Notice by Nansha District Bureau of Justice on Issuing the Implementation Rules on the Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone)

Normative Document No 2 [2023] of Nansha District Bureau of Justice of Guangzhou Municipality

Notice by Nansha District Bureau of Justice on Issuing the Implementation Rules on the Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone)

All towns (subdistricts), departments of and agencies directly under the Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone (Nansha District),

The Implementation Rules on the Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) is hereby issued to you for your compliance and implementation. Problems encountered in the implementation shall be directly reported to Nansha District Bureau of Justice of Guangzhou Municipality.

Nansha District Bureau of Justice of Guangzhou Municipality

October 9, 2023

Implementation Rules on the Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Implementation Rules are formulated to implement the Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) (Normative Document No.2 [2023] of the Office of the Administrative Committee of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality), build Nansha into a highland for foreign-related legal services and promote the high-quality development of foreign-related legal services in Nansha based on the Implementation Rules on the Measures to Support the Development of the Legal Service Cluster Area in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) (Normative Document No. 6 [2020] of the Office of the Administrative Committee of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality) and the local conditions of Nansha.

Article 2 The Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) shall apply to legal service agencies legally established in Nansha and legal professionals working or practicing in such legal service agencies, including:

1. Chinese mainland law firms (including their branches), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms), Chinese mainland representative offices of Hong Kong and Macao law firms and Chinese representative offices of foreign law firms;

2. Agencies or organizations for notarization, judicial appraisal, commercial arbitration, commercial mediation, foreign law ascertainment, etc. (except public institutions);

3. Legal science and technology enterprises;

4. Legal professionals working or practicing in the above legal service agencies, including Chinese mainland lawyers (excluding part-time lawyers), legal practitioners in Hong Kong or practicing lawyers in Macao who have obtained a lawyer's certificate (of the GBA), foreign lawyers, professionals with professional qualifications for Hong Kong, Macao or foreign lawyers and lawyers whose household is registered in Hong Kong or Macao.

Article 3 Legal service agencies that are legally established in Nansha and benefit from the supportive policies shall meet one of the following requirements:

1. They are Chinese mainland law firms (excluding their branches), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms), Chinese mainland representative offices of Hong Kong and Macao law firms, Chinese representative offices of foreign law firms and agencies or organizations for notarization, judicial appraisal, commercial arbitration, commercial mediation, foreign law ascertainment and so on that register in Nansha and whose competent tax authority is Nansha District Office, Guangzhou Tax Service, State Administration of Taxation and statistical relations are located in Nansha;

2. They are branches of Chinese mainland law firms (the statistical relations of such branches are located in the districts or counties as their parent law firms in accordance with relevant regulations) that register in Nansha and whose competent tax authority is Nansha District Office, Guangzhou Tax Service;

3. They are legal science and technology enterprises that register in Nansha and whose competent tax authority is Nansha District Office, Guangzhou Tax Service and statistical relations are located in Nansha;

Article 4 Legal service agencies that have won relevant honors and awards in the last three years (since January 1, 2021) and meet one of the following requirements can be certified as well-known legal service agencies:

1. Legal service agencies such as Chinese mainland law firms (including their branches), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms), Hong Kong and Macao law firms, their Chinese mainland representative offices, foreign law firms, their Chinese representative offices and so on that are included in the Chambers Global Legal Guide issued by Chambers and Partners or The Legal 500;

2. Chinese mainland law firms (including their branches) that meet one of the following requirements can be certified as well-known legal service agencies:

(i) They have won comprehensive honors or awards granted separately or jointly by the Office of the Commission for Overall Law-Based Governance of the CPC Central Committee or state organs for judicial administration, development and reform, commerce etc., or national industry associations such as China Law Society and All China Lawyers Association; or they have won honors or awards for foreign-related rule of law or foreign-related intellectual property protection, including but not limited to National Model Foreign-related Legal Service Agencies, Advanced Group in the National Judicial Administration System, National Excellent Law Firm and Ministerial-level Civilized Law Firms;

