In the past, for companies that had to scrap their offshore fixed assets, commodities, materials, and semi-manufactured goods, public companies could claim scrapping loss as long as they could provide an audit report issued by a certified public accountant. Whereas non-public companies had to seek the tax authorities' approval by filing a detailed list with explanations , and had to retain local or offshore certified pubic accountants or offshore certification or examination institutions to supervise the process, and then provide relevant evidence for the tax authorities' review. In February 2011, the Ministry of Finance issued a tax ruling stated that for the tax years from 2008 onwards, non-public companies can claim scrapping losses if they provide a certified pubic accountant's audit report.