Pirated Software Booted

The General Office of China's State Council issued a directive on October 18, ordering all government bodies across the country to only use authentic software during its launch of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection campaign.

According to the document, government officials at all levels are required to raise their awareness in relation to the use of authentic software. Leaders of government departments will take major responsibility in strengthening the monitoring and supervision of what software is used.

China has been promoting the extensive use of authentic software among government departments since 2001. "But some local governments may still be buying pirate versions of software due to their limited budget and the high price of software," said Gan Shaoning, Deputy Director General of the State Intellectual Property Office.

The overall inspection work on genuine software among central government organs is due to be completed by the end of May 2011 while local government organs are set to finish their work by the end of October 2011.

Import Tax Exemptions

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) issued a directive on October 26 exempting domestic manufacturers of specified technical equipment from import taxes.

According to the directive, since June 1, domestic manufacturers importing components and raw materials necessary for producing large technical equipment for environmental protection or effective use of resources, emergency diesel generator sets, automatic luggage sorting systems used in airports and heavy die forging hydropresses, will be eligible for free custom duties and import value-added tax.

Enterprises eligible for the tax exemptions should submit their applications for approval to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) or relevant local competent authorities, who then will issue a qualification certificate, said the directive. The MOF, MIIT, the State Administration of Taxation and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued the document.