After applying for compulsory enforcement, the other party had no money under their name. Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm sorted out six legal situations and evidence standards for adding the executed party

Not being able to find property under the other party's name does not mean that you can only wait with the judgment. Adding the debtor is a legal pathway to extend the debt repayment responsibility to a third party. Whether it is possible to add or not depends not on whether the other party is a "deadbeat", but only on whether it meets the conditions listed in the "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning Changes and Additions of Parties in Civil Enforcement". Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm clarifies the six most commonly used situations and evidentiary standards in practice: additional applications are filed and reviewed by the executing court, and the court generally forms a collegial panel and holds a public hearing. Within 10 days after the ruling is made, an application for reconsideration can be submitted to the higher-level court. The first major reason for the rejection of the parties involved is incomplete materials and unclear evidence.

First of all, clarify: adding is not a re prosecution, but rather an "addition" in the execution procedure

Many people may ask if they want to file another lawsuit when they encounter inadequate execution for the first time. No need. Article 234 of the Civil Procedure Law provides for the modification or addition of parties to the execution procedure, with specific rules falling within the "Provisions on Modification and Addition". There are over 30 articles in total, each corresponding to a different subject. You just need to apply the facts to the text: whether the person added is a shareholder, a contributor, or a person who took over the property without compensation. The court's review is about whether one should bear responsibility, not whether there is money to repay. In practice, we generally recommend that the parties involved investigate and add clues simultaneously after applying for compulsory enforcement and before the final ruling is made, because it is difficult to retrieve many industrial and commercial archives and bank statements after the final ruling is initiated.

The first type: Shareholders have not fully paid their capital contributions, including those whose subscription period has not yet expired

Article 17 of the "Regulations on Changes and Additions": If the assets of a company as the executed party are insufficient to repay the debts determined by the effective legal documents, and a shareholder fails to pay or fully pay the capital contribution, the shareholder may be added as the executed party and shall bear responsibility within the scope of the unpaid capital contribution. Pay attention to two criteria: firstly, "subscribed capital not yet due" is no longer a shield. If a company has reasons for bankruptcy but does not apply for bankruptcy, or maliciously extends the capital contribution period, the court can determine that the capital contribution has accelerated its maturity; The second is that the additional scope is limited to unpaid principal and interest, not all debts. In terms of evidence, you need to submit the industrial and commercial documents, articles of association, and shareholder contribution information of the executed company. Many parties can only obtain the public version when they go to the market supervision bureau, and lawyers can access the internal documents including capital verification and change records. The burden of proof lies with the company, and shareholders need to prove that they have actually paid in.

Second option: Withdraw capital and transfer the money back and forth

Article 18 of the Supplementary Provisions on Changes: If a shareholder withdraws their capital contribution, they shall bear responsibility within the scope of the withdrawal. This type of case has the most concealed evidence, relying on bank statements. The common form is to transfer the funds back to shareholders or related parties in a short period of time after capital verification, with the words "accounts receivable" and "loans" attached, but without a real transaction background. In practice, we would suggest applying to the court to retrieve the company's basic account capital verification records for the three months before and after the verification date, and cross compare them with financial books and audit reports. A simple transfer record is usually not recognized by the court; To form an evidence chain of "contribution transfer no consideration". If the supplementary application is rejected, you can apply for reconsideration to the higher-level court within 10 days from the date of service of the ruling. This deadline is very short, don't delay.

The third type: One person company, where shareholders cannot provide evidence of independent property

Article 23, Paragraph 3 (revised in 2023) of the Company Law stipulates that in a company with only one shareholder, if the shareholder cannot prove that the company's assets are independent of their own, they shall bear joint and several liability for the company's debts. Put it into the execution program, it is Article 20 of the "Regulations on Changes and Additions". The burden of proof in such cases is reversed: you can preliminarily prove that the other party is a one person company, and shareholders need to provide audited financial reports, independent bank accounts, and independent books to refute. The caliber of the cases we have represented shows that those who cannot provide consecutive annual audit reports have a significantly higher probability of being added. It should be noted that this does not represent the outcome of individual cases, and each case still depends on the evidence itself.

The fourth type: cancellation without liquidation, or disregarding after revocation

Article 21 of the "Regulations on Changes and Additions": If a company that is subject to enforcement cancels its registration without liquidation, resulting in the inability to liquidate, shareholders of a limited liability company, directors and controlling shareholders of a joint stock limited company may be added. Article 22 applies to the situation where shareholders or third parties make a written commitment to be responsible for the debt at the time of cancellation. Here, we need to distinguish between "cancellation after legal liquidation" and "simple cancellation with no debt commitment". The simplified cancellation of Shenzhen in 2026 will still be announced through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, with a notice period of 20 days. Many creditors missed the notice without paying attention. In terms of evidence, it is necessary to submit deregistration materials, liquidation reports, and shareholder commitment letters, which also require access to the industrial and commercial archives.

