Understanding the Evolution of APAs in China: A Historical Review

The article provides a historical analysis of the development of advance pricing agreements (APAs) in China, categorizing their evolution into three distinct stages: the emergence stage (1998-2005), the evolution stage (2005-2016), and the maturity stage (2016-present). By examining the legislation and practice of APAs across these stages, the author observes three overarching trends in their development: a preference for prioritizing practice over legislation and pilot regions over nationwide implementation; a shift in focus from ensuring tax certainty for taxpayers to promoting fair allocation of taxing rights; and a consistent tendency to limit access to APAs to large multinational enterprises. The author notes that this latter trend is contradictory to the principle of equality, as it results in disparate treatment of taxpayers regarding their procedural rights.