Regulations on the Collection, Use, and Management of Employment Security Funds for Persons with Disabilities

Notice on the Issuance of the 'Management Measures for the Collection and Use of Employment Security Funds for Persons with Disabilities'

Cai Shui [2015] No. 72

Finance departments (bureaus), local tax bureaus, national tax bureaus, and disabled persons' federations of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government:

In order to standardize the collection and use management of employment security funds for persons with disabilities, promote the employment of persons with disabilities, and protect their rights and interests, we have formulated the 'Management Measures for the Collection and Use of Employment Security Funds for Persons with Disabilities' in accordance with the provisions of the 'Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities' and the 'Regulations on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities'. This is now issued to you for compliance.

Attachment: Management Measures for the Collection and Use of Employment Security Funds for Persons with Disabilities

Ministry of Finance, State Administration of Taxation, China Disabled Persons' Federation

September 9, 2015

Attachment:

Management Measures for the Collection and Use of Employment Security Funds for Persons with Disabilities

Chapter 1 General Principles　　

Article 1 In order to standardize the collection and use management of employment security funds for persons with disabilities (hereinafter referred to as security funds), promote the employment of persons with disabilities, and in accordance with the provisions of the 'Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities' and the 'Regulations on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities', these measures are formulated.

Article 2 The security fund is the money paid by agencies, organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and private non-enterprise units (hereinafter referred to as employers) that do not arrange employment for persons with disabilities as required, to protect the rights and interests of persons with disabilities.

Article 3 The collection, use, and management of the security fund shall be governed by these measures.

Article 4 The term 'persons with disabilities' as used in these measures refers to individuals holding a 'People's Republic of China Disability Certificate' indicating visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech impairment, physical disability, intellectual disability, mental disability, or multiple disabilities, or individuals holding a 'People's Republic of China Disabled Veterans Certificate' (levels 1 to 8).

Article 5 The collection, use, and management of the security fund shall be subject to supervision and inspection by the finance department and audit supervision by the auditing agency.

Chapter 2 Collection and Payment　　

Article 6 The proportion of employment of persons with disabilities arranged by employers shall not be less than 1.5% of the total number of employees in the unit. The specific proportion shall be determined by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government based on the actual situation in their regions.
If the proportion of employment of persons with disabilities arranged by employers does not meet the standards set by the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the central government, they shall pay the security fund.

Article 7 Employers may count persons with disabilities as employed only if they hire them as regular staff or sign labor contracts (service agreements) with persons with disabilities of employment age for more than one year (including one year), and pay wages that are not lower than the local minimum wage standard, and fully pay social insurance premiums.
If an employer arranges employment for one person holding a 'People's Republic of China Disability Certificate' (levels 1 to 2) or a 'People's Republic of China Disabled Veterans Certificate' (levels 1 to 3), it will be counted as arranging employment for two persons with disabilities.
If an employer recruits persons with disabilities across regions, it shall be counted in the number of persons with disabilities employed.

Article 8 The security fund is calculated based on the number of persons with disabilities not employed in accordance with the prescribed proportion from the previous year and the average annual salary of employees in the unit. The calculation formula is as follows:
Annual payment of the security fund = (Number of employees in the previous year × Proportion of employment of persons with disabilities set by the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality - Actual number of persons with disabilities employed in the previous year) × Average annual salary of employees in the previous year. Employees in the unit refer to regular staff or those who have signed labor contracts (service agreements) with the unit for more than one year (including one year). Seasonal workers should be converted to an average annual number of workers. For labor dispatch workers, they are counted in the number of employees of the dispatch unit.

The number of persons with disabilities not employed in accordance with the prescribed proportion is based on the calculation result, which may not be an integer.

The average annual salary of employees in the previous year is calculated by dividing the total salary of employees in the previous year by the number of employees in the unit.

Article 9 The collection of the security fund is the responsibility of the local tax bureau where the employer is located. In areas without separate local tax bureaus, the responsibility lies with the national tax bureau.

If there are other regulations regarding the collection agency of the security fund in relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, those regulations shall be followed.

Article 10 The security fund is generally paid monthly.

Employers shall declare and pay the security fund to the collection agency within the specified time limit. When declaring, they shall provide information such as the number of employees in the unit, the actual number of persons with disabilities employed, and the average annual salary of employees, and ensure the authenticity and completeness of the information.

Article 11 The collection agency of the security fund shall regularly inspect employers. If it finds that an employer has made false declarations or underpaid the security fund, the collection agency shall urge the employer to report and recover the security fund.

Article 12 Employment service agencies for persons with disabilities shall cooperate with the collection agency of the security fund to carry out the collection work.
Employers shall truthfully declare the number of persons with disabilities employed by their unit in the previous year to the employment service agency for persons with disabilities within the specified time limit. If they fail to declare within the specified time limit, it will be regarded as not having arranged employment for persons with disabilities.
After the employment service agency for persons with disabilities conducts a review, it shall determine the actual number of persons with disabilities employed by the employer and provide this information to the collection agency of the security fund in a timely manner.

Article 13 When the collection agency collects the security fund, it shall issue a receipt or tax certificate uniformly printed by the provincial finance department to the employer.

Article 14 The full amount of the security fund shall be paid into the local treasury.

The distribution ratio of the security fund among local governments at all levels shall be determined by the finance departments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in consultation with the disabled persons' federation.

The specific payment methods shall be implemented according to the regulations of the provincial finance departments.

Article 15 If the security fund is collected by the tax authorities, they shall actively adopt electronic payment methods for tax revenue collection.

Article 16 Within three years from the date of business registration, small and micro enterprises that do not meet the prescribed proportion of employment of persons with disabilities and have a total number of employees below 20 (including 20) shall be exempt from the security fund.

