Sui Gong Ji Jin Zhong Xin [2020] No. 50

To all employers contributing to the Housing Provident Fund:

　　Pursuant to the relevant provisions of theRegulations on Housing Provident Fund Management, the Notice on Implementing Temporary Supporting Housing Provident Fund Policies to Properly Respond to the COVID-19 Epidemic (Jian Jin [2020] No. 23) issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance and the People’s Bank of China, and the Notice on Providing Better Housing Provident Fund Management Services During the Period of COVID-19 Containment (Sui Gong Ji Jin Zhong Xin Gui Zi [2020] No. 1) issued by the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center, relevant issues related to the adjustment of housing provident fund contributions for the 2020-2021 contribution year are hereby notified as follows:

　　1.Requirements

　　All employers in Guangzhou making housing provident fund contributions shall complete work related to housing provident fund contribution adjustments within the stipulated time frame, provide true, accurate and complete information regarding their organization and their employees, and make full and timely contributions to the housing provident fund for all employees in the new contribution year. Employers whose employees’ contribution base amounts and contribution rates remain unchanged during the new contribution year are also required to perform annual contribution adjustment procedures and submit relevant data on contributions as required to avoid adverse impact on the continuity of their contributions.

　　2.Adjustments

　　2.1. Contribution Rates

　　Housing provident fund contribution rates for both employers and employees range between a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 12%. Specific contribution rates are to be determined autonomously by employers and employees. In principle, an organization may only opt for one contribution rate, while employee contribution rates shall be equal to or higher than employer contribution rates. The selected rate shall be an integer multiple of 1%.

　　2.2. Contribution Base

　　The base for employee housing provident fund contributions will be adjusted to the monthly average wages of the employee in 2019. Wages will be determined based on theRegulations on the Composition of Gross Wages (Tong Zhi Zi [1990] No. 1) issued by the National Bureau of Statistics. 

　　Employees that are employed for the first time after January 1, 2020 shall make housing provident fund contributions beginning from the second month of their employment, with their wages for the second month as their contribution base. An employee who is re-employed after January 1, 2020 shall make housing provident fund contributions beginning from the first month of their re-employment, with their wages for the first month as their contribution base.

　　The contribution base shall not be lower than the minimum wage level currently in effect in Guangzhou (CNY 2,100), and not higher than triple the monthly average wage of existing non-private sector urban employees in Guangzhou for 2019 (CNY 30,876).

　　With respect to an employee whose contribution base is equal to the minimum wage level currently in effect in Guangzhou, the employer shall make housing provident fund contributions for the employee as required. The employee’s individual contribution may be exempted with the consent of the said employee.

　　2.3. Reduction of Contribution Rates or Payment Deferral

　　An employer that faces difficultiesin making housing provident fund contributions may apply to the housing provident fund center for a reduction of contribution rates (to less than 5%) or a payment deferral for the period from July 2020 to June 2021. Contribution rates will be raised, contributions will resume, and deferred contributions will be collected, as the case may be, after an upturn in enterprise financial performance.

　　2.4. Back Payments

　　Employers that were unable to register for or timely make housing provident fund contributions due to the requirements of COVID-19 containment should make back payments within 3 months of the lifting of COVID-19 responsemeasures. After all back payments have been made, employers shall be deemed to have made continuous housing provident fund contributions. These provisions may apply to individuals making voluntary contributions.

　　3.Time and Method of Adjustment

　　3.1. Processing Period: July 1 to November 30, 2020.

　　3.2. Method of Adjustment

　　Online: Employers that have activated online transaction services may make required adjustments by making an online self-declaration.

　　Through bank branches: Employers may make an appointment online at the official website, WeChat official account or mobile app of the housing provident fund center and then have the adjustment made in-person at the bank branch and time of their choice.

　　3.3. Correcting Erroneous Adjustments or Making Overdue Adjustments: Where an employer has already made the annual adjustment but needs to make an amendment due to transactional errors, or where an employer failed to make the adjustment within the stipulated time frame due to special circumstances, the employer should submit a written application and relevant documents, and complete relevant procedures at the Guangzhou Railway Sub-Center, various service branches, or management department of the housing provident fund center after making an appointment.

