On the 7th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in collaboration with the State Administration for Market Regulation, jointly released the Notice on Advancing the Standardization of Account Payments and Enhancing Account Period Management for Suppliers in the Automotive Sector. This marks the first national-level directive specifically addressing account period management within the industry, playing a pivotal role in fostering a healthy industrial ecosystem. The Notice outlines five key requirements concerning how automotive enterprises should handle payments to their suppliers:

Firstly, it standardizes the commencement time for account periods, specifying that it should initiate from the date when the supplier delivers goods, completes a project, or provides a service, and such delivery, completion or provision is accepted as satisfactory.

Secondly, it standardizes acceptance procedures, mandating automotive enterprises to finalize acceptance within three working days for general production materials, such as components, upon receipt of goods, projects, or services. For functional components necessitating on-vehicle verification, the acceptance period is extended to five working days.

Thirdly, it standardizes payment methods, advocating for cash payments and strictly prohibiting the practice of compelling or subtly coercing suppliers into accepting non-cash payment methods.