4. Extending exemption of administrative charges
On April 28, the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly released a notice on expanding the exemption scope of 18 administrative charge items.
According to the document, beginning May 1, exemptions from 18 administrative charges which currently apply only to small and micro businesses will be expanded to include all enterprises and individuals, including domestic plant quarantine fee, new veterinary drug approval fee and etc.
5. Reducing price of electricity
On Dec 30, 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced that it had lowered the on-grid tariff for coal-fired power generation and retail tariff paid by commercial and industrial customers by an average of 0.03 yuan per kilowatt-hour, effective January 1, 2016.
The NDRC is also considering a new round of tariff cut, in which retail tariff paid by commercial and industrial end users and heavy industrial power users will be cut by an average of 0.0105 yuan and 0.011 yuan per kilowatt-hour respectively.
6. Cutting bank card transaction fees
China's central bank said in March that it will cut the fees merchants pay for bank card transactions. The action, to take effect on Sept 6, will result in a 7.4 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) cut in the fees merchants pay in a year, the People's Bank of China said on its website.
Under the coming policy, card-issuing banks cannot charge merchants more than 0.35 percent of a transaction amount for debit cards, while credit card transactions cannot incur a charge exceeding 0.45 percent of the amount swiped.
