Under Golden Tax IV's Strict Supervision, Pharma Back-Tax Wave: BeiGene Subsidiary to Pay ¥446 Million

On June 26, BeiGene, Ltd. (688235.SH) announced post-market that its domestic wholly-owned subsidiary recently received notification from the local competent tax authority. The company agreed to certain adjustments to previously filed tax returns, confirmed the tax matters with the authority, and will timely pay back taxes and late fees totaling approximately RMB 446 million. This amount represents about 30% of its 2025 net profit.

According to BeiGene's previously disclosed 2025 annual report, the company achieved revenue of RMB 38.225 billion in 2025, up 40.46% year-on-year; net profit attributable to parent was RMB 1.461 billion, turning from a loss of RMB 4.978 billion in 2024; non-recurring net profit was RMB 1.42 billion, turning from a loss of RMB 5.379 billion.

BeiGene told media that the company recently received notice from the local tax authority regarding related tax matters, making certain adjustments to prior tax returns. It communicated adequately and professionally with the authority on technical determinations and tax-accounting differences, and will complete the payment as required. This matter does not involve administrative penalties. The company, based on accounting standards, believes the matter does not constitute a prior period error and does not require retrospective adjustment of prior financial data.

The company expects to record the impact in 2026 current period profit or loss, with the specific impact on net profit subject to audited financial statements. It says the matter is not expected to materially adversely affect its financial condition, going concern, or normal operations.

Multiple Pharma Firms Disclose Huge Back Taxes and Adjustments This Year

Besides BeiGene, several other pharma companies have issued back-tax announcements this year. On May 20, Aier Eye Hospital (300015.SZ) announced that after self-inspection of tax matters according to regulations, it confirmed back taxes of RMB 348 million and late fees of RMB 176 million, totaling RMB 524 million.

On January 1, China Medicine (600056.SH) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiaries Sanyang Pharmaceutical and Kangli Pharmaceutical received tax notices requiring combined back taxes and late fees of approximately RMB 65.2178 million: Sanyang owes RMB 21.4862 million in tax and RMB 10.7429 million in late fees; Kangli owes RMB 21.2826 million in tax and RMB 11.7061 million in late fees.

Additionally, Jia Shi Tang (002462.SZ), Blue Sail Medical (002382.SZ), and C.Q. Pharmaceutical (000950.SZ) also issued back-tax announcements.

Back Taxes Concentrated After Annual Reports: Lawyer Says Golden Tax IV Drives Historical Problem Cleanup

Statistics show that as of June 25, at least 80 listed companies have disclosed back-tax or tax adjustment announcements this year, approaching the total of 89 in 2025, involving cumulative back taxes, fines, and surcharges over RMB 6 billion.

Gui Xin, a senior partner at Tahota Law Firm and founder of Tianmu Venture Ecology, said the recent back-tax wave at BeiGene, Aier, and other pharma companies is essentially the concentrated exposure of historical compliance issues under Golden Tax IV's strict supervision. Pharma's high R&D spending and diverse business models lead to tax preference applications (like high-tech qualifications, R&D super deductions), tax-accounting differences, and related-party transactions. Back taxes often occur after annual reports because companies proactively conduct tax self-inspections after completing final settlements and audits to avoid penalties, and also reflect the difference between audit focusing on financial accuracy and tax focusing on tax law compliance. Back taxes usually represent policy interpretation adjustments, not financial fraud, reflecting normalized tax compliance and self-correction in capital markets.

The lawyer further believes the scale of pharmaceutical back taxes far exceeds previous years because Golden Tax IV's full rollout enables multi-department data transparency, combined with strict supervision of tax preferences and the implementation of the VAT Law, forcing companies to centrally settle historical tax issues spanning five or even ten years. Listed companies, to avoid high penalties and disclosure risks, proactively self-correct after annual audits and final settlements, leading to concentrated outbreaks of previously hidden problems in 2026.

Does This Back Tax Only Affect Current Year? May Transition to Routine Adjustments

Regarding whether this back-tax wave is limited to 2026 or becomes a regular occurrence, Lawyer Gui believes it has two layers: The large back-tax amounts concentrated in 2026 are mainly one-time settlements of multi-year (typically 3-5 years) historical hidden issues. These large retroactive back taxes will decrease over the next 1-2 years as proactive self-inspections progress.

At the same time, routine tax adjustments will persist. Golden Tax IV's data-driven governance is a "permanent infrastructure," and strict supervision of tax preferences (high-tech annual review, real-time verification of R&D super deductions) will become the norm. In the future, annual final settlements may still generate additional taxes due to policy detail adjustments or related-party pricing adjustments, but amounts will return to normal levels without massive historical clearances. Tax compliance will transition from occasional risk elimination to a regular, rigid operating cost for enterprises.