Please ensure that all supporting materials are genuine and valid, and falsification is strictly prohibited.Since the second half of 2022, the China National Intellectual Property Administration has realized data exchange with the tax department, and officially carried out the verification of the tax information of the patent fee reduction applicant.

This mechanism has been officially announced by the State Intellectual Property Office in its official press conference and public report in 2023. As a result, starting from the fourth quarter of 2022, some applicants have received notification messages from patent agencies, or their fee reduction filing applications have been rejected, requesting additional supporting materials such as bank statements and social security certificates to further verify their qualifications.

In addition, we have learned from multiple sources that the State Intellectual Property Office has recently initiated a retrospective verification of past patent applicants' fee reduction materials. If it is found through verification that the applicant has engaged in material fraud, relevant warning or penalty notices will be issued: not only will the applicant be required to fully pay the discount amount previously enjoyed due to fraud, but they will also be subject to a 5-year ban on applying for patent fee reductions.