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Recently, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other 16 departments, issued the "Several Measures on Invigorating Automobile Circulation and Expanding Automobile Consumption", proposing "supporting the large-scale development of used car circulation, and strictly implementing the policy of completely canceling the restrictions on the movement of used cars in all regions". In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce said in an interview with this reporter that after the removal restriction policy is completely abolished, used cars will further realize free circulation throughout the country, and the supply of automobile products in various places will be more abundant, which will enhance the adaptability between supply and demand and better meet the demand for automobile consumption.
Recently, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other 16 departments, issued the "Several Measures on Invigorating Automobile Circulation and Expanding Automobile Consumption" (hereinafter referred to as "Several Measures"), proposing "supporting the large-scale development of used car circulation, and strictly implementing the policy of completely canceling the restrictions on the movement of used cars in various regions". What is the background for the "Several Measures" to cancel the policy of restricting the movement of used cars? What new measures are there to accelerate the active second-hand car market? The reporter interviewed the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce.
Second-hand cars will further realize free circulation throughout the country.
Restricting the removal of used cars has always been a prominent problem that restricts the construction of a unified national automobile market. In the past few years, the State Council has deployed many times, and relevant departments and localities have conscientiously implemented it, and continued to promote the cancellation of the policy of restricting the movement of used cars, and achieved positive results.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, some enterprises and the masses have reported that since the implementation of the national sixth emission standard for new cars nationwide, a few places have "added policy" to used cars, requiring foreign countries to transfer used cars to meet the national sixth emission standard, and vehicles with national fifth emission standards are not allowed to move in. At the same time, there are still some places that violate the existing regulations of the state and restrict the movement of used cars that meet the emission standards of in-use cars, which hinders the free circulation of used cars across regions, restricts the operation of enterprises and inhibits the automobile consumption demand of the masses, which has been strongly reflected by all parties.
In order to solve these problems, in May, the State Council issued a "package of policies and measures to stabilize the economy", which clearly required that the policy of restricting the movement of used cars be completely abolished. The "Several Measures" have further refined and implemented this to ensure that this measure will be effective as soon as possible. The first is to clarify the scope requirements. That is to say, it is required to implement this policy nationwide, including key areas for air pollution prevention and control, and promote the free circulation of used cars that meet the national five emission standards. The second is to clarify the time requirements. In a few areas, the policy of lifting the restriction on relocation has made slow progress. In order to ensure that this measure will be effective as soon as possible, it is further clarified that this measure will be fully implemented from August 1 this year.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, according to the analysis of relevant institutions, at present, the flow of used cars in China generally presents a regional feature from first-and second-tier cities to third-and fourth-tier cities. After the removal restriction policy is completely abolished, used cars will further realize the free circulation throughout the country, promote the rich supply of automobile products in various places, enhance the adaptability between supply and demand, better meet the demand for automobile consumption, satisfy people’s yearning for a better life, and achieve good economic and social benefits.
The person in charge said that the Ministry of Commerce will closely follow the progress of the implementation of local policies with relevant departments, do a good job of supervision and inspection, and ensure that the policies are fully implemented and effective as soon as possible.
Thoroughly get through the difficulties in the circulation of used cars.
Used cars are an important link in the whole life cycle of automobiles. Invigorating the circulation of used cars can revitalize the stock of cars and increase the consumption of new cars, which plays a very important role in promoting the consumption of cars.
