Interim Provisions of Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area on the Provident Fund for Housing of Foreign Funded Enterprises   (Adopted the 24th meeting of chairmen of the Administrative Commission of Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area on December 19, 2001) Article 1 In order to strengthen the administration of the housing fund for the Chinese staff and workers employed by foreign funded enterprises in Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area (hereinafter referred to as " TEDA"), these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Regulations of Tianjin Municipality on the Provident Fund for Housing and other laws, rules and regulations and in light of the actual conditions of TEDA. Article 2 These Provisions shall apply to the foreign funded enterprises registered in TEDA (hereinafter referred to as "Employing Units") and the Chinese staff and workers who have formed labor relationships with them and received wages for more than one month. Article 3 The new and newly transferred staff and workers shall pay the provident fund for housing from the month when their labor relationships are established. Article 4 The provident fund for housing is a special-purpose fund to be solely utilized for the housing of staff and workers, which shall be collected and managed by a special agency designated by the Administrative Commission of TEDA. Article 5 The administrative department of real estate in TEDA shall be responsible for examining and approving the applications of Employing Units to increase or decrease the payment ratio of the provident fund for housing or to defer the payment. The department is also responsible for supervising its payment, loan and settlement, for inspecting its payment and utilization by Employing Units and for supervising and urging the timely performance by Employing Units of their obligations such as the payment registration or change, the cancellation of the payment registration, the establishment of the accounts for the fund, the payment, withdrawal, transfer or sterilization of the provident fund for housing. TEDA social security agency shall be responsible for the collection, registration, disbursement, utilization and management of the provident fund for housing as well as the examination and approval of the applications for its loan within their prescribed authority. The commercial banks specially designated by the Administrative Commission of TEDA (hereinafter referred to as "the Bank") shall be responsible for examining the applications for the loan from the provident fund for housing as well as approving the said applications within their prescribed authority. They shall also be responsible for handling the specific procedures of the loan. Article 6 The provident fund for housing shall be jointly borne by Employing Units and individual staff and workers. They shall, as per the prescribed ratio and with the average monthly wages of staff and workers in the previous year as the basis, make payments to TEDA social security agency each month. Late payment or underpayment shall not be allowed. The payment ratio of the provident fund for housing to be borne by Employing Units shall be 13 %, the same uniform standard prescribed for foreign funded enterprises in Tianjin Municipality, and the ratio to be borne by staff and workers shall be 9%, which shall be annually adjusted in future. The upper limit of the ratio for the provident fund shall be 15%. The provident fund for housing to be paid by individual staff and workers shall be monthly withheld from their wages by their Employing Units. Article 7 TEDA social security agency shall establish the individual accounts of the provident fund for housing for staff and workers. The funds in the individual accounts of the former housing deposit fund of the staff and workers shall be totally transferred to the accounts of the provident fund for housing. The number of years when they have made payments to the housing deposit fund shall be regarded as the number of years when they have made payments to the provident fund for housing. The principal and interest in the individual accounts of the provident fund for housing shall belong to the individual staff and workers. Under prescribed circumstances, the staff and workers may withdraw and use the fund in their own accounts of the provident fund for housing. Article 8 In case that the staff and workers who have paid the provident fund for housing are to purchase, build houses or overhaul private houses, they may apply for loans within the line of use of the deposits of the provident fund for housing and the fund in their individual accounts on the strength of relevant credentials and certificates. Article 9 The staff and workers who apply for loans for housing may repay the principal and interest of the loans due in the month or the accumulative months by drawing the balance in their own accounts and in their spouses' accounts of the provident fund for housing in the month or the accumulative months. The staff and workers shall go through the registration formalities of withdrawal for repaying housing loans with the Banks on the strength of their housing purchase contracts or agreements entered with the house-selling units, the documents certifying the spouse relationship, the loan contracts and their duplicates. In case that the balance in the staff and workers' accounts of the provident fund for housing is insufficient to repay the principal and interests of the loans, the debtors may draw the balance in their spouses' accounts of the provident fund for housing. Article 10 If the housing rent exceeds the proportion of rent to family income stipulated by Tianjin Municipal Housing Reform Office, the staff and workers may draw the balance in their own accounts and in their spouses' accounts of the provident fund for housing in the month or the accumulative months to pay the part of the housing rent that exceeds the prescribed proportion in the month or the accumulative months. Article 11 The staff and workers who purchase-exchange their public housing, they may withdraw the balance in their own accounts and in their spouses' accounts of the provident fund for housing. Article 12 The staff and workers who have paid the provident fund for housing may apply for withdrawal of their provident fund for housing on the strength of the relevant credentials and certificates under one of the following circumstances: (1) those who leave their posts to rest or retire; (2) those who transfer their registered residence out of this Municipality or emigrate out of the territory; (3) those who decease before retirement and their fund is to be inherited by their inheritors; (4) those who have completely lost their capability to work and terminated the labor relationship with their employing units. Article 13 In case that the staff and workers have changed the labor relationships among the foreign funded enterprises of TEDA, no change shall be made in the individual accounts of the provident fund for housing, which shall continue to be paid by the staff and workers and the enterprises that then employ them. The housing deposit fund that has been sterilized in the TEDA Branch of the Management Center for Social Security Fund, in accordance with the provisions of the former housing deposit fund may remain sterilized or be withdrawn according to relevant provisions. In case that the staff and workers are no longer required by these Provisions to pay the provident fund for housing due to job changes, their provident fund for housing that has been paid shall be sterilized. Article 14 The staff and workers who have paid the provident fund for housing are entitled to inquire about the status of their payment and utilization and TEDA social security agency as well as the entrusted Banks shall provide relevant services, and may not refuse such requests. Article 15 The interests on the money in staff and workers' individual accounts of the provident fund for housing shall be calculated in accordance with relevant State regulations. Article 16 In case that any dispute concerning the provident fund for housing arises between staff and workers and their units, they may apply to the administrative department of real estate in TEDA for mediation or apply to the arbitration commission for arbitration or institute proceedings at the People's Court of TEDA, according to law. Article 17 The Administration Commission of TEDA shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Provisions Article 18 These Provisions shall enter into force as of April 1, 2002. The Provisions of Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area for Housing Deposit Fund, which was implemented on January 31, 1997, shall be annulled simultaneously.