　　4. Other Matters

　　4.1. All employers should complete annual adjustment procedures between July 1 and November 30, 2020. Employers that do not complete relevant procedures within this period should continue to make monthly housing provident fund contributions on in a timely manner per the contribution base amounts and contribution rates for the previous contribution year, whereupon they shall be deemed to have made contributions continuously. Where applications by employees for housing provident fund loans are adversely impacted because their employer has not made continuous contributions, the employer shall bear corresponding liabilities.

　　To ensure the continuity of contribution, an employee who has terminated labor relations with an employer but has not been re-employed may apply for the establishment of a voluntary contribution account in their own name in accordance with the provisions of theGuangzhou Municipal Measures for Voluntary Contributions to and Use of Housing Provident Funds by Individuals, and thereafter continue to make contributions on a monthly basis. Where there is no break between individual contributions to the voluntary contribution account and contributions made to the original personal account under the name of their original employer, contributions shall be deemed to have been continuous. Where a break in contributions occurs due to the failure of an employee to make timely contributions, leading to an adverse impact on applications for housing provident fund loans, the employee shall bear the responsibility resulting therefrom on their own.

　　4.2. Employers that have not made the annual adjustment after December 1, 2020 (inclusive) are required to first complete annual contributions adjustments before continuing to make payments or back payments. After completing adjustment procedures, employers should make back payments or apply for refunds with respect to the months for which contributions were paid prior to adjustment, in order to ensure the consistency of monthly contributions for its employees for the 2020-2021 contribution year.

　　4.3. Within 5 days of paying employee wages each month, employers should transfer employer contributions and withheld individual contributions to the dedicated housing provident fund account. Employers shall bear corresponding liabilities that arise from any delays in contributions.

　　4.4. An employee may make housing provident fund contributions in only one city during the same time period. Where an employee has a housing provident fund account in two or more cities, the employee may retain only one account. Other account(s) should be frozen. After meeting relevant conditions, the employee may transfer their account through the national provident fund transfer platform.

　　With respect to employees who have begun to receive old-age pensions, their employer shall complete procedures for freezing their provident fund accounts on their behalf during the first month that they collect their pensions. Employers may not continue to make housing provident fund contributions for such employees.

　　All employers are required to complete housing provident fund adjustments for the 2020-2021 contribution year per the specific requirements set out in Annexes 1 to 3. Any issues encountered during the course of implementation should be timely reported to the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center.

　　Annexes:

　　1. Housing Provident Fund Contribution Adjustment Guidelines for the 2020-2021 Contribution Year

　　2. Processing Form for Batch Adjustments to Annual Housing Provident Fund Contributions

　　3. Instructions for Completing theProcessing Form for Batch Adjustments to Annual Housing Provident Fund Contributions

　　Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center

　　June 23, 2020

　　Annex 1

　　Housing Provident Fund Contribution Adjustment Guidelines for the 2020-2021 Contribution Year

　　1. Procedures

　　1.1. All employers are required to truthfully complete theProcessing Form for Batch Adjustments to Annual Housing Provident Fund Contributions, which may be downloaded from the official website of the housing provident fund center.

　　1.2. Employers should complete adjustment procedures by appointment at a branch of an authorized bank with a printed copy of the duly completedProcessing Form for Batch Adjustments to Annual Housing Provident Fund Contributions affixed with their official seal. Employers should also provide electronic copies of the processing form.

　　2. Notes

　　2.1. The 2020-2021 contribution year starts from July 1, 2020 and ends on June 30, 2021. Annual contribution adjustments are nonetheless required for employer accounts that were opened between January and June 2020. Adjustments are not required for employer accounts opened in or after July 2020. Annual contribution adjustments are still required for employers facing financial difficulties that have already applied for a reduction in contribution rates, payment deferrals, or discontinuation of contributions.

　　2.2. Prior to June 30, 2020, all employers should verify the contribution base amounts for their employees for the new contribution year and prepare all necessary forms. The housing provident fund center will no longer provide employers with the service of exporting data on their contributions data via the interfaces of our frontend systems.

