Guidelines for the Application of Internal Control in Enterprises No. 16 - Contract Management

企业内部控制应用指引第16号——合同管理

Promulgating Institution: Ministry of Finance; China Securities Regulatory Commission; National Auditing Office; China Banking Regulatory Commission; China Insurance Regulatory Commission

Document Number: Cai Kuai [2010] No. 11

Promulgating Date: 04/15/2010

Effective Date: 04/15/2010

颁布机关: 财政部; 中国证券监督管理委员会; 审计署; 中国银行业监督管理委员会; 中国保险监督管理委员会

文   号: 财会[2010]11号

颁布时间: 04/15/2010

实施时间: 04/15/2010

Chapter 1: General Provisions

第一章 总 则

 Article 1  With a view to pushing enterprises to strengthen contract management and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, these Guidelines are formulated in accordance with the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, other relevant laws and regulations, and the Basic Norms for the Internal Control of Enterprises.

   第一条 为了促进企业加强合同管理，维护企业合法权益，根据《中华人民共和国合同法》等有关法律法规和《企业内部控制基本规范》，制定本指引。

 Article 2  For the purpose of these Guidelines, contracts shall refer to the agreements signed by an enterprise with natural persons, legal persons, other organizations and other entities with equal status to establish, change or terminate the relationship governing civil rights and obligations.

These Guidelines shall not be applicable to labor contracts signed by the enterprise with its staff members.

   第二条 本指引所称合同，是指企业与自然人、法人及其他组织等平等主体之间设立、变更、终止民事权利义务关系的协议。

  企业与职工签订的劳动合同，不适用本指引。

 Article 3  An enterprise shall, at least, pay attention to the following risks in contract management:

(1) The risks that the enterprise fails to conclude necessary contracts, concludes contracts with external parties without authorization, concludes contracts with unqualified counterparties or concludes contracts with material omissions in content or with fraudulent contents, which may cause infringement upon its legitimate rights and interests;

(2) The risks that contracts are not fully performed or properly monitored, which may cause the enterprise to lose lawsuits or suffer from losses of economic interests; and

(3) The risks that contractual disputes are not properly handled, which may damage the interests, reputation and image of the enterprise.

   第三条 企业合同管理至少应当关注下列风险：

  （一）未订立合同、未经授权对外订立合同、合同对方主体资格未达要求、合同内容存在重大疏漏和欺诈，可能导致企业合法权益受到侵害。

  （二）合同未全面履行或监控不当，可能导致企业诉讼失败、经济利益受损。

  （三）合同纠纷处理不当，可能损害企业利益、信誉和形象。

 Article 4  An enterprise shall strengthen contract management, designate a centralized contract management department, specify the procedures and requirements for contract drafting, examination and approval, performance and other aspects, conduct regular inspection and evaluation of the weak links in contract management, and take corresponding control measures to facilitate the effective performance of contracts and effectively safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

   第四条 企业应当加强合同管理，确定合同归口管理部门，明确合同拟定、审批、执行等环节的程序和要求，定期检查和评价合同管理中的薄弱环节，采取相应控制措施，促进合同有效履行，切实维护企业的合法权益。

Chapter 2: Conclusion of Contracts

第二章 合同的订立

 Article 5  Except for cases of spot settlement, an enterprise shall enter into written contracts when conducting economic activities with external parties. Prior to the conclusion of a contract, the enterprise shall get a thorough idea of the capacity, credit standing and other relevant information of the counterparty, so as to ensure that the counterparty is capable of performing the contract.

For a contract that has major impact, or involves highly technical issues or complex legal relationships, the enterprise shall organize legal, technical, financial, accounting personnel and other professionals to participate in the negotiations, and where necessary, may engage external experts for the related work.

Important issues touched upon in the negotiations and major opinions of the negotiation participants shall be recorded and properly kept.

   第五条 企业对外发生经济行为，除即时结清方式外，应当订立书面合同。合同订立前，应当充分了解合同对方的主体资格、信用状况等有关内容，确保对方当事人具备履约能力。

  对于影响重大、涉及较高专业技术或法律关系复杂的合同，应当组织法律、技术、财会等专业人员参与谈判，必要时可聘请外部专家参与相关工作。

  谈判过程中的重要事项和参与谈判人员的主要意见，应当予以记录并妥善保存。

 Article 6  An enterprise shall draft a contract according to the consultation or negotiation results, and specify the rights and obligations of both parties and the liabilities for breach of contract by following the principles of fairness and voluntariness, so that the contract contains all necessary clauses and is expressed rigorously and accurately, and that all relevant procedures have been gone through to avoid major omissions.

