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Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Promoting Automakers to Regulate Supplier Payment and Optimize Payment Term Management

To the competent industry and information technology and market regulation departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and to all relevant automobile enterprises:

To implement the deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on further regulating competition order in the new energy vehicle industry, promote the timely payment of supplier accounts by automobile enterprises, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of suppliers, and foster a sound industrial ecosystem, and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the following matters concerning supplier account payment and payment term management by automobile enterprises (enterprises legally qualified within the territory of the People's Republic of China for admission as road motor vehicle manufacturers, engaged in the R&D, design, manufacturing, and production of complete vehicles) are hereby notified:

I. Overall Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implementing the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and each plenary session of its 20th Central Committee, strictly implementing the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on Guaranteeing Payment of Amounts Owed to Small and Medium Enterprises, and other relevant laws and regulations; adhering to the principles of payment-subject responsibility, industry self-regulation, lawful government supervision, and coordinated social oversight; promoting automobile enterprises to regulate payment for purchased goods, engineering, and services; striving to build a fair, honest, trustworthy, and mutually beneficial complete-vehicle–component cooperation relationship; and promoting the high-quality development of the automotive industry.

II. Payment Regulation Guidelines

(1) Clear and definite starting point of the payment term. The supplier's payment term shall be calculated from the date on which the supplier delivers the goods, engineering, or services and they pass acceptance. For suppliers engaged in continuous supply (monthly supply frequency of more than 2 times), the two parties may agree on a continuous supply cycle (in principle no more than one month); upon the end of each supply cycle, centralized reconciliation shall be conducted for the goods delivered within that cycle, and the period from the midpoint of that supply cycle to the completion of account payment shall not exceed the upper limit of the payment term.

(2) Standardized and efficient acceptance. Automobile enterprises and suppliers shall stipulate clear, reasonable acceptance methods and time limits in the contract and strictly implement them. After receiving goods, engineering, or services, automobile enterprises shall complete acceptance within a reasonable period. In particular, production materials such as automotive components shall be received in the agreed quantity within one working day of the agreed delivery time (based on logistics time) and acceptance completed within three working days of receipt; if acceptance is not completed within more than three working days, acceptance shall be deemed to have passed. For components genuinely requiring vehicle-installation verification, offline inspection of the vehicle shall be completed within five working days of receipt. If acceptance fails, the two parties shall determine responsibility and make compensation in accordance with the contract, and the corresponding material payments shall not be included in accounts payable.

(3) Payment in full and on time. Automobile enterprises and suppliers shall stipulate payment deadlines in the contract and comply with them; where an automobile enterprise makes a commitment on supplier payment terms, the payment period stipulated in the contract shall not exceed the committed period. The time of payment shall be the time when the automobile enterprise issues cash, bank acceptance bills, or other instruments. If an automobile enterprise fails to pay within the agreed payment term, it shall pay overdue interest in accordance with the law. Overdue interest shall be calculated by reference to the bank lending rate of the same period; if the supplier is a small or medium-sized enterprise, overdue interest shall be calculated in accordance with Article 17 of the Regulations on Guaranteeing Payment of Amounts Owed to Small and Medium Enterprises.

(4) Compliant and convenient payment methods. Payment methods shall comply with relevant national laws, regulations, and regulatory requirements and be determined through consultation between the two parties. Cash payment (bank transfer, wire transfer, etc.) or bank acceptance bills are encouraged as the preferred methods; suppliers shall not be forced or forced in disguised form to accept commercial acceptance bills, supply chain instruments, or other non-cash payment methods. Where non-cash payment methods such as acceptance bills or supply chain instruments are used, their proportion of use shall be reasonably controlled, and the method of bearing discount costs shall be clearly stipulated in the contract.

(5) Advance payment during price negotiation. The arrangement for payment during price negotiation shall be stipulated in the contract. For continuous cooperation, a certain proportion of the price (generally no less than 90%) may be paid in advance by reference to the price of the most recent effective contract between the two parties; for non-continuous cooperation, payment may be made in advance by reference to no less than 70% (inclusive) of the industry average price or the development target-unit price, with differences settled (overpayments refunded or shortfalls supplemented) according to the final price.

