In accordance with the Circular of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Printing and Issuing the Proposal of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government for Institutional Reform and Functional Transformation (TZ [2014] No. 20), the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau was established as a department under the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government.

Main responsibilities are as follows:

1. Ensure the implementation of financial laws, regulations, rules, guidelines, and policies. Conduct research and develop local regulations, rules, and policies pertaining to finance, financial management, accounting administration, and other relevant areas based on the specific circumstances of the Municipality. Organize the drafting of local taxation regulations, rules, and implementation measures, and propose adjustments to existing taxation policies as needed.

2. Formulate taxation and financial development strategies, plans, policies, and reform schemes for the Municipality, implementing them once adopted. Participate in the analysis and forecasting of the Municipality’s macroeconomic development and contribute to the formulation of macroeconomic policies. Continuously enhance the governmental budget management system, covering public financial budgets, government fund budgets, state-owned capital management budgets, and social security fund budgets. Deepen the reform of departmental budgets and update the system of budget expenditure standards. Strengthen the administration of mid-term fiscal planning and establish and improve balancing mechanisms for carrying over budgets to the next year. Provide recommendations for macroeconomic control and comprehensive balance of financial resources based on financial and taxation policies. Develop and improve systems and rules to ensure that administrative powers of governments  with their financial resource allocation powers and spending responsibilities between the municipal and district/county levels. Formulate and implement financial distribution policies between municipal and district/county-level governments, as well as between governments and enterprises.

3. Manage government revenues and expenditures, as well as government funds. Prepare annual financial budgets and final accounts, implementing them once adopted. Report to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on the budgets and their execution, and report to the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on the final accounts on behalf of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. Develop budget expenditure standards, review and approve annual budgets and final accounts of all departments and units, and allocate budget funds accurately and in a timely manner. Enhance the payment system for transfers from the municipal level to the district/county levels. Establish systems and measures for budget performance management, and implement a robust budget performance management mechanism. Establish and improve a working mechanism for the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government’s procurement of public services.

4. Manage non-tax government revenues and government funds within the Municipality. Regulate administrative charges according to their respective lines of authority. Manage financial bills and oversee the lottery market by reviewing and approving lottery sales schemes. Supervise lottery funds in accordance with relevant regulations.

5. Formulate and implement a treasury administration system and treasury single account system. Allocate and manage financial funds, conduct audits of the general budget accounting, and oversee treasury cash management. Issue local government bonds and ensure timely repayment of principal and interest. Establish a comprehensive financial reporting system for governments on an accrual basis, along with a corresponding evaluation system. Develop the Municipality’s government procurement system and monitor its implementation. Oversee financial management, accounting systems, and bank accounts of government agencies and public institutions. Enforce control measures for the procurement of public service vehicles.

6. Develop and implement administrative rules and regulations for SOAs in government organs and public institutions. Manage these SOAs in accordance with relevant provisions. Establish and implement a management system for the use of public service vehicles by Party and government bodies.

7. Participate in the formulation of industrial policies, as well as other policies and reform programs related to industries, infrastructure investment, income distribution, pricing, economy and trade, foreign exchange, science and technology, education, culture, housing, healthcare, and social security. Manage social security expenditures funded by local government revenues and collaborate with other relevant departments to develop a financial management system for social security funds. Oversee and manage municipal-level special financial accounts for all social security funds.

8. Review and consolidate draft budgets and final accounts for the management of state-owned capital in the Municipality. Formulate administrative rules, regulations, and measures for budgets and final accounts of state-owned capital management in collaboration with other relevant departments. Collect earnings from municipal-level enterprises with state-owned capital. Organize the implementation of financial systems and manage asset appraisal in accordance with relevant regulations.

9. Handle and oversee municipal-level financial expenditures related to economic development and the allocation and utilization of financial resources for government-funded investment projects. Participate in the formulation of relevant policies for municipal-level government construction investments and ensure the implementation of rules and regulations for capital construction finance. Manage policy subsidies and special reserve funds. Develop rules, regulations, and implementation measures for the performance evaluation of fiscal expenditures within the Municipality, and organize the evaluation process. Manage comprehensive agricultural development initiatives.

10. Manage non-trade foreign exchange receipts and payments for government organs, public institutions, and non-governmental organizations financed by government budgets. Oversee knowledge cooperation and loan projects between Shanghai and foreign governments and international financial organizations (including the World Bank), along with the financial operations associated with such projects.

11. Implement the State’s regulations and policies on domestic debt administration. Formulate and implement local regulations and measures for government debt administration. Establish and update mechanisms for debt management, risk early-warning, and debt financing for the municipal and district/county governments to prevent any financial risks. Manage the government’s foreign debts in a unified manner and adhere to the basic administrative bylaw governing foreign debt administration.

12. Manage, supervise, and regulate accounting practices, ensuring the implementation of a national unified accounting system. Review and approve the establishment of accounting firms and asset appraisal institutions, ensuring their operations adhere to regulations. Oversee the professional practice of certified public accountants and certified public valuers.

13. Oversee the implementation of taxation and financial laws, regulations, and policies, as well as the preparation and implementation of budgets and final accounts. Identify issues related to the implementation of financial policies, financial revenue and expenditure management, government procurement, and financial management, among others. Provide suggestions for strengthening management in these areas.

14. Handle the acceptance and hearing of relevant administrative reviews and responses to administrative proceedings.

15. Fulfill any other tasks as assigned by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government.