Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Issues concerning Property Investigation during Enforcement in Civil Procedures

· Document Number：Interpretation No. 8 [2017] of the Supreme People's Court

· Area of Law： Civil Litigation

· Level of Authority： Judicial Interpretation

· Date issued：02-28-2017

· Effective Date：05-01-2017

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： Supreme People's Court

Announcement of the Supreme People's Court

The Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Issues concerning Property Investigation during Enforcement in Civil Procedures, as adopted at the 1,708th session of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on January 25, 2017, are hereby issued and shall come into force on May 1, 2017.
Supreme People's Court
February 28, 2017
Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Issues concerning Property Investigation during Enforcement in Civil Procedures
(Interpretation No. 8 [2017] of the Supreme People's Court, adopted at the 1,708th session of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on January 25, 2017 and coming into force on May 1, 2017)
To regulate the property investigation during enforcement in civil procedures and protect the lawful rights and interests of the parties and any interested parties, these Provisions are developed in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and in consideration of enforcement practices.
Article 1 During enforcement, the enforcement applicant shall provide clues to the property of the judgment debtor; the judgment debtor shall truthfully report its property; and the people's court shall investigate through the online enforcement inquiry and control system, and when the case requires investigation in other methods, adopt other investigative methods at the same time.
Article 2 The enforcement applicant providing clues to the property of the judgment debtor shall fill out a Property Investigation Form. Where the clues are clear and specific, the people's court shall investigate and verify the clues within seven days or in case of emergency, within three days. Where a clue is substantiated, the people's court shall take the corresponding enforcement measures in a timely manner.
The enforcement applicant may, if it is impossible for it to ascertain the property of the judgment debtor for objective reasons, file a request with the people's court for investigation.
Article 3 The people's court ordering the judgment debtor to report its property at the request of the enforcement applicant or according to the court's powers shall issue an order of property reporting to the judgment debtor. During the enforcement of monetary obligations, the order of property reporting shall be issued along with the notice of enforcement.
The people's court ordering again the judgment debtor to report its property as required by the case shall re-issue an order of property reporting to the judgment debtor.
Article 4 An order of property reporting shall state:
(1) the deadline for submitting the property report;
(2) the property reporting scope and period;
(3) the conditions and period for any supplemental reporting of property;
(4) the legal liability for breaching the property reporting obligation; and
(5) other matters as the people's court deems necessary.
A Property Investigation Form shall be attached to an order of property reporting, and the judgment debtor must fill out the form item by item as required.
Article 5 The judgment debtor shall, before the deadline specified in the order of property reporting, report its following property to the people's court in writing:
(1) Revenues, bank deposits, cash, financial products, and negotiable securities.
(2) Land use rights, buildings, and other immovables.
(3) Means of transport, machines and other equipment, products, raw materials, and other movables.
(4) Obligations, equities, investment interests, fund shares,trust beneficiary rights, intellectual property rights, and other economic rights.
(5) Other property that shall be reported.
Where there is a lease, a security interest, or any otherencumbrance on any property of the judgment debtor, or there is co-ownership or any dispute over the ownership of any property of the judgment debtor, among others, it shall be reported. Where any movable of the judgment debtor is possessed by a third party, or any immovable, specific movable, or other property right of the judgment debtor is registered under the name of a third party, it shall also be reported.
Where it is difficult for the judgment debtor to submit a written report before the deadline specified in the order of property reporting, it may file a written request with the people's court for extension of the deadline; and if the request is justified, the people's court may appropriately extend the deadline.
Article 6 The following changes of the property of the judgment debtor during the period from one year before the date of receipt of the notice of enforcement to the day when the written property report is submitted shall be included in the report:
(1) Transfer or lease of the property.
(2) Establishment of a security interest or any otherencumbrance on the property.
(3) Waiver of any obligation or extension of the period for repayment of any debt.
(4) Expenditure in a large amount.
(5) Other property changes that affect the satisfaction of obligations determined in the effective legal instrument.
