Provisional Announcement Regarding Issuance and Implementation of Notice on Further Enhancing HPF Withdrawal Review
SHGJJ No. 144 (2015)
To all district/county management divisions, Housing Fund Department of China Construction Bank’s Shanghai Branch:
To implement Notice on Further Enhancing HPF Withdrawal Review (SHGJJG No. 11-2015, hereinafter referred to as “the Notice”), we hereby notify you of relevant issues as follows:
1. Investigation and validation means and time:
Given that an employee’s housing provident fund withdrawal application complies with the specified criteria, Shanghai Provident Fund Management Center (SPFMC) should determine whether to approve or disapprove the withdrawal within three working days from the application handling date. Should there be any doubt about the authenticity of the employee’s withdrawal behavior, SPFMC should proceed to investigate for verification, and determine whether to approve or disapprove the withdrawal within three working days based on the verification result.
(1) Investigation and validation means:
SPFMC shall contact relevant departments for investigation, evidence collection and verification on a consolidated basis in regard to the applications of SPFMC’s district/county management divisions for investigation and validation.
(2) Investigation and validation time:
In a case requiring investigation and validation in the pertinent department(s) of this Municipality, the investigation and validation time is usually five working days, up to a maximum of ten working days. As for a case requiring investigation and validation via the pertinent department(s) of another city or province, the investigation and validation time is usually ten working days, up to a maximum of twenty working days.
2. Settling a withdrawal case involving multiple transactions of a home within one year
Regarding an employee’s housing provident fund withdrawal application due to purchase of a home in this Municipality or in another city or province, the purchased home may allow withdrawal once due to a transaction in a calendar year. Provided that a second transaction occurs to the home within a calendar year for self residing purpose, the employee may opt to proceed with either
1) Withdrawal application submission in the subsequent year of the purchase or the transaction. Essential documents for review and handling procedures as per Service Instructions; or
2) Withdrawal application submission within the year of the purchase or the transaction. Essential documents for review and handling procedures per the following:
a) Essential documents required
Following additional supporting documents are required apart from the documents specified in the prevailing regulations;
i) As for home purchase in this Municipality, relevant evidence showing either the applicant or the spouse has household registration information changed as per the address of the purchased home; or the originals of such documents as the voucher of one of the public utilities expenses payment indicating the applicant or the spouse has paid for the home’s water, electricity or gas for a cumulative minimum of three months;
Ii) As for home purchase in another city or province, the said documents or the originals of pertinent household or employment registration proofs indicating the purchased home is located where the applicant, or the spouse, or their child(ren) has had household registered or is currently working.
b) Handling procedures
The applicant should prepare and submit the withdrawal application package, including the above supporting documents, to the management division of the district/county where the applicant’s home is located. The district/county management division should investigate and validate the applicant’s home purchase, and determine whether to approve or disapprove the withdrawal within three working days after obtainment of the verification result.
3. Handling of outbound transfer of the labor relationship of an employee without Shanghai hukou (household registration)
As per the requirements specified in the Notice, given that the new labor relationship and the new housing provident fund personal account of an employee without Shanghai hukou have already been registered in another city or province, transferring of the account shall be handled as per the following; provided that the employee’s new labor relationship is not yet established, or the new labor relationship is established but the new housing provident fund personal account has not yet been opened, account blocking procedures shall be handled as per the instructions below.
1) Handling of outbound transfer of an account
Essential documentts required and relevant handling procedures:
a) Essential documents for review
i) identity credentials;
ii) hukou booklet issued by another city or province;
iii) evidence indicating termination of labor relationsip with an entity in this Municipality;
4) relevant proofs indicating establishment of the employee’s housing provident fund personal account issued by the housing provident fund center of the city where the employee’s new labor relationship is established (including the information pertaining to the housing provident fund accounts of both the individual and the entity; such information as the descriptions of the account to receive the fund to be transferred from this Municipality, the account number, and the basic deposit bank).
b) Handling procedures
i) if the housing provident fund account is with the entity, account transfer application should be submitted to the housing provident fund service outlet of China Construction Bank (hereinafter referred to as CCB’s hpf service outlet) as appropriate, together with the above-mentioned supporting documents and Shanghai Housing Provident Fund Withdrawal Certification issued by the entity;
Ii) if the housing provident fund account is with SPFMC’s special account set for collective use in account blocking, account transfer application should be submitted to CCB’s hpf service outlet , together with the above-said supporting documentts, and Shanghai HPF Withdrawal Certification and Form for Withdrawal Review of a Blocked Account issued by the district/county management division.
CCB’s hpf service outlet should proceed with account transferring processing after review and confirmation of the applicant’s supporting documents, using the account indicated in the supporting documents issued by the housing provident fund management center of another city or province for receiving the transferred fund balance.
2) Handling of account blocking procedures
Essential documents for review and handling procedures as per Service Instructions.
4. Requirements to and violation penalties on service outlets
All district/county management divisions and CCB’s hpf service outlets should strictly abide by the Notice and carefully review the supporting documents submitted by a withdrawal applicant without easing the review criteria at their own discretion. Particularly, in the case that a bogus or falsified document is identified in the withdrawal application package, the withdrawal process must be aborted as appropriate without delay. In the case that the authenticity of the withdrawal documents cannot be confirmed, measures should be taken in a timely manner to contact relevant departments for investigation, evidence collection and verification.
All district/county management divisions and CCB’s hpf service outlets should make known the risks and consequences of an employee’s violations in the withdrawal application handling process.
Should any mistake or violation occur in any district/county management division or CCB’s hpf service outlet due to the service counter staff’s negligence of duty or assistance, SPFMC shall impose administrative penalties such as report processing.
5. Withdrawal violation and penalties
Should there be any withdrawal violations such as forgery of a contract, falsification of a credential or counterfeiting of a tenancy, SPFMC shall report to the employee’s entity, recover the fund loss due to unlawful withdrawal, and revoke the eligibility of the employee for a housing provident fund withdrawal or loan for a period of time. SPFMC shall have relevant withdrawal violation information recorded in the personal credit consulting system. Any agency or individual involved or assisted in such forgeries violating withdrawal regulations shall be treated seriously and disclosed to the public, or even prosecuted for criminal liability under such circumstances as a crime is committed.
6. Time for implementation
The Notice shall take effect from 1 December 2015.
Please implement accordingly.
Shanghai Provident Fund Management Center
18 November 2015
