Also discusses the differences between the three principles of expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax and the three principles of pre-tax deduction vouchers

Also discusses the recent differences between the three principles of expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax and the three principles of pre-tax deduction vouchers.，The State Administration of Taxation issued the "Measures for the Administration of Pre-tax Deduction Vouchers for Enterprise Income Tax" (State Administration of Taxation Announcement No. 28 of 2025) (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures")，Arousing widespread attention and heated discussions in the financial and tax circles，The author has also changed from watching the excitement to participating in the excitement。

Today, let’s talk about the principle of rationality of expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax and the principle of legality of pre-tax deduction vouchers.，I hope it can serve as an inspiration。 one、准予在税前扣除的支出三原则与税前扣除凭证三原则关系 准予在税前扣除的支出三原则。

as we all know，Before the promulgation of the Measures，Expenditures allowed to be deducted from corporate income tax should be subject to authenticity、principles of relevance and rationality，The basis is Article 8 of the "Enterprise Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Enterprise Income Tax Law") "Actually incurred by an enterprise related to the receipt of income.、reasonable expenses，including cost、

cost

、tax、Losses and other expenses，Deductions allowed when calculating taxable income”。

The "actual occurrence" in the above-mentioned legal provisions refers to the principle of authenticity，“Related to obtaining income” refers to the principle of relevance，"Reasonable" refers to the principle of rationality。 Three principles for pre-tax deduction vouchers。Article 4 of the "Measures" stipulates，Pre-tax deduction vouchers follow authenticity in management、legality、principle of relevance。

Authenticity refers to the true economic business reflected in the pre-tax deduction voucher.，and the expenditure has actually been incurred；Legality refers to the form of pre-tax deduction voucher、The source complies with national laws、Regulations and other relevant provisions；Relevance means that the pre-tax deduction voucher is related to the expenditure reflected and has probative force.。 The relationship between the two principles。

Article 2 of the "Measures" stipulates，税前扣除凭证，是指企业在计算企业所得税应纳税所得额时，Proof related to obtaining income、Reasonable expenses actually incurred，and various certificates based on which pre-tax deductions are made。The pre-tax deduction voucher is the basis for deducting relevant expenses when calculating corporate income tax taxable income.，There is an internal and external relationship between the pre-tax deduction voucher and the expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax.，Tables should follow the principle of evidence，Content principles should be followed。

As soon as the "Measures" were promulgated，Sharp-eyed readers will notice，The three principles of pre-tax deduction vouchers are related to but different from the three principles of expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax in the "Enterprise Income Tax Law"。

A connection is one in which both have authenticity and relevance

Require

，The authenticity principles of the two are essentially synonymous，The authenticity principle of the former refers to the fact that the expenditure has actually occurred，The latter’s principle of authenticity refers to the true economic business reflected in the pre-tax deduction voucher.，and the expenditure has actually been incurred；The principle of correlation between the two is synonymous，The former's correlation refers to the relationship between expenditure and income.，The latter's relevance means that the pre-tax deduction voucher is related to the expenditure it reflects and has probative force.。

The fundamental difference is that：The former has "legitimacy"

Require

But the latter does not，The latter is "reasonable"

Require

But the former does not。two、Accurately distinguish between the legality of pre-tax deduction vouchers and the legality of recorded expenditures，并适度把握后一原则 《企业所得税法》确定了准予在税前扣除的支出应遵循真实性、principles of relevance and rationality。

The principle of legality is not mentioned here，This is not to say that expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax need not be legal at all.，Moderate legality is still needed，It's nothing more than legality and nothing like authenticity、Relevance and rationality have a prominent position，Need to be listed separately in the Enterprise Income Tax Law。

It is understandable that the "Measures" properly mention the legality of pre-tax deduction certificates.，Moreover, the legality of expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax (that is, the legality of expenditures recorded in pre-tax deduction vouchers) is different from the connotation of the legality of pre-tax deduction vouchers.。What’s more, Article 20 of the Enterprise Income Tax Law，State Council Finance、The tax authorities shall have the power to establish the income specified in this Chapter、Specific range of deductions、Standards and specific methods for tax treatment of assets。

therefore，It cannot be said that the legality of pre-tax deduction vouchers mentioned in the "Measures" lacks the basis of higher-level laws.。as mentioned before，Article 4 of the "Measures" stipulates，“Legality refers to the form of the pre-tax deduction voucher、The source complies with national laws、regulations and other relevant provisions”，This is only a general description，The object described is in the form of a pre-tax deduction voucher、source，Expenses recorded in pre-tax deduction vouchers are not included。

An authoritative person further pointed out that，"Legitimacy is the core，Only if in the form of pre-tax deduction voucher、source、fill in

Require

Comply with the law、Regulations and other relevant provisions，can be used as proof of pre-tax deduction，The ‘law’ here、Regulations’ is a broad concept，including tax laws、regulations，Also includes accounting laws、regulations，Also includes various other laws related to pre-tax deduction certificates、Regulations"。

