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Exhibit 8.3
October 19, 2010
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To:
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TAL Education Group
18/F, Hesheng Building
32 Zhongguancun Avenue, Haidian District
Beijing 100080
People’s Republic of China |
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Re:
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Legal Opinion on Certain PRC Law Matters |
We are qualified lawyers of the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”, for purposes of this legal
opinion, excluding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region
and Taiwan), and as such are qualified to issue this opinion on the PRC Laws (as defined below).
We have acted as PRC legal counsel to TAL Education Group (the “Company”), a company incorporated
under the laws of the Cayman Islands, in connection with (i) the Company’s proposed initial public
offering (“Offering”) of its certain number of American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), each of which
represents two of
the Class A common shares, par value US$ 0.001 per share, of the Company; and (ii) the
issuance of the prospectus (“Prospectus”) that forms part of the Company’s registration statement
on Form F-1 (No. 333-169650) (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
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Documents Examined, Definition and Information Provided |
In connection with the furnishing of this opinion, we have examined copies, certified or
otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of documents provided by the Company, and such other
documents, corporate records, certificates, Approvals (as defined below) and other instruments
as we have deemed necessary for the purpose of rendering this opinion, including, without
limitation, originals
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or copies of the certificates issued by PRC government authorities and officers of the Company.
All of these documents are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Documents”.
Unless the context of this opinion otherwise provides, the following terms in this opinion
shall have the meanings set forth below:
“Approvals” means all necessary approvals, consents, waivers, sanctions, certificates,
authorizations, filings, registrations, exemptions, permissions, endorsements, annual
inspections, qualifications and licenses.
“PRC Affiliated Entities” means all the subsidiaries directly or indirectly established by the
VIEs under the PRC Laws which take the form of companies or schools as set out in Schedule
I of this opinion.
“PRC Laws” means all laws, regulations, statutes, orders, decrees, guidelines, notices,
judicial interpretations and sub-ordinate legislations currently in force and publicly
available in the PRC on the date of this opinion.
“TAL Beijing” means TAL Education Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
“Variable Interest Entities” or “VIEs” means Beijing Xueersi Network Technology Co., Ltd. and
Beijing Xueersi Education Technology Co., Ltd., which are domestic PRC companies in which the
Company does not have equity interests but whose financial results have been consolidated into
the Company’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
In our examination of the aforesaid Documents, we have assumed, without independent
investigation and inquiry that:
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all signatures, seals and chops are genuine and were made or affixed by
representatives duly authorized by the respective parties, all natural persons have the
necessary legal capacity, all Documents submitted to us as originals are authentic, and
all Documents submitted to us as certified or photo static copies conform to the
originals; |
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no amendments, revisions, modifications or other changes have been made with
respect to any of the Documents after they were submitted to us for the purposes of this
opinion; and |
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each of the parties to the Documents (except that we do not make such assumptions
about the VIEs and the PRC Affiliated Entities) is duly organized and validly existing in
good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and/or incorporation,
and has been duly approved and authorized where applicable by the competent governmental
authorities of the relevant jurisdiction to carry on its business and to perform its
obligations under the Documents to which it is a party. |
In expressing the opinions set forth herein, we have relied upon the factual matters contained
in the representations and warranties set forth in the Documents.
Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that:
1. With Respect to the Contractual Arrangements between TAL Beijing, PRC Affiliated Entities,
VIEs and their Respective Shareholders
(a) Each of the parties to the contractual arrangements and agreements by and among TAL
Beijing, the PRC Affiliated Entities, VIEs and their respective shareholders that has been
filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement (collectively, “VIE Contracts”) has full
power, authority and legal right to enter into, execute, deliver and perform their respective
obligations under each of the VIE Contracts and such obligations constitute valid, legal and
binding obligations enforceable in accordance with the terms of each of the VIE Contracts
against each of them. Each VIE Contracts and the transactions contemplated thereby have been
duly authorized by the entities expressed to be parties thereto. No Approvals are required to
be done or obtained for the performance of the respective parties of their obligations and the
transactions contemplated under the VIE Contracts other than those already obtained, except
when TAL Beijing decides to exercise the option granted under the Call Option Agreement to
purchase the equity interests in VIEs, such purchase shall be subject to prior approval by the
Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart and be further subject to registrations with the
relevant government authorities.
