Registration of a RO in China

Once the documents have been submitted to the relevant approval authority, the approval authority will review the documents and decide whether it will approve the establishment of a RO.

This process usually takes about 30 days. If the request is approved the chief representative of the RO must pick up the Approval Certificate for the Representative Office from the approval authority and go through the formalities of registration within 30 days after the approval date. These formalities include the filling in of a registration form and the payment of a registration fee, which has to be done at the provincial State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC).

After having done that, the foreign company will obtain the Registration Certificate for the Representative Office. If a foreign company does not complete the registration formalities within the 30 day deadline, it will have to return the Approval Certificate for revocation. After the registration has been completed, the RO will be issued with a license, usually valid for a period of 1 to 3 years, after which it will have to be renewed.

Once it has received this license, it should take care of its registration with banks, the public security bureau, tax authorities, etc. It should also hire employees, which has to be done through specific state-approved foreign services companies, also known as FESCO.