(ii) In the previous two years before obtaining the subsidy or reward specified in these Implementation Rules, they have more than 30 full-time lawyers and a business income of more than 15 million yuan every year, and have won comprehensive honors or awards granted separately or jointly by the provincial-/district-/municipal-level office of the commission for overall law-based governance of the CPC provincial committee, or provincial-level organs for judicial administration, development and reform, commerce etc., or provincial-level law societies, lawyers associations or other industry associations, or honors or awards for foreign-related rule of law and foreign-related intellectual property protection, including but not limited to Outstanding Collectives for Foreign-related Rule of Law in Guangdong Province, the Database of Guangdong Foreign-related Law Firms, Database of Guangdong Foreign-related Intellectual Property Law Firms and Excellent Law Firms in Guangdong Province;

(iii) They are legal science and technology enterprises that, in the previous two years before obtaining the subsidy or reward specified in these Implementation Rules, have a business income of more than 30 million yuan every year and have won comprehensive honors or awards related to the rule of law and granted separately or jointly by the provincial-/district-/municipal-level office of the commission for overall law-based governance of the CPC committee above the provincial level, or organs for judicial administration, development and reform, commerce etc., at or above the provincial level, or law societies, lawyers associations or other industry associations at or above the provincial level, or honors or awards for foreign-related rule of law or foreign-related intellectual property protection;

(iv) They are organizations or agencies for notarization, judicial appraisal, commercial arbitration, commercial mediation, foreign law ascertainment, etc. that have won comprehensive honors or awards granted separately or jointly by the office of the commission for overall law-based governance of the CPC committee at or above the provincial level, or organs for judicial administration, development and reform, commerce etc. at or above the provincial level, or law societies, notaries associations or other industry associations at or above the provincial level, or honors or awards for foreign-related rule of law or foreign-related intellectual property protection, including but not limited to National Demonstration Notary Service Agencies for Intellectual Property, National Demonstration Foreign-related Legal Service Agencies, Advanced Group in the National Judicial Administration System, Demonstration Legal Service Agencies for Intellectual Property in Guangdong Province and Outstanding Group for Foreign-related Rule of Law in Guangdong Province.

Chapter II Settlement Subsidy

Article 5 "Settlement" as mentioned in Article 1 of the Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) refers to legal service agencies that are established or move to Nansha after the date of issuance of the Measures, that is, February 10, 2023 (including February 10, 2023).

Article 6 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms) that meet any of the following requirements can apply for the settlement subsidy:

1. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms, where all three partners meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies, can apply for a settlement subsidy of five million yuan; where two partners meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies, can apply for a settlement subsidy of three million yuan; where one partner meets the standard of well-known legal service agencies, can apply for a settlement subsidy of two million yuan; where neither partner meets the standard of well-known legal service agencies, can apply for a settlement subsidy of one million yuan;

2. Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms, where two partners meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies, can apply for a settlement subsidy of three million yuan; where one partner meets the standard of well-known legal service agencies, can apply for a settlement subsidy of two million yuan; where neither partner meets the standard of well-known legal service agencies, can apply for a settlement subsidy of one million yuan;

Article 7 Hong Kong and Macao law firms that set up Chinese mainland representative offices in Nansha according to the Measures for the Administration of the Representative Offices Stationed in the Mainland of China by Law Firms of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region (Decree No. 131 of the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China) issued by the Ministry of Justice and meet any of the following requirements can apply for the settlement subsidy:

1. Hong Kong and Macao law firms that meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies and set up their representative offices in the Chinese mainland in Nansha can apply for a settlement subsidy of two million yuan;

2. Hong Kong and Macao law firms that fail to meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies and set up their representative offices in the Chinese mainland in Nansha can apply for a settlement subsidy of one million yuan;

"Chinese mainland representative offices" as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall have more than five representatives (including the chief representative) and more than three resident representatives (including the chief representative) in the representative offices. The representative offices shall actually offer foreign-related legal services in Nansha and shall provide relevant proof.

Article 8 Foreign law firms that set up Chinese representative offices in Nansha according to the Regulations on the Administration of Chinese Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms (Decree No. 338 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China) and meet one of the following conditions can apply for the settlement subsidy:

1. Chinese representative offices set up by foreign law firms that meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies in Nansha can apply for a settlement subsidy of two million yuan;

2. Chinese representative offices set up by foreign law firms that fail to meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies in Nansha can apply for a settlement subsidy of one million yuan.

