Having company chops are mandatory if you want to start a business in China. According to the PRC Company Law, the company chops (seals/stamps) can be used as legal evidence and represent business activities. Your firm will be bound by the validity of a contract or other documents when these documents are affixed with company chops.
A company may need to hold different types of company chops according to different utilize purposes (these depend on your business scope).
In most cases, companies can choose to hold the following five main types of seals.
- Official company chop (mandatory required)
This company chop has the highest authority and is the most powerful chop that it can be used for all basic operation activities and covers almost all other chops’ functions except that of the fapiao or customs.
- Financial chop (mandatory required)
You will use financial chops when you are dealing with banks on behalf of the company, such as the printing of bank credentials, money orders, and checks. The financial chops can also be used for the settlement of financial transactions.
- Legal representative’s chop
The legal rep’s chop is generally kept by the company’s legal rep. This chop can be used for handling bank affairs and approving company decisions.
- Contract chop
Sometimes, the company may use a separate contract chop to sign a contract with their employees, clients or partners. A firm in its early stage of business may just use its official company chop for any contract execution to avoid the risk of losing the chops or illegal seal usage.
- Fapiao (invoice) chop
A company needs to affix the fapiao chop when purchasing and issuing the fapiao (invoice).
Other chops
The company may need some special types and forms of chops to meet the specific industry or regulatory requirements, such as:
- Electronic chop: These types of chops are the digital forms of firms’ given chops for online business transactions.
- Customs chop: This is a mandatory chop for enterprises that need to do customs declaration business, used for declarations of import and export goods.
Starting a business in China is challenging and requires local experience to establish operations properly and successfully. Azure Group’s expert team has extensive hands-on experience in assisting businesses setup locally in China. Get in touch >