In general, contracts shall be drafted by the departments undertaking the business concerned, and be reviewed by the legal department. The legal department shall participate in the drafting of major contracts or special contracts concerning complex legal relationships. Model contracts of the State or a specific industry, if any, may be used on a priority basis, provided that the clauses governing rights and obligations shall be carefully reviewed and be revised appropriately based on actual situations.

The enterprise shall go through appropriate procedures in the event that certain contracts shall be reported to the relevant State authorities for review or record-filing.

   第六条 企业应当根据协商、谈判等的结果，拟订合同文本，按照自愿、公平原则，明确双方的权利义务和违约责任，做到条款内容完整，表述严谨准确，相关手续齐备，避免出现重大疏漏。

  合同文本一般由业务承办部门起草、法律部门审核。重大合同或法律关系复杂的特殊合同应当由法律部门参与起草。国家或行业有合同示范文本的，可以优先选用，但对涉及权利义务关系的条款应当进行认真审查，并根据实际情况进行适当修改。

  合同文本须报经国家有关主管部门审查或备案的，应当履行相应程序。

 Article 7  An enterprise shall strictly review the text of a contract, focusing on whether the capacity of the parties to the contract, and the contents and form of the contract are legitimate, whether the contents of the contract are in line with the economic interests of the enterprise, whether the counterparty is capable of performing the contract, whether the contract contains clear clauses on rights and obligations, liabilities for breach of contract and dispute resolution, etc.

The enterprise shall organize relevant internal departments to review the texts of contracts with major impact or involving complex legal relationships. Where different opinions are voiced by such departments, the enterprise shall take the opinions seriously by carefully studying and analyzing, and accurately recording them. Where necessary, the enterprise shall revise the corresponding clauses of the contracts. Relevant internal departments shall diligently perform their duties.

   第七条 企业应当对合同文本进行严格审核，重点关注合同的主体、内容和形式是否合法，合同内容是否符合企业的经济利益，对方当事人是否具有履约能力，合同权利和义务、违约责任和争议解决条款是否明确等。

  企业对影响重大或法律关系复杂的合同文本，应当组织内部相关部门进行审核。相关部门提出不同意见的，应当认真分析研究，慎重对待，并准确无误地加以记录；必要时应对合同条款作出修改。内部相关部门应当认真履行职责。

 Article 8  An enterprise shall sign contracts with the counterparties in accordance with the prescribed authority and procedures. The legal representative of the enterprise or the authorized agent thereof shall affix his/her signature or seal to the contracts officially concluded with external parties. Where any contract is concluded upon authorization, the power of attorney shall also be signed.

Entities at lower levels shall not sign contracts that fall under the management authority of entities at higher levels. Where an entity at a lower level is of the opinion that it is indeed necessary to sign a contract that falls under the management authority of an entity at a higher level, it shall submit an application and sign the contract upon approval by the contract management department at the higher level. Entities at higher levels shall strengthen the supervision and inspection of the conclusion and performance of contracts by entities at lower levels.

   第八条 企业应当按照规定的权限和程序与对方当事人签署合同。正式对外订立的合同，应当由企业法定代表人或由其授权的代理人签名或加盖有关印章。授权签署合同的，应当签署授权委托书。

  属于上级管理权限的合同，下级单位不得签署。下级单位认为确有需要签署涉及上级管理权限的合同，应当提出申请，并经上级合同管理机构批准后办理。上级单位应当加强对下级单位合同订立、履行情况的监督检查。

 Article 9  An enterprise shall establish a system to properly keep the special contract seal. The special contract seal shall only be affixed to contracts that have been numbered, examined and approved, and signed by the legal representative of the enterprise or his/her authorized agent.

   第九条 企业应当建立合同专用章保管制度。合同经编号、审批及企业法定代表人或由其授权的代理人签署后，方可加盖合同专用章。

 Article 10  An enterprise shall strengthen information security and confidentiality of contracts, and shall not divulge any trade secrets or State secrets involved in the conclusion and performance of the contracts in any form without approval.

   第十条 企业应当加强合同信息安全保密工作，未经批准，不得以任何形式泄露合同订立与履行过程中涉及的商业秘密或国家机密。

Chapter 3: Performance of Contracts

第三章 合同的履行

 Article 11  An enterprise shall perform contacts by strictly following the principle of good faith, conduct effective monitoring of contract performance, and reinforce the inspection, analysis and final acceptance of contract performance and the performance effects, so as to ensure the full and effective performance of contracts.

