Can You Get License Plates Without Paying Vehicle Purchase Tax?
3 Answers
You cannot get license plates for a vehicle without paying the purchase tax. Article 14 of the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle Purchase Tax of the People's Republic of China stipulates that taxpayers must pay the vehicle purchase tax before registering the vehicle with the vehicle management authority of the public security organ. Taxpayers must present the tax payment certificate or tax exemption certificate issued by the competent tax authority to the vehicle management authority of the public security organ to complete the vehicle registration procedures. Without the tax payment certificate or tax exemption certificate, the vehicle management authority of the public security organ shall not process the vehicle registration. If the tax authority discovers that a taxpayer has failed to pay the vehicle purchase tax as required, it has the right to order the taxpayer to make the payment. If the taxpayer refuses to pay, the tax authority may notify the vehicle management authority of the public security organ to temporarily withhold the vehicle's license plates. The purchase tax is a tax levied by the tax authority on the acquisition of specified properties and assets within the scope of the purchase tax system, such as the vehicle purchase tax. The vehicle purchase tax is a tax imposed on entities and individuals who purchase specified vehicles within China, evolving from the vehicle purchase surcharge. The current basic regulations of the vehicle purchase tax law are the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle Purchase Tax of the People's Republic of China, implemented on January 1, 2001. Taxpayers of the vehicle purchase tax include entities and individuals who acquire taxable vehicles (through purchase, import, self-production, gift, award, or other means for personal use). The taxable scope includes cars, motorcycles, electric vehicles, trailers, and agricultural transport vehicles, with a tax rate of 10%.
I just bought a car and specifically consulted the staff at the vehicle management office. They said that the vehicle purchase tax must be paid before license plate registration. Just like compulsory traffic insurance, without the tax payment certificate, the vehicle management office won’t accept your materials at all. For license plate registration, you need to bring four things: the owner’s ID card, the car purchase invoice, the vehicle qualification certificate, and the vehicle purchase tax payment certificate. When I went to pay the tax, I also asked about the tax rate, which is generally 10% of the car price after deducting the value-added tax. If you delay paying the tax, the car can only sit at home as a decoration, and you can’t even get a temporary license plate. If you’re caught by traffic police driving without a license plate, besides having your car impounded, you’ll also face a fine—that would be a huge loss. So, my advice is that the first thing to do after getting a new car is to hurry up and pay the tax.
I remember the first time I helped my boss with company vehicle registration, a friend at the tax bureau told me that the purchase tax is a mandatory national levy. It must be paid within 60 days after the car purchase invoice is issued, otherwise late fees will accrue daily. The vehicle management system is directly linked to the tax system - just swipe your ID card to check if taxes have been paid. Once our admin specialist forgot to pay taxes for a new car, resulting in three wasted trips to the DMV that accomplished nothing. Eventually I had to take her to the government service center to pay the overdue tax and obtain the tax payment certificate before we could complete the registration. Looking back now, the tax payment process is actually quite simple - just visit the tax window or scan a code to pay via the official app.
