- Article 54 lets a creditor force early payment of unpaid subscribed capital once the company cannot settle a matured debt — no bankruptcy filing required.
第54条规定，公司不能清偿到期债务时，债权人即可要求未届出资期限的股东提前缴纳出资，无需先进入破产程序。- A distant contribution deadline in the articles of association is no longer a shield; the five-year rule in Article 47 and acceleration in Article 54 together compress the funding runway.
章程里写一个遥远的出资日期已不再是护身符；第47条五年缴足规则叠加第54条加速到期，实质压缩了资金投入的缓冲期。- Article 88(1) makes the transferee liable for unpaid capital while the transferor bears open-ended supplementary liability, and the Supreme People’s Court has given that rule retroactive effect.
第88条第1款规定受让人承担缴纳义务、转让人承担无期限限制的补充责任；最高人民法院已明确该款具有溯及力。- Directors appointed by foreign shareholders must verify contributions and issue written call notices under Article 51, with personal damages liability for delay.
依第51条，外方委派的董事负有核查出资与发出书面催缴书的义务，未及时履行造成损失的须承担赔偿责任。- The Article 52 forfeiture procedure requires a grace period of at least sixty days, and forfeited equity not transferred or cancelled within six months falls on the remaining shareholders.
第52条失权程序要求宽限期不少于六十日；失权股权六个月内未转让或注销的，由其他股东按出资比例足额缴纳。- Acceleration can trigger an unplanned inbound capital remittance, so FX registration, group treasury and parent approval timelines should be pre-cleared rather than improvised.
加速到期可能迫使境外股东在非计划时点汇入资本金，外汇登记、集团资金调度与母公司审批时限应提前打通。
Accelerated Capital Contributions and Post-Transfer Shareholder Liability under China’s New Company Law: A Risk Guide for Foreign-Invested Enterprises | 新《公司法》下认缴出资的”加速到期”与股权转让后的出资责任：外商投资企业股东风险指引
The Five-Year Rule and the End of the Long Runway
The Company Law of the People’s Republic of China was amended for the second time on 29 December 2023 at the Seventh Session of the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People’s Congress, took effect on 1 July 2024 and runs to fifteen chapters. Article 47: a limited liability company’s registered capital is the total subscribed by all shareholders as registered with the company registration authority, and must be paid up within five years of establishment as provided in the articles of association, unless laws, administrative regulations or State Council decisions provide otherwise on paid-in capital, minimum amounts or contribution periods. Article 54 then removes the assumption that a deadline set in the articles binds outside creditors.
Article 54: Acceleration Outside Bankruptcy
Article 54: where the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, the company or a creditor holding a matured claim may require shareholders who have subscribed capital but whose contribution period has not yet arrived to pay in early. This is the first time Chinese legislation has provided for acceleration outside bankruptcy and outside dissolution. Three features matter for a foreign parent:
- No insolvency gateway. No bankruptcy petition, ruling or administrator is needed; an unpaid matured debt suffices.
- Direct creditor standing. A supplier, landlord, lender or employee with a matured claim can look through to the shareholder.
- The offshore parent is in scope. Unpaid subscribed capital on the parent’s balance sheet is a callable China funding obligation.
Background: acceleration previously rested on Article 35 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (the administrator may demand subscribed capital regardless of deadline, but only inside bankruptcy) and Article 6 of the Minutes of the National Courts’ Civil and Commercial Trial Work Conference (supplementary liability within the unpaid amount where enforcement against the judgment-debtor company finds no property and bankruptcy grounds exist without a petition). Article 54 makes it statute.
Article 88: Liability That Follows the Shares
Article 88(1): on transfer of equity whose contribution period has not yet arrived, the transferee assumes the payment obligation; if it does not pay in full when due, the transferor bears supplementary liability for the unpaid amount.