Where it is found after a contract has come into effect that the enterprise has failed to agree with the counterparty on quality, price, place of performance and other relevant aspects or that the agreements thereon are not clear, the enterprise may enter into a supplementary agreement with the counterparty. Where a supplementary agreement cannot be reached, the foregoing matters shall be determined in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State, other relevant clauses of the contract or transaction practices.

   第十一条 企业应当遵循诚实信用原则严格履行合同，对合同履行实施有效监控，强化对合同履行情况及效果的检查、分析和验收，确保合同全面有效履行。

  合同生效后，企业就质量、价款、履行地点等内容与合同对方没有约定或者约定不明确的，可以协议补充；不能达成补充协议的，按照国家相关法律法规、合同有关条款或者交易习惯确定。

 Article 12  Where in the performance of a contract, it is found that certain clauses are blatantly unfair or erroneous, or that the counterparty practices fraud, or that policy adjustments, market changes and other objective factors may have damaged or are likely to damage the interests of the enterprise, the enterprise shall report the issues according to the prescribed procedures in a timely manner, and change or terminate the contract upon consultation with the counterparty and in accordance with the prescribed authority and procedures.

   第十二条 在合同履行过程中发现有显失公平、条款有误或对方有欺诈行为等情形，或因政策调整、市场变化等客观因素，已经或可能导致企业利益受损，应当按规定程序及时报告，并经双方协商一致，按照规定权限和程序办理合同变更或解除事宜。

 Article 13  An enterprise shall strengthen the management of contractual disputes. In the case of disputes arising out of the performance of a contract, the enterprise shall consult with the counterparty within the prescribed limitation in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the State, and promptly report the cases in accordance with the prescribed authority and procedures.

Where the dispute is resolved after both parties have reached consensus upon consultation, the parties shall sign a written agreement. Where the dispute cannot be resolved through consultation, the parties shall resolve the dispute by arbitration or litigation according to contractual agreements.

The enterprise shall sign a power of attorney if it authorizes an internal department to deal with contractual disputes. During the dispute resolution process, unless authorized and approved, no handling personnel may make any substantive reply or commitment to the counterparty.

   第十三条 企业应当加强合同纠纷管理，在履行合同过程中发生纠纷的，应当依据国家相关法律法规，在规定时效内与对方当事人协商并按规定权限和程序及时报告。

  合同纠纷经协商一致的，双方应当签订书面协议。合同纠纷经协商无法解决的，应当根据合同约定选择仲裁或诉讼方式解决。

  企业内部授权处理合同纠纷的，应当签署授权委托书。纠纷处理过程中，未经授权批准，相关经办人员不得向对方当事人作出实质性答复或承诺。

 Article 14  The financial and accounting department of an enterprise shall handle settlement after review in accordance with contractual clauses. Where the counterparty fails to perform the contract or where a written contract is not concluded as required, the financial and accounting department shall have the right to refuse to make payment, and shall promptly report the case to relevant persons in charge of the enterprise.

   第十四条 企业财会部门应当根据合同条款审核后办理结算业务。未按合同条款履约的，或应签订书面合同而未签订的，财会部门有权拒绝付款，并及时向企业有关负责人报告。

 Article 15  The contract management department of an enterprise shall strengthen the management of contract registration, make full use of information technology tools to compile statistics of, classify and archive contracts on a regular basis, register in detail the conclusion, performance and changes of contracts, and conduct closed management of the entire contract-related process.

   第十五条 合同管理部门应当加强合同登记管理，充分利用信息化手段，定期对合同进行统计、分类和归档，详细登记合同的订立、履行和变更等情况，实行合同的全过程封闭管理。

 Article 16  An enterprise shall establish a contract performance assessment system, analyze and assess the overall situation of contract performance and the specific situations of the performance of major contracts at least once at the end of each year, and take prompt measures to make corrections and improvement regarding the deficiencies of contract performance found in the analysis and assessment.

The enterprise shall improve the contract management appraisal and accountability system, and shall hold relevant departments or persons accountable for illegalities and irregularities uncovered in the conclusion and performance of a contract.

   第十六条 企业应当建立合同履行情况评估制度，至少于每年年末对合同履行的总体情况和重大合同履行的具体情况进行分析评估，对分析评估中发现合同履行中存在的不足，应当及时加以改进。

  企业应当健全合同管理考核与责任追究制度。对合同订立、履行过程中出现的违法违规行为，应当追究有关机构或人员的责任。