Millions of rural vendors no doubt appreciated a recent decision by State commercial officials to waive a collection of fees for certain farmers in a bid to encourage entrepreneurship.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) recently issued a document that scrapped both the registration and the special administrative fees that farmers who sell agricultural or other homemade products formerly had to pay.

The waiver of the fees, which other self-employed people still have to pay, took effect last month.

The SAIC said the policy would help spur the development of the private economy in rural areas.

The administrative fees include the market management and self-employer administrative fees.

Under the old system, rural vendors had to pay 2-4 percent of their sales volume to their local industry and commerce bureau to cover the administrative fees, in addition to taxes.

The registration fee, levied by the local industry and commerce authority, usually cost them 20 yuan (US$2.5).

According to statistics posted on the SAIC's website, rural vendors account for about 15 percent of the 250 million self-employed people in China, or 3.75 million people.

Ye Jingzhong, a rural studies expert at China Agricultural University, said the measure would provide a big boost to the non-public economic sector.

"It will reduce the burden on low-income rural vendors," Li said. "It will also lower the threshold to entering the market and encourage farmers to start businesses."

But Ye also noted that some local commerce bureaus could be tempted to drag their feet on implementing the new policy or even levy other fees to offset the lost fee revenue.

But a SAIC spokesman surnamed Cai said the fees paid by rural vendors account for only a small portion of the revenue of local-level commerce bureaus.

Other experts have suggested that the rule should cover a wider range of self-employed people, and not just those who sell only homemade products.

"The administrative fees on the self-employed should be immediately eliminated nationwide," said Zhou Tianyong, a professor at the Party School of Communist Party of China.

He added that the fees were a form of discrimination against self-employed people as state-owned, foreign and private enterprises do not have to pay them.

The measure is only the latest effort aimed at bolstering the development of a new countryside, the goals of which include clean villages, advanced local economies, rich cultural activities and adequate household incomes.

The government has already scrapped agriculture-related fees to help increase farmers' annual income.

Naturally, these policies have won applause from farmers.

"Apart from taxes, I had to submit about 120 yuan every month to the local commerce bureau in administrative fees. I could hardly earn more than 500 yuan (US$64) a month," said Mao Xiaojun, a 31-year-old vegetable seller in Caochi town, Xianyang, Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"The new rule, if it is really implemented in our city, will do me a great favor," he added.

(China Daily March 1, 2007)