Interim Procedures of Shanghai Municipality for the Administration of Shanghai Municipal Special Fund for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Chapter I  General Provisions

Article 1 (Purposes and Basis)

With a view to implementing the relevant policies of the State and this Municipality on promoting the development of SMEs, supporting the entrepreneurship and innovation of SMEs, and promoting the sustainable and sound development of SMEs, these Procedures are formulated in accordance with the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Promoting the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the Procedures on the Administration of the Special Fund for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

(MF C [2021] No.148) and the relevant provisions on the administration of government funds, and in light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.

Article 2 (Definition)

The Shanghai municipal special fund for the development of SMEs (hereinafter referred to as the "special fund") is a special subsidy fund set up for the implementation of relevant policies of the State and this Municipality on promoting the development of SMEs, and used for supporting the development of SMEs and improving the environment for their development in this Municipality.

Article 3 (Sources of Fund)

The special fund shall be allocated by the municipal fiscal budget based on the situation of the supported projects.

Article 4 (Principles of Use)

The use of the special fund shall conform to the policy regulation and guidance requirements of the State and this Municipality for promoting the development of SMEs, conform to the relevant provisions on fiscal budget administration and adhere to the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality, so as to ensure the regularized, safe and efficient use of the special fund.

Article 5 (Administration Responsibilities)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall be responsible for preparing the budget for the special fund, determining the direction of annual use of the special fund and the supporting focus, exercising the routine management of the special fund; implementing a lifecycle administration of the special fund projects, carrying out supervisions and inspections over the project operations, and conducting a performance management of the special fund.

The Municipal Bureau of Finance shall be responsible for the budget administration of the special fund, supervising and inspecting the situation of the use of the special fund, and guiding and advancing the performance management of the special fund.

Article 6 (Supervision System)

The arrangement, allocation, use and management of the special fund shall be subject to the auditing supervision of the audit department and shall be subject to the supervision of the Municipal People's Congress and the society.

Chapter II  Supporting Targets and Scope of the Fund

Article 7 (Supporting Targets)

The supporting targets of the special fund shall be the SMEs and the service agents for SMEs legally established in this Municipality.

The SMEs shall conform to the national standards for enterprise size division, including the medium, small, and micro enterprises.

Article 8 (Supporting Scope)

The special fund shall be mainly used in the following fields:

1. Supporting the transformation and upgrading of SMEs. Cultivate innovative SMEs, professional, proficient, special and innovative SMEs, and professional, proficient, special and innovative "little giant" enterprises; support such a "little giant" enterprise to develop into a single-event champion enterprise that takes the lead in the international market, and strengthen the momentum of the tiered cultivation of high-quality SMEs. Support the digital transformation of SMEs, and cultivate distinctive industrial clusters of SMEs.

2. Supporting SMEs to expand their scale and upgrade their quality. Encourage the under-scaled industrial enterprises and software & information service enterprises to expand their scale and actively upgrade their quality. Support the scale-expanding SMEs to continuously expand their scales, so as to contribute to the steady performance of the municipal economy.

3. Perfecting the service system for SMEs. Support the construction and cultivation of specialized service platforms, and strengthen and ensure the professional services for SMEs, which involves the aggregation of service resources, innovation of service methods, enhancement of service capabilities and enforcement of service coordination, to facilitate SMEs' access to various services in digital empowerment, green transformation, policy consultation, integrated innovation, entrepreneurship guidance, investment and financing, technical support, inspection and testing, quality standards, industrial design, intellectual property, personnel training, domestic and international market development, and rights protection.

4. Reducing the financing costs for SMEs. Support the reduction of SMEs' financing costs with the focus laid on the alleviation of the financing difficulties and the reduction of high financing costs faced by SMEs.

5. Supplementary allocation in conjunction with relevant state supporting funds, and other SMEs' development projects that are expressly endorsed by the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal People's Government to implement major national strategic tasks.

Article 9 (Exclusion Clause)

In principle, the projects that have received support from other municipal fiscal funds shall not be eligible for additional support from this special fund.

Chapter III  Funding Methods and Amounts

Article 10 (Funding Methods)

The special fund shall adopt such funding methods as rewards, subsidies, government purchased services, and loan interest subsidies. Explore the policy service of "enjoyment without application" according to the actual situation of the project.

1. Rewards. The amount of a reward for a single project shall not exceed three million yuan.

2. Subsidies. The maximum amount of a subsidy for a single project shall not exceed 30 percent of the project's total eligible investment, and not exceed RMB three million yuan.

3. Loan interest subsidies. The subsidy amount shall be determined according to a prescribed proportion of the interest amount accrued on the loan based on the national benchmark interest rate for the corresponding period. The subsidy term for a single project shall not exceed two years, and the subsidy amount shall not exceed one million yuan.

Chapter IV  Project Application and Review

Article 11 (Notice of Application)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall formulate the notice on the application for the annual special fund based on the actual development situation of this Municipality's SMEs, specify such contents as the key supporting fields and directions, and publish the notice on its official website and other designated web portals.