"Chinese representative offices" as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall have more than five representatives (including the chief representative) and more than three resident representatives (including the chief representative) in the representative offices. The representative offices shall actually offer foreign-related legal services in Nansha and shall provide relevant proof.

Article 9 Professional legal service agencies established in Nansha by other legal service agencies that meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies and mainly engaged in foreign-related legal services for maritime affairs, maritime business, intellectual property, cross-border investment, etc., shall be granted a settlement subsidy of one million yuan (for sole proprietorship) or 500,000 yuan (for joint venture).

Article 10 The settlement subsidy provided for in this chapter shall be paid in three installments (30%, 30% and 40%) in three years starting from the year of the agencies' settlement. If a legal service agency does not apply for the settlement subsidy in the year of its settlement, the subsidy shall be paid in three installments (30%, 30% and 40%) in three years starting from the year of its application.

Chapter III Progress Reward

Article 11 Legal service agencies (excluding enterprises) that are or have been established in Nansha and meet one of the following requirements can apply for a progress reward of 1 million yuan:

1. They are Chinese mainland law firms that meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies for the first time;

2. They are branches of Chinese mainland law firms and their founders meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies for the first time;

3. They are Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms) and one of their partners meets the standard of well-known legal service agencies for the first time;

4. They are Chinese mainland representative offices set up by Hong Kong and Macao law firms and their founders meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies for the first time;

5. They are Chinese representative offices set up by foreign law firms and their founders meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies for the first time;

6. They are agencies or organizations for notarization, judicial appraisal, commercial arbitration, commercial mediation, foreign law ascertainment, etc. and their founders meet the criteria of being certified as well-known legal service agencies for the first time.

"Being certified as well-known legal service agencies for the first time" as mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to the legal service agencies that meet the standard of well-known legal service agencies for the first time after February 10, 2023 (including February 10, 2023).

Article 12 Legal service agencies (excluding enterprises) that are or have been established in Nansha meet one of the following requirements, have been approved by Nansha District Policy Support Evaluation Team for Legal Service Agencies (hereinafter referred to as the "evaluation team") and play a pioneering, rare or leading role in legal services in Guangzhou, can apply for a progress reward of one million yuan:

1. Their innovative practice in foreign-related legal services has been introduced to and promoted in Guangzhou Municipality, Guangdong Province or the whole country by government departments at or above the municipal level through documents or on-site meetings;

2. They are awarded or commended for the achievements in foreign-related legal services and foreign-related intellectual property protection by national and Guangdong provincial departments, industry associations, or the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee or its General Office, the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality or its General Office, the Commission for Overall Law-Based Governance of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee or its General Office, and the Politics and Law Committee of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee;

3. They are qualified for prioritized support from the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality and relevant municipal government departments and institutions;

4. Other circumstances where they can be certified as pioneering, rare and leading legal service agencies in Guangzhou.

The time for the promotion, commendation and prioritized support specified in the preceding paragraph shall be after February 10, 2023 (including February 10, 2023).

Article 13 For well-known legal service agencies that set up Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms), or Chinese mainland representative offices of Hong Kong or Macao law firms, or Chinese representative offices of foreign law firms, or agencies or organizations for notarization, judicial appraisal, commercial arbitration, commercial mediation, foreign law ascertainment, etc. in Nansha, those who have applied for the settlement subsidy shall not apply for for the progress reward with the same partner or founder that has been certified as well-known legal service agencies after their establishment.

For the progress reward provided for in this chapter, a legal service agency can only apply once.

The progress reward provided for in this chapter will be paid in three installments (30%, 30% and 40%) in three years starting from the support year.

Chapter IV Office Space Subsidy

Article 14 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms) or other legal service agencies mainly engaged in foreign-related legal services that rent office space in Nansha for their own use (excluding canteens, garages, warehouses and other ancillary and supporting rooms) can apply for the office space subsidy according to the actual rent, maximum 50 yuan/square meter/month and two million yuan/year.

The office space subsidy specified in the preceding paragraph shall be granted for the rent incurred after February 10, 2023 (including February 10, 2023), and the subsidy period shall not exceed three years.