　　2.3. The Guangzhou Railway Sub-Center, various service branches, and management department of the housing provident fund center will not accept applications for annual contribution adjustments from July 1 to November 30, 2020 (except corrections to erroneous adjustments). All employers are required to either complete relevant procedures online or at authorized bank branches by appointment.

　　2.4. All employers should truthfully complete all required fields in the batch processing form to allow the housing provident fund center to update basic information on both employers and employees in the housing provident fund transaction system, and accurately forward updated personal records and the latest policies on housing provident fund contributions, withdrawals and loans. Employers whose registered information is inaccurate or incomplete will not be able to perform adjustment and contribution transactions as per normal.

　　2.5. Where there is a change to the staff member in charge of housing provident fund matters, employers should complete relevant procedures at a branch of an authorized bank or the various service branches or management department of the housing provident fund with the required documents. The new staff member in charge may complete annual contribution adjustment procedures only after proper authorization. Where an employer has activated online services, the employer is also required to provide the digital certificate to complete changes in access rights to the Online Service Hall. More details on specific procedures are available in the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Contributions Service Guide available on our website.

　　2.6. Where an organization engages in labor dispatching services or serves as a talent agency that handles housing provident fund contributions on behalf of other employers, and thus needs to set several employer contribution rates, such organizations shall submit an application to the service branches or management department of the housing provident fund center according to established procedures prior to making annual contribution adjustments. When making annual contribution adjustments, the contribution rates applied to their clients shall be consistent with those approved by the housing provident fund center. In the event of any inconsistency, such organizations are required to submit a new application for multiple contribution rates per established procedures. More details on specific procedures are available in the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Contributions Service Guide available on our website.

　　2.7. When verifying the base, rate and size of housing provident fund contributions, employers shall explicitly inform their employees of the same and accept the oversight of their employees in order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of their employees. Once contribution base amounts, contribution rates and that employees are exempted from making individual contributions to their personal accounts are identified, such matters are in principle not to be altered within a particular contribution year. Employers shall strictly comply with regulations governing the cap and floor of contribution base amounts and rates. Employers may not make excess housing provident fund contributions through back payments in violation of regulations.

　　2.8. All employers and employees shall make full and timely housing provident fund contributions in strict accordance with theRegulations on Housing Provident Fund Management issued by the State Council. Where applications by employees for housing provident fund loans are adversely impacted because their employer has not made continuous contributions, the employer shall bear corresponding liabilities.

　　Annex 2

　　Annex 3

　　Instructions for Completing the Processing Form for Batch Adjustments to Annual Housing Provident Fund Contributions

　　1. The format of the electronic form has been duly configured. Please do not alter the format of the cells.

　　2. Please fill in data on the adjusted contributions for your employees in the Processing Form for Batch Adjustments to Annual Housing Provident Fund Contributions per the sample format in the electronic form.

　　3. When filling in fields under the “Name” column, please ensure that employee names are consistent with information on their contributions.

　　4. “Monthly Average Wages for the Previous Year” and “Contribution Base” are denominated in CNY and may be rounded to two decimal places. Contribution Base must be no lower than CNY 2,100 and no higher than CNY30,876.

　　5. “Contribution Rate” should be an integer between 5 and 12. The “%” sign should be omitted.

　　6. “Employer Contribution Amount” and “Individual Contribution Amount” are denominated in CNY and should be rounded to the nearest integer. These can be calculated using the following function: Contribution Amount = ROUND (Contribution Base × Contribution Rate/100,0).

　　7. Adjustments are required only for employees with active contributions. Adjustments are not required for employees for whom contributions have been frozen.

　　8. “Adjusted Monthly Contribution (Total)” is the sum of the “Employer Contribution Amount” and the “Individual Contribution Amount” for all employees.

　　9. Employers should complete annual contribution adjustment procedures by appointment at an authorized bank branch after printing a copy of the duly completed electronic form and affixing the printed form with their official seal.

　　10. “Starting Date” refers tothe month following the one in which the last contribution was made.