BeiGene Subsidiary to Pay RMB 446 Million in Taxes: Multiple Pharma Firms Draw Attention for Tax Adjustments This Year

After the close on June 26, BeiGene, Ltd. (688235.SH) announced that one of its wholly owned domestic subsidiaries recently received notice from the local tax authority. The company agreed to make certain adjustments to previously filed tax returns. It has already confirmed the relevant tax matters with the authority and will timely pay back taxes and late fees totaling about RMB 446 million. The amount is roughly 30% of the company’s 2025 net profit.

According to BeiGene’s 2025 annual report, revenue reached RMB 38.225 billion in 2025, up 40.46% year over year. Net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 1.461 billion, turning from a loss of RMB 4.978 billion into profit. Net profit excluding non-recurring items was RMB 1.42 billion, also turning from a loss.

BeiGene told the media that it recently received a notice from the local tax authority regarding related tax matters and adjusted prior filings. It had extensive professional communication with the authority on the technical recognition and differences between tax and accounting treatment, and will complete the payment as required. The matter does not involve administrative penalties. Based on accounting standards, it is not a prior-period accounting error and does not require retrospective restatement of financial data.

The company said the matter is expected to be booked into 2026 current-period profit or loss, and the exact impact on net profit will be based on audited financial statements. The company expects no material adverse impact on its financial condition, going-concern ability, or normal operations.

Multiple Pharma Firms Disclose Large Tax Payments This Year: Aier Eye Hospital and Others Reveal Adjustments

Besides BeiGene, several pharma companies have announced tax payments this year.

On the morning of May 20, Aier Eye Hospital (300015.SH), often called the “Kweichow Moutai of ophthalmology,” announced that after a self-review of tax matters under relevant laws and regulations, it had to pay RMB 348 million in taxes and RMB 176 million in late fees, for a total of RMB 524 million.

On January 1, China Meheco (600056.SH) said its wholly owned subsidiaries Sanyao Pharmaceutical and Kangli Pharmaceutical had received tax notices and needed to pay about RMB 65.2178 million in taxes and late fees combined. Sanyao Pharmaceutical paid RMB 21.4862 million in taxes and RMB 10.7429 million in late fees; Kangli Pharmaceutical paid RMB 21.2826 million in taxes and RMB 11.7061 million in late fees.

In addition, Jiashitang (002462.SH), Blue Sail Medical (002382.SH), and CHD Holdings (000950.SH) also announced tax-related payments.

At Least 80 Listed Companies Disclose Tax Payments or Adjustments: More Than RMB 6 Billion Involved

According to incomplete Wind data, as of June 25, at least 80 listed companies had disclosed tax-payment or tax-adjustment announcements this year—already close to the full-year 2025 total of 89—and the cumulative amount involved exceeded RMB 6 billion.

Lawyer’s View: Golden Tax Phase IV Tightens Oversight and Triggers a “Batch Settlement” of Historical Gaps

Gui Xin, a lawyer and senior partner at Taihe Tai (Shanghai) Law Firm, said that the recent tax payments by BeiGene, Aier Eye Hospital, and other listed pharma firms are fundamentally the result of Golden Tax Phase IV enforcement. The pharma sector’s heavy R&D spending, diversified business models, tax incentives (such as high-tech status and extra R&D deductions), accounting-tax differences, and related-party transactions have exposed historical compliance issues all at once. These back payments often happen after annual reports because companies, after settling accounts and audits, proactively self-check taxes to avoid inspection penalties. It also reflects the difference between audit focus on financial truth and tax focus on tax-law applicability. In the lawyer’s view, tax payments are usually a policy adjustment rather than financial fraud, reflecting the normalisation of tax compliance and self-correction in capital markets.

As for whether this wave of back taxes only affects 2026 or becomes a long-term trend, Gui Xin said the huge payments are not limited to this year. There are two layers: the large cluster in 2026 is mainly one-time settlement of years of accumulated issues, usually tracing back three to five years, such as high-tech qualification gaps and old accounting-tax differences. As proactive self-audits continue, these massive retroactive payments should gradually decline over the next one or two years. But routine tax adjustments will remain. Golden Tax Phase IV, which uses data to govern tax collection, is permanent infrastructure. Tight supervision of tax incentives—annual high-tech reviews and real-time R&D extra-deduction checks—will become the norm. Future annual settlements may still generate tax payments due to policy refinement or transfer-pricing changes, but amounts should return to normal levels rather than producing another wave of gigantic old-account cleanups.