On July 9, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) introduced an "Online Feedback Portal for Issues Concerning Key Auto Companies' Compliance with Payment Term Commitments" on its "National Platform for Complaints on Breach of Contract and Payment Defaults to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)." This portal is designed to address concerns regarding key auto companies' adherence to the 60-day payment term commitment and the inadequate implementation of the "Regulations on Ensuring Payment to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises."

The portal primarily addresses four types of issues:

1. Key auto companies failing to honor the 60-day payment term commitment, with the agreed-upon payment term in procurement contracts exceeding 60 days.

2. Setting unreasonable start dates for payment terms, unjustifiably delaying the issuance of inspection or acceptance certificates to extend payment terms in disguise, or making payments conditional on receipt of third-party payments or proportional to third-party payments.

3. Forcibly or covertly compelling SMEs to accept non-cash payment methods, such as commercial bills and electronic certificates of accounts receivable.

4. Other issues related to key auto companies' inadequate implementation of the "Regulations on Ensuring Payment to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises."

Earlier in June, the State Council announced the revised "Regulations on Ensuring Payment to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises," which officially came into effect. The Regulations clearly state that large enterprises procuring goods, engineering, or services from SMEs must make payments within 60 days from the date of delivery, unless otherwise agreed upon in the contract, which must be reasonable based on industry norms and trading practices.

Moreover, it prohibits making payments to SMEs contingent on receiving third-party payments or paying them in proportion to third-party payments' progress. SMEs cannot be forced to accept non-cash payment methods like commercial bills and electronic certificates of accounts receivable, and such methods cannot be used to extend payment terms in disguise.

In response, from the evening of June 10 to June 11, 17 leading auto companies, including GAC, FAW, Dongfeng, Geely, Thalys, Changan, BYD, and Great Wall, successively issued statements committing to "payment terms not exceeding 60 days."

However, questions persist in the market regarding the practical implementation of the 60-day payment term, such as, "From which date does the 60-day payment term actually commence: the day of contract signing, invoicing, delivery, or acceptance inspection?"

By establishing this online feedback portal, MIIT aims to address SMEs' concerns and strengthen the collaborative supervision system. This is expected to encourage key auto companies to fulfill their payment term commitments, help resolve payment delays to SMEs, optimize the business environment, and foster high-quality development within the automotive industry.