When applying for the office space subsidy, other legal service agencies mainly engaged in foreign-related legal services shall provide valid proof to prove that their business volume of and business income from foreign-related legal affairs account for more than 50% of their total business volume and total income in the previous year.

Article 15 Legal service agencies that meet both the standard for the office space subsidy provided for in this chapter and the standard for the office space subsidy provided for in the Support Measures for the Development of the Legal Service Cluster in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) can apply for only one of them.

Chapter V Economic Contribution Reward

Article 16 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms) or other legal service agencies mainly engaged in foreign-related legal services whose business income stands at more than six million yuan but less than 10 million yuan in the previous year can apply for a reward of 60% of their contribution to Nansha's economic development. If they had a business income of more than 10 million yuan but less than 30 million yuan in the previous year, they can apply for a reward of 75% of their contribution to Nansha's economic development. If they had a business income of more than 30 million yuan in the previous year, they can apply for a reward of 85% of their contribution to Nansha's economic development. The annual reward shall not exceed one million yuan.

Agencies can apply for the economic contribution reward specified in the preceding paragraph since 2024.

When applying for the economic contribution reward, other legal service agencies mainly engaged in foreign-related legal services shall provide valid proof to prove that their business volume of and business income from foreign-related legal affairs account for more than 50% of their total business volume and total income in the previous year.

Chapter VI Outstanding Achievement Reward

Article 17 Legal service agencies in Nansha with legal service projects and cases concerning foreign countries, Hong Kong and Macao, or research achievements concerning the rule of law in foreign countries commended or promoted by national ministries and commissions, China Law Society, All China Lawyers Association or other national industry associations can apply for a reward of 100,000 yuan for each project, case and research achievement. If such projects, cases or researches are commended or promoted by provincial government departments, Guangdong Province Law Society, Guangdong Lawyers Association or other provincial industry associations, the legal service agencies can apply for a reward of 50,000 yuan for each project, case and research achievement. The reward granted to each legal service agency shall not exceed 500,000 yuan each year.

If a project, case or research achievement has already been granted a lower reward specified in this article and later meets the criteria for a higher reward specified in this article, the difference can be granted.

The time of the commendation and promotion specified in the preceding paragraph shall be after February 10, 2023 (including February 10, 2023).

Chapter VII Talent Attraction Subsidy

Article 18 Chinese mainland law firms (including branches) and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms) that hire one person under any of the following circumstances with actual business done by that person can apply for a one-time subsidy of 50,000 yuan:

1. Legal practitioners in Hong Kong or practicing lawyers in Macao who have obtained a lawyer's certificate (of the GBA);

2. Lawyers appointed or hired by Hong Kong or Macao partners of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao partnership law firms (including Guangdong-Hong Kong partnership law firms and Guangdong-Macao partnership law firms);

3. Foreign lawyers acting as legal counsel;

4. Other foreign professionals with qualifications;

5. Lawyers whose household is registered in Hong Kong and Macao.

"Appointed or hired" as mentioned in the preceding paragraph means the above persons have been appointed or hired before the date of issuance of the application announcement.

"With actual business done by that person" means that the above person has independently or jointly handled more than 5 litigation or arbitration cases or more than 10 non-litigation legal affairs for the same law firm in this year.

Article 19 Each law firm can apply for a talent introduction subsidy of no more than one million yuan in total per year. If the same person practices or works at different law firms in Nansha and the former law firm has applied for this subsidy, the latter law firm shall no longer benefit from it again.

Chapter VIII Talent Development Subsidy

Article 20 Legal practitioners in Hong Kong or practicing lawyers in Macao who have obtained a lawyer's certificate (of the GBA) and have worked at legal service agencies established in Nansha continuously for 12 months or above can apply for a subsidy of 100,000 yuan. Professionals with professional qualifications for Hong Kong, Macao or foreign lawyers who have worked at legal service agencies established in Nansha continuously for 12 months or above can apply for a subsidy of 80,000 yuan. Lawyers whose household is registered in Hong Kong and Macao and who have worked at legal service agencies established in Nansha continuously for 12 months or above can apply for a subsidy of 60,000 yuan.