(b) The execution, delivery and performance by each of the relevant parties of their
respective obligations under each of the VIE Contracts, and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated thereunder, do not and will not (i) result in any violation of their
respective articles of association, their respective business licenses or constitutive
documents, (ii) result in any violation of any applicable PRC Laws, or (iii) to the best of
our knowledge after due and reasonable inquiries,
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conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or
constitute a default under, any agreement, instrument, arbitration award or judgment, order or
decree of any court of the PRC having jurisdiction over the relevant parties of the VIE
Contracts, as the case may be, any agreement or instrument to which any of them is expressed
to be a party or which is binding on any of them.
(c) The contractual arrangement and the ownership structure described under the caption
“Summary” and “Our Corporate History and Structure” in the Prospectus are true and accurate in
all material respects and nothing has been omitted from such description which would make the
same misleading in any material respects. The ownership structures of TAL Beijing, VIEs and
the PRC Affiliated Entities as described in the Prospectus complies, and immediately after
giving effect of this Offering will comply, with all applicable PRC Laws, and does not
violate, breach, or otherwise conflict with any applicable PRC Laws, except as disclosed in
the Prospectus.
2. With respect to the M&A Rules
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, namely, the Ministry of Commerce, the State
Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration for Taxation, the
State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the State Administration for Foreign Exchange,
and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, jointly adopted the Regulations on
Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, which
became effective on September 8, 2006. M&A Rule provides, among other things, that offshore
special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, formed for the purpose of acquiring PRC domestic companies
and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to
publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The Company acquired
contractual control rather than acquired any equity interests in the VIEs and the PRC
Affiliated Entities and is hence not a special purpose vehicle formed or controlled by PRC
companies or individuals as defined under the M&A Rules. Therefore, the Company is not
required to obtain the approval from CSRC for the listing and trading of the Company’s ADSs on
an overseas stock exchange.
3. Taxation
The statements set forth under the caption “Taxation” in the Prospectus, insofar as they
constitute statements of PRC tax law, are accurate in all material respects and that such
statements constitute our opinion.
We hereby consent to the use of our name under the captions “Risk Factors,” “Our Corporate
History and Structure,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
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Results
of Operations,” “Regulation,” “Taxation”,
“Legal Matters” and “Enforceability of Civil
Liabilities” in the Prospectus.
This opinion relates only to PRC Laws and we express no opinion as to any laws other than PRC Laws.
PRC Laws as used in this opinion refers to the PRC Laws currently in force as of the date of this
opinion and there is no guarantee that any of such PRC Laws will not be changed, amended or revoked
in the immediate future or in the longer term with or without retroactive effect.
We hereby consent to the use of this opinion in, and the filing hereof as an exhibit to, the
Prospectus. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we fall within the category of the
person whose consent is required under Section 7 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or
the regulations promulgated thereunder.
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Very truly yours, |
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/s/ Tian Yuan Law Firm |
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Tian Yuan Law Firm |
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Schedule I — PRC Affiliated Entities
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Beijing Dongcheng District Xueersi Training School |
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Beijing Haidian District Lejiale Training School |
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Tianjin Xueersi Education Information Consulting Co., Ltd. |
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Shenzhen Xueersi Education Technology Co., Ltd. |
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Beijing Xicheng District Xueersi Training School |
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Beijing Haidian District Xueersi Training School |
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Beijing Zhikang Culture Distribution Co., Ltd. |
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Shanghai Lehai Science and Technology Information Co., Ltd. |
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Shanghai Changning District Xueersi-Lejiale School |
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Shanghai Minhang District Lejiale School |
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Shanghai Xueersi Education Information Consulting Co., Ltd. |
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Guangzhou Xueersi Education Technology Co., Ltd. |
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Wuhan Jianghanqu Xiaoxinxing English Training School |
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Hubei Qianjiang Xiaohafu English Training School |
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Hubei Jianli Hafu English Training School |
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Tianjin Hexi District Xueersi Training School |
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