(6) Priority protection for SMEs. Automobile enterprises are encouraged to complete payment to SME suppliers within 30 days from the date goods pass acceptance, and at most within 60 days, with all-cash payment encouraged. Where the payment method is not specified in the contract, cash shall be used to pay SME accounts, and commercial bills or accounts-receivable electronic vouchers shall not be used as substitutes. Large automobile enterprises and their wholly-owned or controlled subsidiaries, especially leading enterprises, are encouraged to pay SME accounts in cash within 60 days from the date of delivery of goods, engineering, or services. Automobile enterprises shall establish and improve risk control and compliance management systems and urge their subordinate enterprises and assembly-type suppliers to pay SME accounts in a timely manner. For the determination of SME status, the "SME Size Type Self-Test Mini-Program" under the "Public Service Platform" module of the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology may be used for inquiry. Where there is a dispute over the size type of an SME, an application for determination may be made to the comprehensive management department responsible for SME promotion at the local people's government at or above the county level in the place of the party claiming to be an SME.

(7) Handling of exceptional circumstances. If an automobile enterprise genuinely cannot pay on time due to financial difficulties, it shall promptly communicate and explain to the supplier and extend payment in accordance with the contract (except where the supplier is an SME). If a supplier fails to provide an invoice conforming to the contract within the agreed time, the automobile enterprise may defer payment in accordance with the extent of the invoice delay.

(8) Others. Automobile enterprises are encouraged to establish long-term, stable cooperative relationships with suppliers, with each contract valid for no less than one year. Contract terms shall be fair and reasonable, avoiding unfair clauses and safeguarding a balance of rights and interests among all parties. Automobile enterprises shall not ignore cost baselines or hidden quality and safety risks in demanding price reductions, nor suppress supply prices on the pretext of shortening payment terms. Automobile enterprises are encouraged to promote standardized contracts, automatic payment upon maturity of accounts, and other systems to reduce human-factor interference and improve work efficiency.

III. Implementation Measures

(1) Strengthening coordination among all parties. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, will establish a supervision and inspection mechanism to normalize efforts to optimize payment terms. Automobile enterprises are encouraged to proactively disclose information such as the starting point of payment terms and payment status. For automobile enterprises with large accounts payable, deliberately lengthened payment terms, or a high number of complaints from SMEs, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and other relevant departments will conduct joint interviews and urge rectification; enterprises found to violate laws and regulations will be seriously punished. Local departments shall cooperate in urging rectification and other work.

(2) Conducting research and evaluation. Automobile enterprises shall establish and improve management systems for supplier account payment, strengthen tracking of implementation, and urge optimization of payment term management, submitting semi-annual and annual reports before the end of each July and January, respectively, to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will entrust third-party institutions to conduct research and evaluation of enterprise account payment, and publicly release the evaluation results. Based on automobile enterprises' supplier account payment reports, third-party institutions will organize industry experts to conduct in-depth research on automobile enterprises and upstream suppliers. Through reviewing documents, examining data, inspecting sites, and interviewing employees, they will accurately grasp the payment terms, payment methods and their proportions, and the scale of accounts payable. Specific implementation rules for the research and evaluation shall be separately formulated and publicly announced by the third-party institutions. The research and evaluation work shall be carried out once a year, covering all key automobile enterprises (the specific list shall be released together with the implementation rules for research and evaluation). Third-party institutions shall conduct research and evaluation objectively, fairly, and in a standardized manner, shall not seek improper benefits therefrom, and shall proactively accept supervision.

(3) Handling of complaints and verification. Where there is objection to the evaluation results published by a third-party institution, the third-party institution shall conduct a review. Where there is objection to the research and evaluation work of a third-party institution, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shall organize verification, and the verification findings shall be promptly disclosed to the public; if fraud, illegal profit-seeking, or other conduct is found in the verification, the third-party institution and responsible persons shall be seriously dealt with in accordance with laws and regulations.

General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation

September 2, 2026