The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Is simplified deregistration even available?

No debts, no employees, clean tax.

Simple
02

Who is liquidator?

Shareholders or a named person.

Who
03

Tax, customs, SAFE, SI?

The clearance stack.

Clear
04

Chops and licences cancelled?

Last mile.

End

Working rule: Sequence shareholder approval, liquidation, employee and creditor settlement, tax clearance, account closure and deregistration against the company’s actual liabilities and records.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Dormant company
Has the company stopped trading but remains registered?
Annual reporting, tax and other compliance continue until deregistration.
Employees still on book
Are employment, severance or social-insurance obligations open?
Labour close-out can block liquidation.
Tax clearance
Which tax periods, fapiao or historical filings remain unresolved?
Tax deregistration is often the critical path.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01shareholder dissolution resolutionConfirm registered ownership, voting rights and corporate approval.
02liquidation-team appointmentEstablish the specific facts and legal significance of liquidation-team appointment for this route.
03employee/severance scheduleEstablish the specific facts and legal significance of employee/severance schedule for this route.
04tax/fapiao statusConfirm filing, withholding, clearance and payment prerequisites.
05customs/SAFE/bank close-out listShow the bank requirement, account details and remittance evidence.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

How long?

Months when tax is clean; longer if not. Do not quote a blog number as a deadline.

Where is the long piece?

Use the linked specialist resource when China WFOE Liquidation and Deregistration turns on detailed evidence, procedure or risk assessment.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Company Law (NPC laws database)
SAMR
Gov.cn
National laws database (NPC)