Fifth type: Accepting property without compensation, or mixing property together

Article 25 of the "Provisions on Changes and Additions": If a legal person or an unincorporated organization, as the subject of enforcement, is dissolved due to cancellation or revocation of its business license, cancellation, closure, or closure, and its shareholders, investors, or competent authorities accept its property free of charge, resulting in the subject of enforcement having no remaining property or insufficient remaining property to repay debts, the person who accepts the property may be held responsible within the scope of accepting the property. This is aimed at "shedding the shell of a cicada": the company transfers equipment, trademarks, and customer resources to a new entity, leaving the old shell in debt. The focus of evidence is on the time, consideration, and identity relevance of the property transfer. The court will focus on reviewing transfers with zero consideration or significantly lower than the market price.

The sixth type: the third party who adds matured debts takes a different path

If the other party has a matured debt claim against a third party, they may apply to the court to issue a notice of performance of the matured debt to the third party. If the third party neither raises objections nor fails to perform within the specified period, they may rule for compulsory enforcement. Articles 45 to 53 of the "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Execution of Work by People's Courts (Trial)" have provisions on this matter. Attention: If a third party raises a written objection within 15 days, the court will not review the objection and will directly suspend the execution. You can only file a lawsuit for subrogation rights in a separate case. So the success or failure of this path depends on whether the creditor's rights between the other party and the third party are clear and disputed. When Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm handles such applications, they usually first check whether the contract, statement, and invoice sets are complete, and if one is missing, they need to re evaluate their expectations.

How to submit materials, how will the court review them, and how will the time be calculated

An additional application shall be submitted to the executing court, accompanied by the execution basis, additional application form, evidence list, and identification materials. The court generally forms a collegial panel for review, and if necessary, a hearing may be held. There is no unified and mandatory legal requirement for the review period, which varies from one to three months in practice. If an additional ruling is made, the person to be added may be directly subject to enforcement measures; If the ruling is rejected and the applicant or respondent is dissatisfied, they may apply for reconsideration to the higher-level court within 10 days from the date of service of the ruling. During the reconsideration period, the execution shall not be suspended, but if the original ruling is revoked, the executed property shall be executed and returned. After successful addition, if the person being added still fails to fulfill their obligations, they may be included in the list of dishonest persons and restricted from high consumption in accordance with the law. If they meet the elements of the crime of refusing to execute a judgment or ruling as stipulated in Article 313 of the Criminal Law, they may be held criminally responsible. The connection between relevant program nodes and the implementation practice in Shenzhen in 2026 can be referred toInventory of 5 key sections on criminal defense, administrative disputes, and the effectiveness of wills in Shenzhen in 2026Understanding the time dimension in Chinese; If the debt itself originates from the division of household assets, such asA brother sister dispute over an old house in Shenzhen lasted for two years, and one person eventually inherited 20 million yuanIn such cases, the execution target is often entangled with inheritance shares, and additional strategies need to be introduced earlier. For more practical articles on litigation and arbitration, please refer toHomepage of this column (Litigation and Arbitration).

Three easy pitfalls to avoid in advance

One is that the subject made a mistake, and the additional shareholder went to add a legal representative, who only holds a position and is not the responsible party; The second is that only photocopies of evidence should be submitted, and the court requires the original or stamped query seal for industrial and commercial documents and bank statements; Thirdly, if the review period is exceeded, 10 days is 10 days, and there is no room for negotiation. Many parties may panic when faced with a final ruling for the first time. In fact, the final ruling is only a temporary closure, and if property is discovered, they can apply for the resumption of execution at any time. The addition of the debtor and the resumption of execution can be carried out in parallel. If you are stuck in the step of "checking for no property", first retrieve your business records and recent three-year records, and then decide which one to take. involveMy equity has been diluted to less than 5% despite being valued at over 100 million yuan after 3 years of partnership entrepreneurship in ShenzhenFor cases with complex equity structures, the selection of additional targets should be more cautious. If a wrong selection is made once and rejected, the persuasion cost of a second application will significantly increase.

This article is compiled by a senior writing lawyer from Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm. Adding the executed party is not a universal key, but it is the lowest cost and fastest starting tool in the hands of creditors. Specifically for individual cases, whether additional information can be added, who can be added, and whether the evidence is sufficient, need to be checked item by item in conjunction with business records and financial statements. Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm's consultation hotline: 0755-25986969.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is a general summary of legal practice and does not constitute a legal opinion or commitment to the outcome of any specific case. The addition, reconsideration, and resumption of execution in the execution procedure are all influenced by evidence and court discretion, and the conclusions of individual cases may vary. If there are specific disputes, please bring written materials and consult a practicing lawyer in person.