"Have worked continuously for 12 months or above" means that as of the date of issuance of the application announcement, the persons specified in the preceding paragraph have practiced or worked at the legal service agencies established in Nansha for at least 12 consecutive months.

If the applicant has been granted a lower reward specified in this article and later meets the criteria for a higher reward specified in this article, the difference can be granted.

Article 21 Chinese mainland lawyers practicing in Nansha (excluding part-time lawyers), legal practitioners in Hong Kong or practicing lawyers in Macao who have obtained a lawyer's certificate (of the GBA) and lawyers whose household is registered in Hong Kong and Macao; lawyers who are included in the National Talent Pool for Lawyers Specializing in Foreign-related Affairs initiated by the Ministry of Justice, the Belt and Road Talent Pool for Lawyers Specializing in Cross-border Affairs initiated by All China Lawyers Association, the Special Support Program for Training High-level Talents of Guangdong Province or other talent pools for foreign-related legal services initiated by national ministries and commissions or national industry associations can apply for a subsidy of 100,000 yuan;

Those who have been included in the Talent Pool for Lawyers Specializing in Foreign-related Affairs of Guangdong Province, the Pool for Lawyers Specializing in Foreign-related Intellectual Property of Guangdong Province or the Talent Pool for Leading Lawyers Specializing in Foreign-related Affairs of Guangdong Province; or who have been rated as advanced individuals in foreign-related rule of law of Guangdong Province by the Commission for Overall Law-Based Governance of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee or judicial administration departments of Guangdong Province, or have been included in the talent pools for foreign-related legal services initiated by other provincial departments of Guangdong Province or industry associations of Guangdong Province can apply for a subsidy of 50,000 yuan;

Those who have been included in the Talent Pool for Lawyers Specializing in Foreign-related Affairs of Guangzhou Municipality or the Talent Pool for Leading Lawyers Specializing in Foreign-related Affairs of Guangzhou Municipality or talent pools for foreign-related legal services initiated by other municipal-level departments of Guangzhou Municipality or industry associations of Guangzhou Municipality can apply for a subsidy of 30,000 yuan.

As of the date of issuance of the application announcement, the applicant who has been included in the above talent pools can apply for the corresponding subsidy. The applicant can only apply for the subsidy once. If the applicant has been granted a lower subsidy specified in this article and later meets the criteria for a higher subsidy specified in this article, the difference can be granted.

Article 22 The applicant who meets the criteria specified in Article 20 and Article 21 can apply for the corresponding talent development subsidies at the same time.

The talent development subsidy will be paid in two installments (60% and 40%) in two years.

Chapter IX Special Contribution Reward

Article 23 Institutions, organizations, enterprises and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to foreign-related legal services in Nansha and meet one of the following requirements can be rewarded after the approval of the report submitted by the district's judicial administration department to the Administrative Committee of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality and Nansha District People's Government according to the specific circumstances:

1. They have an annual revenue of more than 100 million yuan in the last consecutive three years after their establishment in Nansha and the headquarters of law firms with overseas branches have settled in Nansha;

2. They have participated in the formulation or modification of international treaties;

3. They have provided foreign-related legal services for the international, nationwide, GBA-wide or provincial events held in Nansha;

4. Other circumstances where they can be certified as making outstanding contributions to the foreign-related legal services in Nansha.

"The last three years" as mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to the first three years upon the date of acceptance of the application.

Chapter X Application and Review

Article 24 Legal service agencies and legal professionals who meet the criteria within the validity term of the Eight Measures to Promote the Development of the Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) are eligible for the subsidy or reward specified in these Implementation Rules. Legal service agencies and legal professionals shall submit an application at the policy implementation service counter. Those who fail to apply within the time limit will be automatically deemed as waivering the subsidy. The specific time limit is subject to the announcement.

Article 25 The district's judicial administration department will accept applications once a year. The application process is as follows:

1. Application. The applicant submits the application materials at the policy implementation service counter. After a formal review by the counter, the application that meets relevant requirements with all the required application materials will be accepted and handed over to the district's judicial administration department. Those who meet relevant requirements but fail to submit all the required application materials will be asked to supplement other materials at one time. Those who fail to meet relevant requirements will be informed of the reason and rejected.

