Many newly established businesses mistakenly believe that since they have yet to generate revenue or open a bank account, they have no dealings with the tax authorities and can therefore delay their tax filings indefinitely.

Zhou Shouliang, a professor at Dalian University and executive director of the Liaoning Provincial Internal Audit Society, cautions that this is a dangerous misconception that could easily lead to significant tax-related risks.

Professor Zhou explains that paying tax is a substantive legal obligation, meaning taxpayers must remit taxes to the state treasury within a statutory period after a taxable event occurs. Filing a tax return, on the other hand, is a procedural legal duty, requiring taxpayers to submit a written report of relevant tax information to the tax authorities within a specified timeframe and format.

"Paying tax and filing a return are two entirely separate obligations," Zhou notes. "Even if a taxpayer owes absolutely nothing, the act of filing the return itself is mandatory and cannot be skipped."

In current practice, he points out, tax filing is predominantly completed online through the electronic tax bureau, allowing taxpayers to submit the necessary documents from the comfort of their homes. Alternatively, they can visit a local tax service hall in person. Regardless of the channel chosen, completing the filing action fulfills the procedural obligation.

He stresses that businesses without any operating income must still provide a full and accurate filing. A "zero income" scenario refers to a company that has not engaged in any business activities generating taxable revenue during a tax period. A "zero filing," however, means that not only is income zero, but all other figures on the form, such as costs and expenses, are also reported as zero.

To illustrate, Professor Zhou cites a startup that may have no sales receipts or business income for a given period, yet still pays employee salaries monthly and incurs daily overheads like rent, utilities, and office supplies. These operating expenses must be truthfully reported on the filing form. Similarly, a company with tax-exempt income from agricultural products must report this in the appropriate section, even if no tax is owed. It cannot be recorded as zero.

In the context of corporate income tax, Zhou reminds taxpayers that a zero filing is only permissible when both income and expenses are zero for the period. For other tax categories, a zero filing must similarly be based on a zero tax base.

For taxpayers with no immediate business plans, his advice is twofold: if suspending operations temporarily, confirm the tax type assessment and filing deadline, and continue to submit zero filings on schedule; if there is no intention to resume business, pursue formal deregistration promptly.

Individual businesses enjoy a simplified deregistration process and, if eligible, can apply for simplified cancellation directly without needing to obtain a tax clearance certificate. For other enterprises, sufficient time and resources must be set aside for liquidation. Only after completing procedures such as settling debts and claims, disposing of assets, and clearing all tax dues, can they sequentially obtain a tax clearance certificate from the tax bureau and then apply for deregistration with the market supervision administration. Importantly, the obligation to file tax returns continues during the entire liquidation period until the deregistration is officially completed.