Article 88(2): if the transferring shareholder missed the contribution date in the articles, or its non-monetary contribution was worth obviously less than the subscribed amount, transferor and transferee are jointly and severally liable within the shortfall; a transferee who did not know and should not have known is excused, leaving the transferor liable.
Two escape routes close: selling to a shell does not end the seller’s exposure (Article 88(1) liability has no time limit), and defective equity brings joint liability with a buyer who cannot pay.
Retroactive Effect of Article 88(1)
The Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Temporal Effect of the Application of the Company Law took effect the same day. Article 4(1): where a civil dispute arises from legal facts predating the Company Law and earlier law had no rule but the new law does, the Company Law applies — expressly including transferor and transferee liability where equity with an unexpired contribution period was transferred and the transferee failed to pay on time. So a 2021 intra-group reorganisation, or a dormant WFOE passed to a local partner, can be reopened.
Articles 51 and 52: Verification, Call Notices and Forfeiture
Article 51: after establishment the board must verify shareholders’ contributions and, where a shareholder has not paid in full by the date in the articles, have the company issue a written call notice (催缴书); directors who fail to act in time must compensate the loss.
Article 52: the notice may set a grace period of at least sixty days from issue. If the shareholder still does not perform, the board may resolve to issue a written forfeiture notice (失权通知), and from its issue date the shareholder loses the equity for the unpaid contribution. That equity must be transferred by law, or the capital reduced and the equity cancelled; if neither happens within six months, the other shareholders must pay it in full pro rata.
A nominee director, including a non-resident who rarely attends, thus carries a statutory duty backed by personal liability; in a joint venture, one partner’s default can land on the other’s balance sheet.
Formation Liability, the Veil and Disclosure
- Article 50. If a founding shareholder does not pay the contribution set in the articles, or its non-monetary property is worth obviously less than the subscribed amount, the other founding shareholders are jointly and severally liable within the shortfall.
- Article 49. Pay in full and on time: money into the company’s bank account, non-monetary property with transfer formalities completed; a defaulter must pay up and compensate the company’s loss.
- Article 48. Contribution may be currency or non-monetary property — assets, IP, land use rights, equity, claims — valuable in money and lawfully transferable, appraised and verified, neither over- nor under-valued.
- Article 23. Abusing separate legal personality and limited liability to evade debts and seriously harm creditors brings joint and several liability for company debts; two or more controlled companies used this way are each liable for the others’ debts; and in a one-person company a shareholder who cannot prove asset separation is jointly liable — decisive for the single-shareholder WFOE, where proof is reversed.
- Article 40. Subscribed and paid-in amounts, contribution methods and dates and equity changes must be publicised on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, true, accurate and complete, so any creditor can read the funding gap.
What This Changes for Foreign Investors
Treasury. Unpaid subscribed capital is a callable commitment; on a thin equity base funded by intercompany loans or trade credit, one unpaid invoice can turn the whole subscription into an immediate demand.
FX timing. Capital may have to move at a moment not of the group’s choosing; capital-account FX registration, bank documents, RMB settlement and parent approvals take time — see our contribution methods and foreign exchange article.
Reorganisations. Transferee capacity is a diligence item: confirm the buyer can fund the subscription, or the transferor keeps supplementary liability; defective equity brings Article 88(2) joint liability.
Directors. Add an annual verification item with minuted resolution; refresh delegations and D&O cover for seconded and non-resident directors; issue call notices in writing.
Lawful de-risking. Use the statutory capital reduction procedure with creditor notice and announcement, not silent delay; unpaid contributions stay payable on exit — see our deregistration and liquidation article.
Action Checklist
- Reconcile the capital figure, the schedule in the articles and the Article 47 five-year rule; amend if unrealistic.
- Keep a contribution ledger: subscribed and paid-in amounts, method, date, valuation evidence, bank receipts.
- Hold an annual board verification with minutes; keep a call-notice template with a sixty-day grace period.
- Diligence the transferee’s solvency before any transfer; add funding covenants, escrow or indemnities.
- Audit the entity’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System entries.
