Standard for Payment of Litigation Costs

Litigation involves the payment of certain litigation costs. Firstly, litigation is one of the many dispute resolution methods provided by the state, which must invest various resources, such as institutions, personnel, courts, funds, and time. Compared to other dispute resolution methods, litigation procedures are more rigorous and standardized, and their costs are higher. Secondly, reasonable litigation costs allow parties to objectively evaluate the complexity of their dispute, probability of success, and the ratio between the costs of litigation and their expected benefits. This encourages parties to take rational and practical actions, which may lead to resolving some disputes through other means, such as settlement, mediation, or arbitration, thus preventing an overflow of disputes into litigation. Finally, reasonable litigation costs also help parties to exercise their litigation rights actively and prudently, fulfill their litigation obligations, prevent the abuse of litigation rights, and reduce the possibility of litigation speculation or surprise lawsuits. Different types of cases require different litigation costs. Below, we will introduce the standards for the payment of litigation costs in a table format:

Property Cases		Non-property Cases			Application Fee			Admiralty Cases
Amount in Dispute	Calculation Method	Cause of Action		Charging Standard	Type		Calculation Method	Type	Charging Standard
below 10,000	50	Divorce	general situation	200 yuan	No prepayment required for the enforcement application fee	Without an execution amount or value	50 yuan to 500 yuan	Apply for the establishment of a maritime compensation liability limitation fund	1,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan
10,000 to 100,000	2.5%-200		Cases involving property division, with a total property value of less than 200,000 yuan	no additional payment required		below 10,000	50 yuan	Apply for a maritime injunction	1000 yuan to 5000 yuan
100,000 to 200,000	2%+300		the portion exceeding 200,000 yuan	0.5%		10,000 to 500,000	1.5%-100	Apply for a maritime lien notice	1000 yuan to 5000 yuan
200,000 to 500,000	1.5%+1300	Cases involving infringement of the right to name, right to title, right to portrait, right to reputation, right to honor, and other personal rights	general situation	300 yuan		500,000 to 5 million	1%+2400	Apply for maritime claim registration	1000 yuan
500,000 to 1 million	1%+3800		Cases involving damages, with a compensation amount not exceeding 50,000 yuan	no additional payment required		5 million to 10 million	0.5%+27400	Apply for joint maritime loss adjustment	1000 yuan
1 million to 2 million	0.9%+4800		the portion exceeding 50,000 yuan but not exceeding 100,000 yuan	1%		over 10 million	0.1%+67400	Fee standards for other types of cases
2 million to 5 million	0.8%+6800		the portion exceeding 100,000 yuan	0.5%		Claims filed by a rights holder who has not registered their rights with the people's court	The application fee should be paid according to the aforementioned standards, and no case acceptance fee is required.	Type	Standard
5 million to 10 million	0.7%+11800	Others	80 yuan		Apply for preservation measures	Where the property amount does not exceed 1,000 yuan or where the property amount is not involved	30 yuan	Cases resolved through mediation or where the parties apply for withdrawal of the lawsuit	pay at half the rate
10 million to 20 million	0.6%+21800	Administrative Cases				1,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan	1%+20	Cases subject to the simplified procedure	pay at half the rate
over 20 million	0.5%+41800	Cause of Action		Charging Standard		100,000 yuan to 896,000 yuan	0.5%+520	Employment dispute cases	10 yuan
Cases without A Litigation Fee		Trademark, patent, and maritime administrative cases		100 yuan		over 896,000 yuan	5000 yuan	Objections to jurisdiction raised, but the objections were not upheld	100 yuan
Cases without A Litigation Fee		Other administrative cases		50 yuan	Apply for a payment judgment		Pay one-third of the property case acceptance fee standard.	Appeals filed in property cases	pay according to the amount of the appeal against the first-instance judgment
Civil cases in special procedures		Intellectual Property Cases			Apply for a public announcement of claim		100 yuan	Counterclaims and claims made by a third party with independent rights, related to the case and requiring consolidated trial	pay separately at half the rate
Cases dismissed for non-acceptance, rejection of the lawsuit, and dismissal of the appeal		Type		Charging Standard	Apply for the annulment of the arbitration award or for the recognition of the validity of the arbitration agreement		400 yuan		pay separately at half the rate
Administrative compensation cases		Without a disputed amount or value		800 yuan	Apply for bankruptcy		Based on the total amount of bankruptcy assets, the fee is calculated at half of the property case acceptance fee standard, with a maximum of 300,000 yuan.	Re-trial cases that require the payment of case acceptance fees	pay according to the amount of the re-trial request that challenges the original judgment.
Appeals against rulings of non-acceptance, dismissal of the lawsuit, and jurisdictional objections		With a disputed amount or value		based on the standards for property cases	Note: 1.When parties request copies of case materials or legal documents, they should pay the actual cost as a copying fee. 2.Costs incurred during the litigation process, such as inspection fees, appraisal fees, publication fees, and translation fees, should be borne by the party making the claim, and paid directly to the relevant institutions or organizations. The people's court shall not collect these fees on behalf of the parties.

In order to fully safeguard citizens' access to legal remedies, Chinese law specifically provides for the deferral, reduction, or exemption of litigation costs. The Supreme People's Court has formulated regulations on legal aid for parties facing financial difficulties, and the State Council has also established provisions regarding the payment of litigation costs. Deferral of payment refers to when a party is indeed facing financial difficulties and temporarily unable to pay the litigation costs, and applies to the People's Court for a delay in payment. Reduction of payment refers to when a party is genuinely experiencing financial difficulties and unable to pay the full litigation costs. Upon application, the People's Court may approve a reduction of the amount to be paid. For deferral, reduction, or exemption of litigation costs, the party must submit a written application to the People's Court within 7 days of receiving the payment notice, stating the reasons and providing relevant supporting materials. If an applicant obtains judicial assistance fraudulently, the People's Court will order them to pay the litigation costs, and if they refuse to do so, their conduct will be treated as obstruction of litigation.