2. Review by the competent authority. The district's judicial administration department shall verify the application materials together with other competent departments according to their respective duties and give their opinions.

The district judicial administration department is in charge of verifying the registered capital and registration status of the legal service agencies, while the district's departments of civil affairs and government service data administration shall assist with it during this process; The district migrant service department shall assist in verifying the rental situation of office space by the legal service agencies; The district's finance and taxation departments shall provide the relevant data on the contribution of the legal service agencies to Nansha's economic development; The district's statistics department shall provide information on the statistical relations of the legal service agencies; The district's judicial administration department is responsible for and other competent departments of the relevant industries shall assist in verifying whether legal service agencies or legal professionals are subject to administrative or industrial penalties; The district's public security department shall assist in verifying whether the partners, persons in charge, and/or professionals of the legal service agencies are subject to public security administration penalties or criminal investigation.

The district's judicial administration department shall, according to the review opinions of other relevant departments, propose the implementation plan for the subsidy or reward to be granted.

3. Approval. The district leaders in charge of the district's judicial administration department shall organize the evaluation team to examine the implementation plan for the subsidy or reward to be granted proposed by the judicial administration department. The evaluation team is composed of members from the district departments of judicial administration, development and reform, civil affairs, finance, public security, human resources and social security, commerce, talents development, taxation, statistics, migrant services, government service data administration, etc. (The members of the evaluation team are not fixed and shall be determined according to the specific subsidy or reward to be granted).

4. Publicity and allocation of support funds. The district's judicial administration department will publish the list of approved legal service agencies or legal professionals online for five working days.

If an objection is raised to the list published, the district's judicial administration department will conduct a re-examination jointly with other relevant departments. If the objection is determined to be untenable after the re-examination, the original review opinion of the evaluation team shall be followed. If the objection is tenable or there are other circumstances that do not meet the requirements for the subsidy or reward, the district's judicial administration department shall put forward a proposal and report it to the evaluation team for final determination. The results shall be given to the applicant within five working days.

When the publicity period ends, the district's judicial administration department shall apply for the allocation of the support funds according to the procedures prescribed in the Measures for Budget Administration of Nansha's Departments of Guangzhou (Letter No. 4 [2021] of the Office of Administrative Committee of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone of Guangzhou Municipality).

5. Spot checks afterwards. The district's judicial administration department shall conduct spot checks on the registration, tax relations and statistical relations of the legal service agencies together with the district's departments of civil affairs, taxation, statistics and government service data administration.

Those who fail to meet the application requirements during the spot checks is subject to relevant provisions of Chapter XI.

Article 26 If a project or item meets the criteria for the subsidy or reward specified in the Implementation Rules and other supportive policies of Nansha at the same time, including the policy requiring Nansha District to grant auxiliary subsidy or reward, the highest subsidy or reward shall be granted and the lower one shall be canceled, unless otherwise stipulated by laws, regulations or policies.

The relocation of legal science and technology enterprises from another district of Guangzhou to Nansha shall be conducted according to the regulations of Guangzhou. In case of hand-in funds in budget transfer, the subsidy or reward shall be deducted during the policy implementation.

Article 27 All the currency mentioned in these Implementation Rules is CNY. The taxes and fees arising from applying for the support funds shall be borne by the applicant. The taxes and fees on legal professionals from Hong Kong and Macao shall be subject to the relevant regulations on taxes and fees.

Chapter XI Administration and Supervision

Article 28 Legal service agencies and legal professionals shall truthfully make applications and be responsible for the authenticity, accuracy, legality and completeness of their application materials. If any fraudulent practice of legal service agencies or legal professionals is found during the application and use of the financial support funds, such legal service agencies or legal professionals shall be disqualified from applying for all the support funds specified in these Implementation Rules within five years after the verification by the district's judicial administration department. In addition, they should immediately return the funds received to the district's finance department together with interest according to the current loan prime rate (hereinafter referred to as "LPR"). If they refuse to return the support funds they have received, the district's judicial administration department shall recover the funds in accordance with the law. Those suspected of committing crimes will be handled by the judicial authorities in accordance with the law.