Article 7 Where the property of the judgment debtor changes after the judgment debtor reports its property, affecting the satisfaction of obligations to the enforcement applicant, the judgment debtor shall submit a supplemental report to the people's court within ten days of the change.
Article 8 The people's court shall, in a timely manne, investigate and verify the property reported by the judgment debtor, and when necessary, may organize a hearing for the parties.
Where the enforcement applicant files a request for inquiring about the property reported by the judgment debtor, the people's court shall allow it. The enforcement applicant and the representative thereof shall keep the information obtained during inquiry confidential.
Article 9 Where the judgment debtor refuses to report or falsely reports its property or fails to report its property within a prescribed time limit without any good reason, the people's court may, according to the seriousness of the circumstances, fine or detain the judgment debtor or the legal representative thereof; or if the conduct is criminally punishable, the offender shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.
The people's court may fine or detain the primary person in charge and other directly liable personsof an entity that commits any of the conduct as mentioned in the preceding paragraph; and if the conduct is criminally punishable, shall hold the offender criminally liable in accordance with the law.
Article 10 Where the judgment debtor refuses to report or falsely reports its property or fails to report its property within a prescribed time limit without any good reason, the people's court shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions, include it in the list of dishonest judgment debtors.
Article 11 Under any of the following circumstances, the property reporting procedure shall be terminated:
(1) The judgment debtor has completely performed its obligations determined in the effective legal instrument.
(2) The people's court rules to terminate enforcement.
(3) The people's courtrules not to conduct enforcement.
(4) Other circumstances under which the people's court deems that the property reporting procedure shall be terminated.
Where, after issuing an order of property reporting, the people's court rules to terminate the enforcement procedure, the judgment debtor shall still perform the obligation of supplemental reporting in accordance with Article 7 of these Provisions.
Article 12 Where the judgment debtor fails to perform its obligations determined in the effective legal instrument in accordance with the notice of enforcement, the people's court shall have the power to investigate the identity and property of the judgment debtor by interviewing the judgment debtor and the relevant entities or individuals through the online enforcement inquiry and control system and by means such as onsite investigation, and the relevant entities and individuals shall assist the investigation in accordance with the law.
The people's court may copy, print, transcribe, photograph, or extract or preserve by other means the materials required for investigation.
Where the enforcement applicant files a request for inquiring about the property information investigated by the people's court, the people's court may, as needed for the case, decide whether to allow it. The enforcement applicant and the representative thereof shall keep the information obtained during inquiry confidential.
Article 13 The investigation conducted by a people's court through the online enforcement inquiry and control system and the onsite investigation shall have equal legal force.
The electronic legal instruments and paper legal instruments issued by a people's court in the process of investigation shall have equal legal force. The electronic inquiry results and paper results returned by an entity assisting the enforcement shall have equal legal force.
Article 14 Where the judgment debtor conceals and refuses to surrender any property, account books, or other materials, the people's court may take search measures in accordance with the law.
Where, during a search conducted in accordance with the law, the people's court orders the judgment debtor to unlock a place, chest, or cabinet, among others, in which any property or material may be concealed, but the judgment debtor refuses to do so, the people's court may force the unlocking of it.
Article 15 For the purpose of ascertaining the judgment debtor's property and capability of performing obligations, the people's court may summon the judgment debtor or the legal representative, person in charge, actual controller, or directly liable persons of the judgment debtor to the people's court to receive questioning.
Where the judgment debtor or the legal representative, person in charge or actual controller of the judgment debtor who must be questioned refuses to be present without any good reason after being summoned in accordance with the law, the people's court may summon by force him or her to the court. If the whereabouts of the aforesaid person is unknown, the people's court may notify the relevant entities for assistance in locating the person in accordance with the relevant provisions.
Article 16 Where the people's court fails to actually impound a motor vehicle, a ship, an aircraft, or any other specific movable of the judgment debtor, the seizure of which has been registered, it may notify the relevant entities for assistance in locating it in accordance with the relevant provisions.