- Model an acceleration scenario: how fast could the parent remit, and which approvals stand in the way?
新《公司法》下认缴出资的”加速到期”与股权转让后的出资责任：外商投资企业股东风险指引
五年规则与长认缴期限的终结
《中华人民共和国公司法》于2023年12月29日经第十四届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第七次会议第二次修订，自2024年7月1日起施行，全文共十五章。第47条规定：有限责任公司的注册资本为在公司登记机关登记的全体股东认缴的出资额；全体股东认缴的出资额由股东按照公司章程的规定自公司成立之日起五年内缴足；法律、行政法规以及国务院决定对实缴、最低限额、出资期限另有规定的，从其规定。以长认缴期限调节在华资金投入节奏，曾是外资集团的常规做法；第54条打破了”章程约定的出资期限可以对抗外部债权人”这一假设。
第54条：非破产情形下的加速到期
第54条规定：公司不能清偿到期债务的，公司或者已到期债权的债权人有权要求已认缴出资但未届出资期限的股东提前缴纳出资。这是中国首次以立法形式对非破产、非解散情形下的股东出资加速到期作出规定。对境外母公司而言有三个要点：
- 不以进入破产程序为前提。 无需申请破产、无需破产受理裁定、无需指定管理人；一笔到期债务未获清偿即足以触发。
- 债权人可直接主张。 供应商、房东、贷款人或持有到期债权的员工，均可穿透至认缴股东。
- 境外母公司完全在射程之内。 挂在母公司账上的未实缴认缴额，是一项随时可能被叫付的在华出资义务。
制度沿革：此前非破产情形下的加速到期主要依赖《企业破产法》第35条——法院受理破产申请后，出资人尚未完全履行出资义务的，管理人应当要求其缴纳所认缴的出资，不受出资期限限制，但须已进入破产程序；以及《全国法院民商事审判工作会议纪要》第6条——公司作为被执行人，人民法院穷尽执行措施无财产可供执行、已具备破产原因但不申请破产的，债权人请求未届出资期限的股东在未出资范围内承担补充赔偿责任的，可以支持。会议纪要属裁判指引；第54条则是法律，且触发门槛更低。
第88条：随股权转移的出资责任
第88条第1款规定：股东转让已认缴出资但未届出资期限的股权的，由受让人承担缴纳该出资的义务；受让人未按期足额缴纳出资的，转让人对受让人未按期缴纳的出资承担补充责任。
第88条第2款规定：未按照公司章程规定的出资日期缴纳出资，或者作为出资的非货币财产的实际价额显著低于所认缴出资额的股东转让股权的，转让人与受让人在出资不足的范围内承担连带责任；受让人不知道且不应当知道存在上述情形的，由转让人承担责任。
两条脱身路径由此关闭：把股权卖给壳公司无法终结出让方敞口，因为第88条第1款的补充责任没有期限限制；转让瑕疵出资股权，则形成与可能毫无清偿能力的受让方共担的连带责任。
第88条第1款的溯及力
《最高人民法院关于适用〈中华人民共和国公司法〉时间效力的若干规定》与公司法同日施行。其第四条第（一）项明确：公司法施行前的法律事实引起的民事纠纷案件，当时的法律、司法解释没有规定而公司法作出规定的，适用公司法的规定；所列举情形即包括”股东转让未届出资期限的股权，受让人未按期足额缴纳出资的，关于转让人、受让人出资责任的认定，适用公司法第八十八条第一款的规定”。即第88条第1款具有溯及力——2021年完成的集团内重组、把休眠 WFOE 转给本地合作方等历史交易，都可能被重新翻出。
第51条与第52条：核查、催缴与失权
第51条规定：公司成立后，董事会应当对股东的出资情况进行核查；发现股东未按期足额缴纳公司章程规定出资的，应当由公司向该股东发出书面催缴书；未及时履行该义务给公司造成损失的，负有责任的董事应当承担赔偿责任。