Article 29 Legal service agencies that have been subject to administrative or industrial penalties in the past three years, or whose persons in charge or partners have been subject to public security administration publishments, administrative penalties from the judicial administration organ or other administration organs, or industry sanctions from the industry associations, or have been included in the national name list of persons subject to enforcement for trust-breaking and criminal offenses are not allowed to apply for the support funds specified in these Implementation Rules. If any of the above situation occurs within five years after receiving the support funds, the support funds should be returned.

Legal professionals who have been subject to public security administration punishments, administrative penalties from the judicial administration organ or industry sanctions from industry associations, or have been included in the national name list of persons subject to enforcement for trust-breaking or criminal offenses in the past three years are not allowed to apply for the support funds specified in these Implementation Rules. If any of the above situation occurs within five years after receiving the support funds, the support funds should be returned.

"The past three years" as mentioned in the preceding paragraph means three years before the date of the acceptance of application from the legal service agencies or legal professionals. "Within five years" means five years from the date of receiving support funds.

Article 30 Legal service agencies and legal professionals applying for the support, subsidy or reward should submit a written commitment to the policy implementation department at the same time. If they fail to honor their commitment, they should return all the support funds they have received in one lump sum together with interest according to the current LPR.

Chapter XII Supplementary Provisions

Article 31 The definitions of the words mentioned are as follows:

1. Foreign lawyer refers to foreigners who have obtained professional qualifications for foreign lawyers and have obtained the legal practice license of the country in which the practice qualifications are obtained.

2. Lawyers whose household is registered in Hong Kong and Macao refer to Hong Kong and Macao residents of Chinese nationality who have obtained professional qualifications for Chinese mainland lawyers (including lawyers' qualifications) and practice at Chinese mainland law firms.

3. Professionals with professional qualifications for foreign lawyers refer to Chinese mainland lawyers, legal practitioners in Hong Kong and practicing lawyers in Macao who have obtained professional qualifications for foreign lawyers.

4. Foreign-related legal affairs should meet one of the following requirements: At least one party (including a third party) is a foreigner, a stateless person or a foreign enterprise or organization; The habitual residence of at least one party (including the third party) is outside the territory of the People's Republic of China; The subject matter is outside the territory of the People's Republic of China; The legal fact that creates, modifies or abolishes civil relations occurs outside the territory of the People's Republic of China; The legal documents are used outside the territory of the People's Republic of China; Other circumstances that can be identified as foreign-related legal affairs. Legal affairs involving the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or the Macao Special Administrative Region are regarded as the above-mentioned foreign-related legal affairs.

5. Statistical relations refer to the guidance and management relations for statistics established between enterprises or independent legal entities (or branches that can be regarded as legal entities) and the local statistical departments, where, according to China's territorial statistical principle, such enterprises or independent legal entities should provide relevant statistical data to the county-level statistical department in the place of their business or main business (when they are operating in several places) and should be included in the directory of local organizations for statistical surveys.

Article 32 Where a foreign law firm and a Chinese law firm are approved to set up a Chinese-foreign partnership law firm in Nansha in accordance with the prescribed procedures, the settlement subsidy shall be granted in accordance with Article 8 of these Implementation Rules.

Where overseas arbitration agencies, mediation agencies and other dispute resolution agencies are approved to set up offices in Nansha in accordance with the prescribed procedures, the settlement subsidy shall be subject to Article 1 (3) of the Eight Measures to Support the Development of Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone).

Article 33 Where there are unmentioned matters or unclear provisions in these Implementation Rules, the district's judicial administration department shall request the evaluation team to identify or determine it according to the Eight Measures to Support the Development of Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone).

Where there is any adjustment from the higher-level authority, the relevant provisions of these Implementation Rules shall be adjusted accordingly.

Article 34 These Implementation Rules will enter into force from the date of issuance and will be valid until February 9, 2028. Where there is any change or adjustment to relevant laws, regulations, or policies within the validity term of these Implementation Rules, such change or adjustment shall prevail. In these Implementation Rules and the Eight Measures to Support the Development of Foreign-related Legal Service Industry in Guangzhou Nansha New Area (Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone), the "more than", "no more than" and "from" include the base values while the "less than" does not include the base values.

Form of Disclosure: Active Disclosure

Issued by the Office of Nansha District Bureau of Justice of Guangzhou Municipality on October 10, 2023