China’s car ownership has exceeded 300 million, ranking first in the world. After the car ownership reaches a certain level, the second-hand car market begins to increase in volume, which is the universal law of automobile consumption in the world. In 2021, China’s second-hand car trading volume reached 17.59 million, less than 6% of the car ownership, far below the proportion of the international mature car market. The problems of cross-regional restrictions on the movement of second-hand cars, unclear commodity attributes, and limited distribution business have seriously hindered the development of the second-hand car market.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, on the basis of systematic combing and extensive investigation, the Ministry of Commerce has put forward a series of measures to comprehensively develop the circulation of used cars, hoping to completely break through the difficulties in the circulation of used cars, so that used cars can gradually standardize transactions, circulate freely and consume with confidence like new cars. These measures cover almost all aspects and fields of second-hand car circulation, from the registration of market entities to filing, to the accounting treatment and invoice issuance of second-hand cars, and then to the cross-regional circulation and transfer registration of vehicles. In addition to the total cancellation of the relocation restriction policy, the "Several Measures" also includes the following aspects — —
Support the development of distribution business and promote scale development. Enterprise distribution mode is the main circulation channel of the mature international used car market, accounting for about 70%. China’s used car market is dominated by the "broker+individual" model, and the problem of "small and weak" in the industry is prominent. To this end, the "Several Measures" require the abolition of unreasonable restrictions on the development of second-hand car distribution, and it is clear that enterprises with registered residences and business premises outside the second-hand car trading market can carry out second-hand car sales business. At the same time, because natural persons can’t issue sales invoices to the purchasing enterprises as sellers when selling used cars, in order to facilitate the people to sell cars and business operations, used car enterprises are allowed to issue invoices as buyers, that is, "reverse invoicing", and handle the transfer registration procedures accordingly.
Optimize transaction registration management and promote efficient circulation. The "Several Measures" clarify that the second-hand cars distributed by enterprises should be accounted for as "inventory goods" like new cars, and a separate endorsement should be made when the vehicles are transferred and registered, and a temporary number plate should be issued, which greatly optimizes the transaction registration process; For cities where automobile purchases are restricted, it is clear that the second-hand cars purchased by automobile sales enterprises and used for sales do not occupy the number plate index, further reducing the operating costs of enterprises and facilitating the circulation of second-hand car transactions.
Promote the professional, large-scale and standardized development of used car circulation
The "Several Measures" proposes to restrict natural persons from selling three or more used cars that have been held for less than one year in a natural year. In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce said that this measure is more specific, but it plays an important role in promoting the professional, large-scale and standardized development of used car circulation.
This policy meets the needs of the development of used car circulation and the demands of the industry. According to the current regulations, individuals do not have to pay value-added tax when selling used cars, and they are tax-free. However, distribution enterprises should levy value-added tax according to a certain proportion of sales when selling used cars. For this reason, some second-hand car distribution enterprises carry out second-hand car distribution business in the name of brokers, and trade the vehicles under the name of individuals, resulting in the phenomenon of individual "backtracking". At present, the circulation of second-hand cars in China is dominated by "brokers+individuals", which leads to the "small and weak" industry, and has a negative impact on society, resulting in unfair competition and many transaction disputes, which has dampened consumer confidence and become a drawback of the industry. The industry calls for effective policies to effectively regulate this phenomenon.
This measure also draws lessons from the experience of the mature international automobile market. The Ministry of Commerce has fully investigated the management of second-hand car circulation in developed countries. The circulation of second-hand car transactions in developed countries is very common and there are many mature experiences and practices. For example, if an individual sells a certain number of used cars within a certain period of time, he is recognized as a used car dealer. At this time, he can no longer trade in his own name, and must pay taxes according to law. He must express his car condition information to the next distribution enterprise and consumers, and he must also bear the responsibility of quality assurance. The Ministry of Commerce also draws lessons from these international advanced practices.
This measure will not affect the normal car sales behavior of the majority of car owners. The starting point of this measure is to eliminate the phenomenon of individual "back-selling" and will not affect individual car sales. The number of cars in China has exceeded 300 million, and the number of individual owners is 215 million. Among the 215 million car owners, there are about 2 million car owners who own more than three or more cars. The Ministry of Commerce has conducted in-depth research. Among these 2 million car owners, it is rare to sell more than three cars that have been held for less than one year in one year. Therefore, this measure will not affect the normal car sales behavior of individuals. At the same time, this measure also reserved a half-year transition period, which also reserved sufficient time for reasonably guiding market expectations and ensuring a smooth transition of policies.
People’s Daily (August 18, 2022, 07 edition)