第52条规定失权程序：催缴书可以载明宽限期，宽限期自公司发出催缴书之日起不得少于六十日；宽限期届满股东仍未履行出资义务的，公司经董事会决议可以向该股东发出书面失权通知，自通知发出之日起该股东丧失其未缴纳出资的股权；丧失的股权应当依法转让，或者相应减少注册资本并注销该股权；六个月内未转让或者注销的，由公司其他股东按照其出资比例足额缴纳。
因此，外方委派的董事——包括很少现场出席的非居民董事——负有附带个人赔偿风险的法定义务；在合资企业中，一方的违约还可能落到另一方的资产负债表上。
设立责任、法人格否认与公示义务
- 第50条。 有限责任公司设立时，股东未按照公司章程规定实际缴纳出资，或者实际出资的非货币财产的实际价额显著低于所认缴的出资额的，设立时的其他股东与该股东在出资不足的范围内承担连带责任。
- 第49条。 股东应当按期足额缴纳出资：以货币出资的应当足额存入公司在银行开设的账户；以非货币财产出资的应当依法办理财产权的转移手续；未按期足额缴纳的，除应向公司足额缴纳外，还应对给公司造成的损失承担赔偿责任。
- 第48条。 股东可以用货币出资，也可以用实物、知识产权、土地使用权、股权、债权等可以用货币估价并可以依法转让的非货币财产作价出资；非货币财产应当评估作价、核实财产，不得高估也不得低估。
- 第23条。 股东滥用公司法人独立地位和股东有限责任、逃避债务、严重损害公司债权人利益的，应当对公司债务承担连带责任；股东利用其控制的两个以上公司实施前述行为的，各公司应当对任一公司的债务承担连带责任；只有一个股东的公司，股东不能证明公司财产独立于股东自己的财产的，应当对公司债务承担连带责任——对一人有限责任公司（WFOE）具有决定意义，且举证责任倒置。
- 第40条。 公司应当通过国家企业信用信息公示系统公示有限责任公司股东认缴和实缴的出资额、出资方式、出资日期以及股权变更信息等，并确保公示信息真实、准确、完整——任何债权人在起诉前都能先行读取出资缺口。
对外国投资者意味着什么
资金规划。 未实缴的认缴额是随时可被叫付的承诺；若中国主体股本单薄、依靠集团内借款或商业信用运营，一张未付的供应商发票即可把全部未缴认缴额转化为即时付款要求。
外汇时点。 资本金可能需要在集团不愿选择的时点汇入；资本项目外汇登记、银行单证、资本金结汇与母公司审批都需要时间——可参阅本站”出资方式与外汇”一文。
跨境重组。 受让方的出资能力是尽调事项：须确认接收方确有能力缴付剩余认缴额，否则转让方仍保留补充责任；瑕疵出资股权将触发第88条第2款的连带责任，应在定价或补偿条款中反映。
董事治理。 在董事会议程中固定年度出资核查并形成书面决议；更新外派与非居民董事的授权文件及董监高责任险（D&O）；催缴务必以书面形式发出并注明日期。
合法降险。 应走法定减资程序，包括通知债权人与公告，而非消极拖延出资；未缴出资在注销与清算中仍须结清——可参阅本站”注销清算”一文。
行动清单
- 复核注册资本数额、章程约定的出资进度与第47条五年规则的一致性；进度不切实际的应及时修改章程。
- 建立出资台账：认缴额、实缴额、出资方式、出资日期、评估依据与银行入账凭证。
- 每年开展董事会出资核查并形成书面纪要；准备宽限期不少于六十日的书面催缴书模板。
- 股权转让前先做受让方清偿能力尽调，并加入出资资金安排承诺、共管账户或补偿条款。
- 自查企业在国家企业信用信息公示系统中的公示信息是否真实、准确、完整。
- 演练加速到期情景：母公司最快多久能汇出剩余认缴额？中间有哪些审批环节构成障碍？
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