Recently, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued the Guidelines to the Definition of the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries in the Hainan Free Trade Port (2020 Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines), which interpret the items one by one in a straightaway fashion. Relevant departments and enterprises can refer to the Guidelines when judging whether their business belongs to an encouraged industry. 

Levying corporate income tax at a reduced rate of 15% for enterprises in encouraged industries is an important policy granted by the central government to Hainan Free Trade Port. Enterprises eligible for tax incentives in encouraged industries adopt the application model of “self-judgment, application, and retention of materials for reference”. In other words, enterprises independently judge whether they meet the conditions according to the industry and business conditions as well as relevant regulations. Eligible enterprises can independently apply for tax incentives within the period stipulated in the tax law. 

An official from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission said that enterprises repeatedly expressed difficulties in making independent judgments because some of the entries in the catalogue are couched in professional terms. Therefore, the Guidelines aims to respond to the demands of enterprises and facilitate the implementation of the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries in the Hainan Free Trade Port (2020 Edition). 

The Guidelines described and defined the Catalogue according to 14 industries. For example, in the manufacturing industry, “deep processing and production of imported food such as red wine, beef and mutton, milk, frozen products, and edible bird’s nest” refers to those that use modern deep-processing technologies including technologies of food development, quality safety, resource improvement, as well as intensive processing and equipment to sophisticatedly process the above mentioned imported products in a way of making them of higher level. 

“Yacht and cruise manufacturing as well as supporting industries” refers to the production and manufacturing industries for all types of yachts and cruises such as water buses, yachts, working boats, high-speed boats, ocean liners as well as their matching parts and components through the introduction of foreign advanced technology, as well as independently developed production technology and related process equipment.

In terms of the transportation, warehousing, and postal industries, “refueling service of bonded shipping and aviation fuel” refers to the supply of refueling bonded fuel oil stored in designated bonded fuel oil depots for international voyage ships and aircraft.