payments of the enterprise for producing or dealing in commodities and providing services， including direct wages， direct materials， purchase price of commodities， and other direct payments， shall be accounted directly into production and operation costs. Those in direct expenses for producing or dealing in commodities and providing services shall be proportionally allocated into production and operation cost.

Article 27 Selling， administrative and financial expenses incurred by enterprise shall be directly accounted into the current profit and loss.

The selling expenses include such expenses as transportation expense， loading and unloading expense， packing expense， insurance expense， exhibition expense， travel expense， advertisement charge， and the staff wages of specially established selling agencies， and other expenses， all of which the enterprise shall bear when selling products（commodities） or providing services.

The administrative expenses refer to the expenses that the enterprise shall unilaterally bear， including general office expense， labour union outlays， staff training expenses， labour insurance fee， unemployment insurance fee， board of directors meeting expense， consulting fee， litigation fee， tax payment， land use fee， land deterioration recovery fee， technology transfer fee， technology innovation expense， amortization of intangible assets， amortization of starting expense， business reception expense， bad-debt loss， the administration fee handed over to higher level authorities， and other administrative expenses.

The financial expenses include the net expenditure for the interest payment， the net exchange loss and the bank's service charge within the enterprise's operational period.

Article 28 The following outlays by enterprises shall not be accounted into the cost or expense： expenses for purchasing and building fixed assets， payments for intangible assets and other assets， external investment outlays； confiscated assets， various kinds of fines， sponsor contributions and donations， and some other outlays that may not be lined into cost or expense according to the State regulations.

Chapter VIII Operating Revenues， Profits and Their Distribution

Article 29 Operating revenues refer to revenues the enterprise obtains from selling goods and providing services in its production and operation.

The sales return， sales allowance and sales discount shall be deducted from the current operating revenue of the enterprises.

Article 30 The total amount of enterprise's profits include operating profit， net investment profit， and the net amount of non-operating income and expenses.

Operating profits refer to the amount of operating revenue after deducting costs， expenses， various kinds of turnover taxes， and surtaxes and fees.

Net investment profit refers to the remainder of investment profit after deducting investment loss.

The net non-operating income refers to the remainer of non-operating income after deducting non-operating expenses.

Article 31 The incurred current year's loss of the enterprise may be covered with the next year's profits； if the next year's profits cannot make a full covering， the enterprise may use its pre-income-tax profits to do the covering continuously within a five-year period； if the loss still cannot be totally covered by pre-income-tax profit in five years， the enterprise can use its post-income-tax profit to cover.

Article 32 The enterprise shall pay the income tax according to the laws after adjusting the profits according to the State stipulations.

Unless otherwise stipulated by the State， the profit after the income tax shall be distributed in the following order：

（1） Loss incurred by confiscation， fine and penalty for delayed tax payment in violation of tax laws；

（2） Coverage for enterprise loss of previous years；

（3） Retention for statutory reserve fund earmarked for loss coverage or capital increase in accordance with State regulations；

（4） Retention for public welfare fund earmarked for expenditures on welfare facilities for the enterprise employees；

（5） Profit distribution to the investors. The undistributed profit of the previous years may be incorporated into distribution in the current year.

Chapter IX Foreign Currency Transactions

Article 33 Foreign currency transactions refer to all the transactions conducted in currencies other than the bookkeeping base currency， such as receipts and payments of money， settlement of current account， and pricing.

The Renminbi shall be the bookkeeping base currency for an enterprise. Those enterprises conducting operational receipts and payments mainly in foreign currencies may choose one foreign currency as the bookkeeping base currency.

Article 34 The ending balance of various foreign currency items （excluding those recorded separately at the exchange rates in the foreign exchange swap centres） shall be converted into bookkeeping base currency at the official exchange rate prevailing at the end-of-period， unless otherwise stipulated by the State. The difference between the amount of the bookkeeping base currency converted from foreign currency at the official exchange rate and the book amount shown in bookkeeping base currency shall be accounted into the current profit and loss as profit and loss on exchange.

Article 35 The net profit and loss on exchange incurred by an enterprise during the preparation and construction period shall be accounted into starting expenses and amortized in a period no less than five years starting from the operation of the enterprise， or to be retained to cover the loss incurred by the enterprise during the operation period， or to be retained and incorporated into liquidation profit and loss. The exchange profit and loss incurred during the production and operation period shall be accounted into financial expenses， and during the liquidation period， into liquidation profit and loss. The exchange profit and loss associated with purchase and construction of fixed assets and intangible assets shall be accounted into the value of the purchased and constructed assets prior to the delivery to their users or prior to the final account for completed project after the delivery to the users.

Article 36 In case of foreign exchange swap transactions of an enterprise， the difference between the amount of bookkeeping base currency converted from the foreign currency at the swap rate and the book amount shown in bookkeeping base currency shall be accounted into the current profit and loss as profit an loss.

Chapter X Enterprise Liquidation

Article 37 When an enterprise is disbanded or goes bankrupt in accordance with its Articles of Association， or is closed because of other reasons， a liquidating organ shall be established to clear its assets， claims and obligations in a thorough manner， to formulate balance sheet， general inventory and statement of claims and debts， to work out the measures for asset valuation and handling of claims and obligations， and to process appropriately all the remaining issues.

Article 38 The salaries， travelling expenses， office expenses and announcement fees of the liquidating organ during the liquidation period shall be accounted into liquidation expenses and be covered as the first priority by the enterprise with its current assets.

Inventory overage or shortage， disposal of property， insolvent obligations and non-recoverable claims， and operating income and loss incurred during the liquidation period shall be accounted into liquidation profit and loss.

Article 39 After the appropriation of liquidation expenses out of the enterprise's property， the obligations shall be liquidated according to the following order：

（1） Staff wages and labour insurance payable and callable；

（2） Tax payment payable and callable；

（3） Other obligations payable and callable.

Where the enterprise is unable to liquidate all the items in the same order， the liquidation shall be made proportionately.

Article 40 Income tax shall be paid according to the laws on the net liquidation profit after the completion of the liquidation. The remaining after-tax property shall be distributed in proportion to the equity contributions of investors or in accordance with the provisions of contracts and Articles of Association.

Chapter XI Financial Reports and Financial Assessment

Article 41 Financial reports， including balance sheet and income statement， statement of changes in financial position （Statement of Cash Flows）， relative supporting schedules and explanatory statements on financial condition， shall be written documents summarizing and reflecting the financial position and operation re suits of an enterprise.

The enterprise is required to submit at regular intervals the financial reports to its investors and creditors， relevant government departments， and other users.

Article 42 The explanatory statements on financial condition shall mainly illustrate the status of production and operation of the enterprise， realization and allocation of profit， increase and decrease and turnover of fund， tax payment， changes in the condition of assets and properties； the issues which have key impact on the current and future financial position； the issues which may substantially affect the financial position of the enterprise after balance sheet date and prior to the submission of financial reports； and other issues which need to be explained.

Article 43 Financial indexes summarizing and assessing the financial position and operation results include liquidity ratio， quick ratio， accounts receivable turnover， turnover of inventories， assets-liabilities ratio， profit-costs ratio， profit and tax-operating revenue ratio and profit-costs ratio， etc.

Chapter XII Supplementary Provisions

Article 44 The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for the interpretation and organizing the implementation of these General Rules.

Article 45 The enterprise financial systems of different sectors shall be formulated by the Ministry of Finance in accordance with these General Rules.

Article 46 These General Rules shall be effective as of July 1， 1993.