Article 17 Where a legal person or any other organization as the judgment debtor fails to perform the obligations determined in the effective legal instrument, considering that it refuses to report or falsely report its property, conceals or transfers its property, or otherwise evades its debts or that any of its shareholders or investors has made false capital contribution or withdrawn the capital contributed, the enforcement applicant may file a written request with the people's court for engaging an audit firm to audit the judgment debtor. The people's court shall, within ten days of receipt of the written request, decide whether to allow it.
Article 18 The people's court shall, if it decides to conduct an audit, randomly determine a qualified audit firm, and order the judgment debtor to submit accounting vouchers, account books, financial accounting reports, and other materials related to the audit.
Where the judgment debtor conceals audit materials, the people's court may take search measures in accordance with the law.
Article 19 Where a judgment debtor refuses to provide, transfers, conceals, forges, tampers with, or destroys audit materials, obstructs auditors from inspecting its business sites, or otherwise impedes audit investigation, the people's court may, according to the seriousness of the circumstances, fine or detain the judgment debtor or the primary person in charge and other directly liable persons thereof; or if the conduct is criminally punishable, the offender shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.
Article 20 Audit fees shall be prepaid by the enforcement applicant that files an audit request. Where the judgment debtor refuses to report or falsely reports its property, conceals or transfers its property, or otherwise evades its debts, audit fees shall be assumed by the judgment debtor; or where the judgment debtor does not fall under any of the aforesaid circumstances, audit fees shall be assumed by the enforcement applicant.
Article 21 Where the judgment debtor fails to perform its obligations determined in the effective legal instrument, the enforcement applicant may file a written request with the people's court for issuing an announcement of reward for locating any property available for enforcement. The written request shall state:
(1) the amount or the calculation basis of the reward;
(2) a commitment to willingly paying the reward when the obligations to the enforcement applicant are satisfied wholly or partially because the relevant person provides the people's court with any property clues that the court has not possessed;
(3) the manner of issuance of the announcement of reward; and
(4) other matters required.
The people's court shall, within ten days of receipt of the written request, decide whether to allow it.
Article 22 The people's court shall, if it decides to offer a reward for locating property, prepare an announcement of reward. The reward announcement shall state the amount or the calculation basis of the reward andthe conditions for collectingthe reward, among others.
The announcement of reward shall be issued on the reward announcement platform for enforcement by courts nationwide and the court's microblog, WeChat, and other media platforms, and may be posted on the bulletin board of the enforcement court or the place where the judgment debtor is domiciled or habitually resides. If the enforcement applicant requests that the announcement of reward be issued on any other media platforms and voluntarily assumes the issuance expenses, the people's court shall allow it.
Article 23 Where, after the issuance of an announcement of reward, a relevant person provides the people's court with any property clues, the people's court shall register the identity of the relevant person and the clues. If two or more persons provide the same property clue, the registration shall be made in the sequence of providing the clue.
The people's court shall keep the identity of the relevant person and the property clues confidential, unless the enforcement applicant needs to be notified to deliver the reward.
Article 24 Where a relevant person provides the people's court with any property clues that the court has not possessed, as a result of which the obligations to the enforcement applicant requesting the issuance of the announcement of reward are satisfied wholly or partially, the people's court shall deliver the reward in accordance with the announcement of reward.
The reward shall be deducted from the proceeds from enforcement receivable by the enforcement applicant as prescribed in the preceding paragraph. If any specific property is delivered for enforcement or deduction is otherwise impossible, the reward shall be paid separately by the enforcement applicant.
Where the relevant person is a representative of the enforcement applicant or a person obligated to provide the people's court with property clues or a reward shall otherwise not be delivered, the reward shall not be delivered.
Article 25 Enforcement personnel shall not investigate information irrelevant to the enforcement case, and shall keep the national secrets, trade secrets, and individual privacy to which they have access during investigation confidential.
Article 26 These Provisions shall come into force on May 1, 2017.
After these Provisions come into force, forany discrepanciesbetween these Provisions and judicial interpretations previously issued by this Court, these Provisions shall prevail.