The central bank issued a document! In the future, there will be rules for paying taxes using Alipay, WeChat, etc.

In the future, individuals can pay taxes and other budget revenue funds more securely through third-party payment apps such as Alipay and WeChat.

In order to standardize the behavior of non-bank payment institutions, commercial banks and clearing institutions in providing treasury funds collection and payment services, maintain the security of treasury funds, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of payers, the People's Bank of China has drafted the "Administrative Measures for Treasury Funds Collection and Payment Services (Trial) (Draft for Comments)" and solicited public opinions. The deadline for feedback is September 18, 2019.

Tax services in Alipay

The so-called treasury funds collection and payment service refers to the network payment service provided by non-bank payment institutions for various types of budget revenue collection and payment through the network channel directly connected to the treasury by commercial banks or clearing institutions. The treasury funds collection and payment service is an extension of the treasury collection business and is an online payment service provided only to personal bank settlement accounts.

"In recent years, with the increasing use of non-bank payment institution apps such as WeChat and Alipay, payers have an increasingly strong demand to pay taxes and other budget revenue funds through non-bank payment institutions. Some non-bank payment institutions have also expressed their willingness to participate in providing treasury collection and payment services, and various regions have launched business innovations involving the participation of non-bank payment institutions in collection. These innovative businesses have posed new challenges to the treasury's management of collection and payment business, and there is an urgent need to introduce relevant systems to clarify the various requirements for non-bank payment institutions to participate in treasury collection and payment." The central bank said in the drafting instructions of the "Treasury Funds Collection and Payment Service Management Measures (Trial) (Draft for Comments)".

Specifically, the treasury fund collection and payment services include two business models. One is that third-party payment institutions connect with commercial banks through clearing institutions and provide collection and payment services based on the network channels of commercial banks directly connected to the treasury; the other is that non-bank payment institutions provide collection and payment services based on the network channels of clearing institutions directly connected to the treasury.

According to the Draft for Comments, third-party payment institutions that want to participate in providing treasury funds collection and payment services must obtain an Internet payment or mobile phone payment business license. In addition, their classification ratings in the past three years have been B or above, and no major violations of laws and regulations have occurred.

The "Draft for Comments" clearly states that third-party payment institutions can only rely on the existing channels for the treasury to collect budget revenue and cooperate with commercial banks and clearing institutions to provide payment services to payers.

Taking into account the special nature of treasury funds, the "Draft for Comments" stipulates that third-party payment institutions can only obtain the minimum and necessary information from the treasury, tax authorities and payers to complete payment services.

In addition, to ensure the safety of treasury funds, the Draft for Comments prohibits non-bank payment institutions from deducting or retaining funds from their own reserve accounts when providing services.

In order to ensure the safety of the funds being returned, the Draft for Comments does not allow non-bank payment institutions to handle the return of treasury funds.