On March 19, 2024, China Business Law Journal released the "Outstanding Transactions of the Year" list. With outstanding significance, complexity, and innovation, the "Xinghongyuan Tire Export to South Africa Zero Tax Rate" project undertaken by Gaopeng Law Firm was selected for the "Outstanding Transactions of the Year 2023" list by China Business Law Journal.

Gaopeng's project was selected as the "Outstanding Transaction of the Year" for the year 2023 by the Commercial Law Journal

The "Xinghongyuan tires export to South Africa with zero tax rate" project undertaken by Gaopeng Law Firm has been selected for the 2023 Outstanding Transaction Award list

Selection criteria: Commercial Law upholds independent observation and continuous reporting of the legal market. After examining the importance, complexity, innovation, and transaction scale of each project, 191 outstanding transactions of the year were carefully selected from a massive amount of application materials from domestic and foreign law firms. Eligible candidates must have completed or made significant progress in transactions and cases between November 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023.

Gaopeng Assists Xinghongyuan in Obtaining the Only Zero Tax Rate Nationwide in the Anti Dumping Investigation of South African Tires

On July 28, 2023, the South African International Trade Commission released its final report on the anti-dumping investigation of Chinese tires, deciding to impose anti-dumping duties on tires imported from China for sedans, light trucks, and trucks. The tax rate for sampled enterprises is 0-43.6%, the tax rate for non sampled cooperative enterprises is 14.56%, and the tax rate for other enterprises is 41.47% (levied on FOB prices). The amount involved in this case is about 300 million US dollars, involving hundreds of Chinese export enterprises. It is the largest anti-dumping case initiated by South Africa against China in recent years. In this case, Shandong Xinghongyuan Tire Co., Ltd., represented by Gao Peng, obtained zero tax rate in this investigation, and is the only Chinese enterprise to obtain zero tax rate in this investigation; Another company represented by Gao Peng, Shouguang Fumeisi Tire Co., Ltd., also received the second lowest tax rate nationwide. In addition, 12 other non sampled export enterprises represented by Gaopeng Law Firm also received average preferential tax rates.

This case is led by the trade team leaders Wang Lei and Jiang Liyong, with team members including Dai Ke, Sun Zhen, Zhang Bo, and Yao Mingyue.

Difficulties and Experience Summary in Responding to Litigation

In recent years, South African investigative agencies have repeatedly refused response data from Chinese companies, which has added many difficulties to this lawsuit. Regardless of the time, never miss any opportunity to defend, persist in fighting for the legitimate rights and interests of clients, and adhere to efficient teamwork, which is the belief that Gao Peng Lawyer has always upheld.

At the initial determination, the South African investigative agency rejected all responses from Chinese sampled enterprises and actively responding enterprises. Lawyer Gao Peng made preparations in advance by submitting preliminary defense opinions and resubmitting questionnaire responses in accordance with South African anti-dumping laws after the preliminary determination, so that the response data of the two sampled companies represented were successfully accepted by the investigating authorities.

When the final ruling was disclosed, the two sampled companies represented by Gaopeng had already reached the lowest and second lowest tax rates in the country. However, the legal team still seized the opportunity to comment on the final ruling and raised objections regarding the calculation method of profit margin and the adjustment method of domestic sales price in normal value. In the end, most of the objections were recognized and accepted by the investigating authorities, and they fought for lower tax rates for the two companies, with one of them even reducing to zero tax rate.

During online verification, due to the epidemic situation, some lawyers were quarantined at home and unable to go to the scene to provide guidance to the company. Other lawyers in the team quickly took up positions and rushed to the company, collaborating with home lawyers online to complete the verification perfectly.

As a leading legal journal in Asia, Business Law magazine focuses on providing professional business law information to corporate legal professionals, lawyers, and other high-end legal and business professionals in the Asia Pacific region. It has a wide influence in the field of commercial law in China. "Outstanding Transaction of the Year" is a heavyweight annual award under the Commercial Law of China. It is selected based on strict review requirements and a professional evaluation system, and is selected from a large number of application materials based on various factors such as the importance, complexity, innovation, and transaction scale of each project. It has representativeness, guidance, and authority.

Since 2010, Gaopeng Law Firm has been continuously selected as the "Best Law Firm of the Year in International Trade Law" by the Commercial Law Journal. The cases it undertakes and the leading lawyers have respectively won the "Outstanding Transactions of the Year" and "The A-List Legal Elite" by the Commercial Law Journal. This inclusion in the list is not only a recognition of Gaopeng's development in the legal service market, but also an encouragement and encouragement for Gaopeng's future development. In the future, Gaopeng will continue to adhere to the concept of "integrity and excellence" and provide excellent and efficient legal services to give back to customers.