The State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") has recently issued the Administrative Measures for Pre-tax Deduction Certificates for Enterprise Income Tax Purposes (the "Measures"), effective from July 1, 2018. The Measures make it clear on the requirements for the categories of pre-tax deduction certificates, what to be provided on the certificates, time when these certificates are obtained, re-issuance of these certificates, and replacements of these certificates. AC finds the below as main points. 

• The Measures are applicable to both resident enterprises and non-resident enterprises.

• Pre-tax deduction certificates are classified by source into internal vouchers and external ones. The receipt vouchers, internal vouchers and split payment vouchers may also be taken as the external pre-tax deduction certificates.

• In the event that the item, the costs of which are incurred domestically by an enterprise, is not taxable, and the counterparty is an entity, the other external voucher, rather than an invoice, issued by this entity, may be used as the pre-tax deduction certificate; however, if the counterparty is an individual, the enterprise’s internal voucher may be used for this purpose.

• For expenditures borne by an enterprise for goods purchased from overseas or for labor services, the invoices, or some other receipt vouchers or relevant tax payment certificates which have the equivalent nature of invoices, issued by the counterparty, may be used as the certificates to offset the taxable income for enterprise income tax purposes.

• Further, Article 14 states clearly the extra documents can be accepted as the external vouchers in the process of re-issuance of these certificates, and replacements of these certificates and other external vouchers but the enterprise cannot reissue or replace for the special reasons such as cancellation, revoking of the business license, and the enterprises have been identified by the tax authorities as abnormal households.

• The pre-tax deduction certificates should be obtained before the end of annual tax clearance. However, there is 60-day extension when enterprises fail to obtain external vouchers or the external vouchers they have obtained do not conform to relevant rules. Further, if provided with the legitimate certificated, the pre-tax deduction could be traced back within five years.

Details about the regulation diss refer in the link: http://www.chinatax.gov.cn/n810341/n810755/c3501702/content.html