Article 17 Employers who suffer significant direct economic losses due to natural disasters or other emergencies may apply for a reduction or deferral of the security fund. The specific methods shall be determined by the finance departments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.
The maximum limit for employers to apply for a reduction or exemption of the security deposit shall not exceed the amount payable for one year of the security deposit, and the maximum period for applying for deferred payment of the security deposit shall not exceed six months.
The list of employers approved for reduction or deferred payment of the security deposit shall be announced once a year. The announcement shall include the approving authority, approval document number, and the main reasons for the reduction or deferred payment of the security deposit.

Article 18 The security deposit collection authority shall strictly collect the security deposit according to the prescribed scope, standards, and time limits, ensuring that the security deposit is collected in a timely and sufficient manner.

Article 19 No unit or individual may violate the provisions of these measures, arbitrarily reduce or defer the collection of the security deposit, or change the collection objects, scope, and standards of the security deposit on their own.

Article 20 Localities shall establish a public announcement system for employers to proportionally arrange employment for persons with disabilities and pay the security deposit.
The Disabled Persons' Federation shall publish the number of persons with disabilities that local employers should arrange for employment, the actual number of persons with disabilities employed, and the number of persons with disabilities not arranged for employment as required each year.

The security deposit collection authority shall regularly publish the status of security deposit payments by local employers to the public.

Chapter 3 Management and Use　　

Article 21 The security deposit shall be included in the local general public budget for overall planning, mainly used to support the employment of persons with disabilities and ensure their livelihoods. The support directions include:

(1) Expenditures for vocational training, vocational education, and vocational rehabilitation for persons with disabilities.

(2) Expenditures for employment service agencies for persons with disabilities to provide employment services and organize vocational skills competitions (including exhibitions). Subsidies for employers to arrange for the purchase, renovation, and supportive service costs of facilities and equipment needed for employing persons with disabilities. Subsidies for the construction and operation costs of supportive employment agencies.

(3) Subsidies for rental of business premises, start-up funds, facility and equipment purchases, and small loan interest subsidies for persons with disabilities engaged in individual business, self-employment, and flexible employment. Subsidies for social insurance contributions for persons with disabilities employed in various forms and job subsidies for employers.

(4) Rewards for employers who exceed the proportion of employment for persons with disabilities, as well as for units or individuals who have made significant achievements in arranging employment for persons with disabilities.

(5) Relief subsidies for persons with disabilities engaged in public welfare jobs, supportive employment, and flexible employment, whose income does not reach the local minimum wage standard and who are in genuine financial difficulty.

(6) Other expenditures approved by local people's governments and their financial departments to promote the employment of persons with disabilities and ensure the livelihoods of persons with disabilities in difficulty and those with severe disabilities.

Article 22 The normal expenditure of employment service agencies for persons with disabilities under the Disabled Persons' Federation at all levels shall be arranged by the local financial budget.

Article 23 Localities should actively promote government procurement of services, selecting various employment service agencies that meet the requirements according to government procurement laws and regulations to undertake vocational training, vocational education, vocational rehabilitation, employment services, and employment assistance for persons with disabilities.

Article 24 Local Disabled Persons' Federations and financial departments at all levels shall publish the expenditures of the security deposit used to support the employment of persons with disabilities and ensure their livelihoods to the public each year, accepting social supervision.

Chapter 4 Legal Responsibilities

Article 25 Units and individuals who violate the provisions of these measures and have any of the following circumstances shall be held legally accountable in accordance with relevant national regulations such as the "Regulations on Penalties for Financial Violations" and the "Interim Provisions on Administrative Penalties for Violating the Management of Administrative and Institutional Charges and Penalty Income"; if suspected of committing a crime, they shall be transferred to judicial authorities for handling:

(1) Arbitrarily reducing or exempting the security deposit or changing the scope, objects, and standards of security deposit collection;

(2) Concealing or misappropriating the security deposit that should be paid;

(3) Retaining, intercepting, or misappropriating the security deposit that should be paid;

(4) Failing to pay the security deposit into the treasury according to the prescribed budget level and budget item;

(5) Violating regulations on the use of the security deposit;

(6) Other behaviors that violate national regulations on financial revenue management.

Article 26 If an employer fails to pay the security deposit as required, the security deposit collection authority shall submit it to the financial department in accordance with the provisions of the "Regulations on Employment of Persons with Disabilities," and the financial department shall issue a warning and order payment within a specified time; if payment is still not made after the deadline, in addition to repaying the overdue amount, a late fee of 0.5% per day shall be charged from the date of overdue payment. The late fee shall be paid into the treasury according to the budget level of the security deposit.

Article 27 Staff members of departments related to the collection and management of the security deposit who violate the provisions of these measures, abuse their power, neglect their duties, or engage in malpractice in the collection and management of the security deposit shall be punished according to law; if suspected of committing a crime, they shall be transferred to judicial authorities.

Chapter 5 Supplementary Provisions　　

Article 28 The financial departments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, in conjunction with tax departments and the Disabled Persons' Federation, shall formulate specific implementation measures based on these measures and report them to the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, and the China Disabled Persons' Federation for record.

Article 29 These measures shall be interpreted by the Ministry of Finance in conjunction with the State Administration of Taxation and the China Disabled Persons' Federation.

Article 30 These measures shall come into effect on October 1, 2015. The "Notice of the Ministry of Finance on Issuing the <Interim Provisions on the Management of Security Deposits for Employment of Persons with Disabilities>" (Cai Zong Zi [1995] No. 5) and other provisions that are inconsistent with these measures shall be abolished simultaneously.