The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation recently jointly issued the “Notice on Promoting Standardized Payment of Suppliers’ Accounts and Optimizing Account Period Management” by automobile enterprises, aiming to address issues such as overly long account periods and irregular payment methods in the industry. The notice stipulates that the account period for suppliers shall be calculated from the date when goods are delivered and accepted as satisfactory; general components must be accepted within 3 working days, and functional components that require verification before shipment should be accepted within no more than 5 working days. In terms of payment methods, the use of cash or bank acceptance bills is encouraged, and forcing suppliers to accept non-cash methods such as commercial acceptance bills is prohibited. It is also specified that the maximum account period for payments to small and medium-sized enterprises shall not exceed 60 days. Additionally, the notice requires automobile companies to establish and improve management systems and submit semi-annual and annual reports by the end of July and January respectively. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will委托 third-party institutions to conduct comprehensive surveys and evaluations of key automobile enterprises and publicly release the results. Enterprises may request a review if they have objections to the results, while the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will verify any objections raised by third-party institutions.
3 working daysAcceptance deadline – General components
5 working daysAcceptance deadline – Functional components
One monthContinuous supply cycle
1 working dayDeadline for receiving goods
Key entitiesKEY ENTITIES
China Association of Automobile IndustriesMinistry of Industry and Information TechnologyNational Administration for Market RegulationState Administration for Market RegulationState Council
Event frameEVENT FRAME
Regulation
国内 · 主流媒体across 2 days
Status
Two departments jointly issued a notice to standardize the payment and acceptance deadlines for automobile supplier accounts.
Coverage · reports per dayLANGUAGE SPLIT
Entity relations
Integrated timelineUNIFIED TIMELINE
2026-09-07
The first national-level document on industry account period management was released.
Two departments jointly issued the “Notice on Promoting Standardized Payment by Automobile Suppliers and Optimizing Account Period Management”, specifying that the account period starts from the date of delivery and successful acceptance. For general components, acceptance should be completed within 3 working days; for functional components, no more than 5 working days.
2 reports
2026-09-08
Two departments jointly issued a document to standardize the payment of automobile supplier accounts.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice requiring automobile companies to conduct annual research and evaluations, with acceptance of general components completed within 3 working days.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the “Notice on Promoting Standardized Payment of Suppliers’ Accounts by Automobile Enterprises and Optimizing Account Period Management” today. This is the first national-level document on account period management for the industry. The notice sets out five requirements: First, the account period shall be calculated from the date when the supplier delivers goods, works, or services and they are accepted as satisfactory; second, it is stipulated that general parts and components should be accepted within 3 working days, and functional components that need to be tested on vehicles should be completed within 5 working days; third, cash payment is encouraged, and suppliers are prohibited from being forced or indirectly forced to accept non-cash payment methods such as bank acceptance bills, commercial acceptance bills, and supply chain bills. Previously, irrational competition in the industry led to excessively long account periods, increasing operational pressure on suppliers and affecting the stable operation of the industrial chain. In June 2025, 17 key automobile enterprises publicly committed to having “payment accounts no longer exceed 60 days,” and over the past year, the average account period has been effectively shortened.
Recently, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the “Notice on Promoting Standardized Payment to Suppliers by Automobile Enterprises and Optimizing Credit Period Management”. This is the first national-level document on credit period management for the industry. The Notice sets forth five new requirements regarding issues such as inconsistent starting points for credit periods and unclear acceptance criteria: First, it clarifies that the credit period begins from the date of delivery and successful acceptance; second, it stipulates that general parts should be accepted within 3 working days, and those that require vehicle verification should be completed within 5 working days; third, it stipulates that payment deadlines must not exceed public commitments, and interest shall be paid in accordance with the law for overdue payments; fourth, cash payments are encouraged, and the proportion of non-cash payment methods is controlled; fifth, payment during bargaining periods is regulated, and continuous supply can be paid in advance at no less than 90% of the most recent contract price. For small and medium-sized enterprises, the credit period for payment shall not exceed 60 days, and cash payment is encouraged. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology states that it will establish a reporting mechanism, publicly release the research and evaluation results of third-party institutions, and jointly interview and urge compliant enterprises to make corrections with relevant departments.