Pharmaceutical Companies' Massive Tax Back Payments Wave: Golden Tax Phase IV Forces Compliance Mine-clearing

On June 26 after market close, BeiGene Ltd. (688235.SH) announced that its domestic wholly-owned subsidiary received a notice from the local competent tax authority. The company agreed to make certain adjustments to previously filed tax returns and completed relevant confirmations with the tax authority, and will pay taxes and late fees totaling approximately 446 million yuan as required. The amount is about 30% of its 2025 net profit.

According to BeiGene's 2025 annual report, the company achieved operating revenue of 38.225 billion yuan in 2025, up 40.46% year-on-year; net profit attributable to parent company was 1.461 billion yuan, turning from a loss of 4.978 billion yuan to profitability; non-recurring net profit was 1.420 billion yuan, turning from a loss of 5.379 billion yuan.

BeiGene stated that it received a notice from the local competent tax authority regarding relevant tax matters, made certain adjustments to previously filed tax returns, communicated with the authority on technical identification and tax-accounting differences, and will pay the amount as required. This matter does not involve administrative penalties. Based on relevant accounting standards, the matter does not constitute a prior accounting error and does not involve retrospective adjustment of prior period financial data.

The company expects this matter to be recorded in 2026 current period profit or loss; the specific impact on net profit is subject to the audited financial statements. It is expected not to have a material adverse effect on the company's financial position, going concern, or normal operations.

Multiple Pharmaceutical Companies Announce Tax Back Payments This Year, Amounts Concentrated

In addition to BeiGene, several other listed pharmaceutical companies have also disclosed large tax back payments this year. On May 20, Aier Eye Hospital (300015.SH) announced that after conducting a self-audit of tax matters in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, it confirmed the need to pay back taxes of 348 million yuan and late fees of 176 million yuan, totaling 524 million yuan.

On January 1, China Medicine Corporation (600056.SH) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiaries Sanyang Pharmaceuticals and Kangli Pharmaceuticals received tax notices requiring a combined payment of back taxes and late fees of about 65.2178 million yuan, including Sanyang Pharmaceuticals paying back taxes of 21.4862 million yuan and late fees of 10.7429 million yuan, and Kangli Pharmaceuticals paying back taxes of 21.2826 million yuan and late fees of 11.7061 million yuan.

Other companies such as Jiasitang (002462.SZ), Lanfan Medical (002382.SZ), and Chongyao Holdings (000950.SZ) have also announced tax back payments.

According to incomplete statistics from Wind Data, as of June 25, at least 80 listed companies have disclosed tax back payments or tax adjustment announcements this year, approaching the total of 89 for the full year of 2025, involving a cumulative amount of over 6 billion yuan in back taxes, late fees, and fines.

Lawyer Interpretation: Golden Tax Phase IV Strong Supervision Drives Concentrated Clean-up of Historical Hazards

Gui Xin, senior partner at Tahota (Shanghai) Law Firm and initiator of Tianmu Venture Ecosystem, told Blue Whale News that the recent tax back payments by pharmaceutical listed companies like BeiGene and Aier after their annual reports essentially reflect the concentrated exposure of historical compliance issues under Golden Tax Phase IV's strong supervision, such as tax incentives applicable to high R&D investment and diverse business models (e.g., high-tech qualifications, R&D super deduction), tax-accounting differences, and related party transactions. Tax back payments usually occur after annual reports when companies voluntarily conduct tax audits after completing annual tax settlement and audits, as a compliance choice to avoid investigation penalties. Tax back payments often represent policy scope adjustments rather than financial fraud, reflecting normalized tax compliance and proactive self-correction in the capital market.

The lawyer further believes that the frequent occurrence of huge tax back payments in the pharmaceutical industry this year, with amounts far exceeding those of previous years, is mainly due to the full implementation of Golden Tax Phase IV, which enables multi-department data penetration, combined with strict supervision of tax incentives and the implementation of the VAT Law, forcing companies to conduct centralized clean-ups of historical tax hazards from the past five or even ten years. Listed companies may also proactively 'clear mines' and disclose after annual report audits and tax settlements to reduce high fines and information disclosure risks. The multiple resonance of technology forcing, policy tightening, and proactive compliance has led to the concentrated manifestation of stock issues in 2026, forming a 'wave' of tax back payments.

Is the Future Only in 2026? Normalized Tax Adjustments Will Continue

Will this round of tax back payments only affect this year, or will it have a normalized impact? Lawyer Gui Xin said that this round of huge tax back payments is not limited to 2026 alone, but may be understood on two levels: the large-scale tax back payments concentrated in 2026 are mainly a one-time centralized clean-up of historical stock hazards from multiple years (usually traced back 3-5 years). As proactive self-audits progress, such huge retroactive tax back payments will gradually decrease in the next 1-2 years.

However, normalized tax adjustments will exist in the long term. Golden Tax Phase IV's 'tax governance with data' is a long-term infrastructure, and strict supervision of tax incentives (high-tech annual review, real-time review of R&D super deduction) will become routine. In the future, companies may still have tax back payments during annual tax settlements due to fine-tuning of policy scopes or related party transaction pricing adjustments, but the amounts will return to normal levels, and there will no longer be concentrated 'sky-high old account' clean-ups. Tax compliance will shift from an occasional 'mine-clearing event' to a rigid daily operating cost for enterprises.