The author thinks，In addition to the form of pre-tax deduction voucher、The source must comply with national laws、In addition to relevant regulations such as laws and regulations，Expenditures recorded in pre-tax deduction vouchers also need to appropriately follow the principle of legality。in tax law、When laws and regulations are unclear on the legality of expenditures recorded in pre-tax deduction vouchers，and in other laws、regulations、There are relevant provisions in regulations and judicial interpretations，The tax authorities may refer to the spirit of relevant regulations for handling。

As stipulated in paragraph 1 of Article 153 of the General Principles of the Civil Law，Violate the law、Civil legal acts stipulated in mandatory administrative regulations are invalid，However, this is excepted if the mandatory provisions do not render the civil legal act invalid.。

"Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Issuing the "Guiding Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Civil and Commercial Contract Dispute Cases under the Current Situation" (Legal Fa[2009]40No.) Article 5 point 15 clearly states that，"Correct understanding、Identifying and applying the term ‘violation of law’ in Article 52(5) of the Contract Law、Mandatory provisions of administrative regulations’，It is related to the maintenance of the validity of civil and commercial contracts and the safety and stability of market transactions.。

The people's court should pay attention to the provisions of Article 14 of the "Contract Law Interpretation (2)"，Pay attention to the distinction between effective mandatory provisions and administrative mandatory provisions。Violation of mandatory provisions on effectiveness，The people's court should determine that the contract is invalid；Violating administrative mandatory regulations，The People's Court shall determine its effectiveness based on specific circumstances."。

Drawing lessons from the above two provisions，The principle of legality of expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax should be appropriately grasped，Vouchers obtained in violation of mandatory validity regulations shall not be used as proof of pre-tax expenditures，Whether vouchers obtained in violation of administrative mandatory regulations can be used as proof of pre-tax expenditures depends on the specific circumstances.。for example，Enterprises that purchase prohibited items such as drugs obtain invoices as proof of pre-tax deduction costs.，Directly invalid。

Enterprises purchase goods, labor and services from taxpayers beyond their business scope and obtain invoices as proof of pre-tax cost deductions，cannot be directly determined to be invalid，Violations will be punished by relevant management departments in accordance with relevant administrative regulations.，The tax authorities have no jurisdiction over。

three、准确把握税前扣除凭证所记载的支出的合理性原则 同理，在《办法》中不提合理性，是因为税前扣除凭证本身不存在合理性的判断，However, this does not deny that the expenditure recorded in the pre-tax deduction voucher (that is, the expenditure allowed to be deducted before tax) does not need to follow the principle of rationality in management.。

Article 35, paragraph 1, of the "Tax Collection and Administration Law of the People's Republic of China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Tax Collection and Administration Law") "A taxpayer has one of the following circumstances:，The tax authorities have the right to determine the amount of tax payable：… (6) The tax calculation basis declared by the taxpayer is obviously low，"There is no justifiable reason" regulations still need to be followed.。

The basis for calculating corporate income tax is taxable income，The taxable income is the total income of the enterprise in each tax year.，Deduction from non-taxable income、tax-free income、The balance after various deductions and allowed losses from previous years，The various deductions included are the actual expenses incurred by the enterprise related to the income obtained.、reasonable expenses。

If the business expenses recorded in the pre-tax deduction voucher are obviously too high，no valid reason，This may result in a significantly lower taxable income.，This seriously affects the accuracy of corporate income tax amounts.。therefore，The tax authorities have the right to determine the amount of corporate income tax payable in accordance with the above provisions.。

Not only does the Tax Collection and Administration Law, which is a procedural law, have relevant provisions on rationality,，Moreover, the provisions on reasonable expenditures in Article 8 of the Enterprise Income Tax Law as substantive law are still valid.，Some corporate income tax regulatory documents also provide clear requirements for justifying expenditures.

Require

，for example，According to Article 38 of the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Enterprise Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China"，Interest expenses incurred by non-financial enterprises borrowing from non-financial enterprises during production and operation activities，The amount does not exceed the amount calculated based on the interest rate of similar loans of financial enterprises for the same period.，Pre-tax deduction allowed。

Article 1 of the "Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Several Issues Concerning Enterprise Income Tax" (State Administration of Taxation Announcement No. 34, 2011)，The company is in accordance with the contract

Require

When interest is paid for the first time and deducted before tax，"Explanation of similar loan interest rates of financial enterprises during the same period" should be provided，to justify its interest expenses。

In summary，If it is possible to accurately distinguish the legality of pre-tax deduction vouchers from the legality of the expenditures recorded，Appropriately grasp the principle of legality of expenditures allowed to be deducted before tax，Accurately grasp the rationality principles of expenditures recorded in pre-tax deduction vouchers，So，The principles of rationality and legality can be balanced，You can have your cake and eat it too!

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