Article 12 (Application Requirements for SMEs)

The SMEs applying for the special fund shall meet the following basic requirements:

1. The enterprise shall possess a sound corporate governance structure;

2. The enterprise shall have a healthy financial management system and a good credit record;

3. The enterprise shall be in a sound operational status;

4. The proposed project shall accord with the present year's funding directions and key supporting fields of the special fund; and

5. The enterprise shall comply with the relevant requirements specified in the notice on the application for the annual special fund.

Article 13 (Application Requirements for Service Agents)

The service agent applying for the funding project of the special fund shall meet the following basic requirements:

1.The service agent shall possess the appropriate qualifications for providing services to SMEs;

2. The service agent shall be familiar with the national and this Municipality's laws, rules, regulations and policies concerning the promotion of SMEs' development;

3. The service agent shall have fixed business premises, professional SME service personnel and facilities, and the extensive experience in its involved service areas;

4. The service agent shall operate in a regularized manner and have a healthy financial management system; and

5. The service agent shall comply with the relevant requirements specified in the notice on the application for the annual special fund.

Article 14 (Application Procedures)

The project unit that meets the application requirements shall apply to the Municipal  Commission of Economy and Informatization or the district competent administrative department for SMEs in accordance with these Procedures and the relevant requirements stipulated in the annual application notice for the special fund within the prescribed time limit. Upon an examination and approval, the district competent administrative department for SMEs shall submit the project application to the Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization. The applicant unit shall be responsible for the authenticity and completeness of the submitted materials.

Article 15 (Project Review and Public Notice)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall, in conjunction with the Municipal Bureau of Finance, review the project application according to the relevant provisions stipulated in the application notice and these Procedures.

The Project that has passed the review shall be made public according to the provision with a public notice period of five working days. Where any objections are received upon the expiration of the public notice period, the Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall organize an investigation and verification.

Chapter V  Budget Management and Fund Allocation

Article 16 (Budget Formulation)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall determine the annual funding priorities and formulate the annual budget for the special fund in accordance with the relevant requirements for the formulation of department budgets, which is to be incorporated into the Commission's department budget, and submit it to the Municipal Bureau of Finance according to the prescribed procedures.

The Municipal Bureau of Finance shall study and determine the annual budget scale for the special fund according to such factors as the annual work plan proposed by the Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, the execution situation of the previous year's budget, and the results of the historical performance evaluation.

Article 17 (Budget Execution)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall, in accordance with the annual budget for the special fund determined by the Municipal Bureau of Finance, organize project applications and reviews, determine the allocation plan for the annual special fund projects, and rationally schedule the project expenditures according to the timeline to ensure the timely execution of the special fund budget.

Article 18 (Budget Adjustment)

The annual budget of the special fund, once determined, must be strictly executed and shall not be arbitrarily altered in terms of the funding targets and usage contents. Where adjustments are genuinely necessary, they shall be made in accordance with the relevant provisions on the administration of dynamic adjustment of municipal departments' budget.

Article 19 (Fund Allocation)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall, according to the approved annual budget, apply to the Municipal Bureau of Finance for the fund allocation within the approved budget amount. Upon a review by the Municipal Bureau of Finance, the special fund shall be allocated in accordance with the administration requirements on the treasury centralized payment.

Chapter VI  Supervision and Administration

Article 20 (Information Disclosure)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall disclose the use of the special fund to the public in accordance with law, and accept the social supervision.

Article 21 (Performance Administration)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization and the Municipal Bureau of Finance shall implement a comprehensive performance administration over the special fund, promote an integration of the budget and the performance administration, set up the performance targets, conduct the performance tracking, carry out the performance evaluation, do a good job of the application of performance administration results, and enhance the efficiency of fund use.

Article 22 (Supervision and Inspection)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall exercise a whole-process supervision over the use of the special fund and the implementation situation of the projects. The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization and the Municipal Bureau of Finance shall conduct the supervision and inspection over the special fund. Where necessary, they may entrust a qualified third-party institution to assist in these activities, so as to ensure the regularized, secure, and effective operation of the special fund.

Article 23 (Responsibility Investigation)

The special fund shall be used exclusively for its designated purposes. The misappropriation or diversion of the fund shall be strictly prohibited. Any acts involving falsification, withholding, or misappropriation of the fund that violate the national laws, rules, regulations, or relevant disciplines shall be dealt with in accordance with the Regulations on the Punishments and Disciplinary Actions for Fiscal Violation Acts and other relevant provisions. The funds already disbursed shall be recovered as stipulated.

Article 24 (Credit Administration)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization shall implement a credit administration for the project unit. The Commission shall, based on the discredit status of a project unit, provide adverse records to the Municipal Public Credit Platform in accordance with relevant provisions, take corresponding restraint measures at different administration stages according to the severity of its discredit acts.

Chapter VII  Supplementary Provisions

Article 25 (Interpretation Authority)

The Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization and the Municipal Bureau of Finance shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Procedures.

Article 26 (Effective Date)

These Procedures shall be effective as of September 8, 2025 and remain valid until September 7, 2027. The period from October 30, 2024 to September 7, 2025 shall be governed by reference to these Procedures.