Import and export tax policies help cross-border e-commerce take off
Recently, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued the Announcement on Tax Policies for Goods Returned for Export in cross-border electronic commerce, which introduced tax policies for goods returned for cross-border e-commerce.
The announcement stipulates that goods (excluding food) declared for export under the supervision code of cross-border electronic commerce Customs within one year from the date of issuance of this announcement and returned to the country as they are within six months from the date of export due to unsalable or returned goods shall be exempted from import duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax; The export duties collected at the time of export are allowed to be refunded, and the value-added tax and consumption tax collected at the time of export shall be implemented with reference to the relevant tax regulations on the return of domestic goods, and the export tax rebate already handled by the enterprise shall be paid back according to the existing regulations.
industry experts said that the introduction of this policy is conducive to reducing the export return costs of cross-border e-commerce enterprises, stabilizing the export expectations of cross-border e-commerce enterprises, enhancing the confidence of relevant market participants, and actively supporting the development of new foreign trade formats.
cross-border e-commerce exports are inconvenient to return
In recent years, China's e-commerce industry has developed rapidly, which has not only become an important channel for domestic commodity circulation, but also made remarkable achievements in the development of cross-border e-commerce industry.
according to the data, China's cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly, and its scale has increased nearly 1 times in five years, which not only promoted the steady growth of China's export trade, but also promoted the transformation and upgrading of traditional foreign trade, and played a positive role in opening up new international markets for enterprises.
Industry experts said that some cross-border e-commerce exports may be unsalable or returned. For most of the unsalable or returned goods, enterprises take measures such as price reduction promotion, resale to other markets, or on-site maintenance and destruction in overseas warehouses, but a small amount still needs to be returned to the country.
according to the current regulations, except for the article 43 of the regulations on import and export tariffs, which stipulates that "if the exported goods are transported back to China in the original state within one year from the date of export due to quality or specifications, import duties shall not be levied", import duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax shall be levied.
"When export commodities are unsalable and returned by overseas consumers, whether to return them to China or not, enterprises usually have to consider many factors, such as freight cost, income from re-sale, and the import tax paid for returning them to China is only one of them.
At present, the foreign trade development environment is becoming more and more complicated, and the risk of slowing down the growth of external demand is increasing. From the perspective of supporting foreign trade development, it is necessary to give tax policy support to cross-border e-commerce export returned goods for a period of time. " Xu Guangjian, a professor at the School of Public Administration of Renmin University of China, said in an interview.
Improve the import tax policy
In recent years, the Ministry of Finance has issued a number of measures to actively support the development of cross-border e-commerce. The list of retail imports in cross-border electronic commerce was optimized and adjusted. On the basis of the list of retail imports in cross-border electronic commerce, 29 items with strong consumer demand in recent years, such as ski equipment and crocus, were added. Once the new items were launched, they were favored by consumers.
At the same time, some regulatory requirements of the notes on the list were adjusted to better link up with relevant international conventions and import management measures, so as to facilitate the import of related commodities through cross-border e-commerce channels and better meet consumer demand. For example, cosmetics and other commodities containing artificially cultured ginseng ingredients can be imported normally after providing relevant certificates.
The policy introduced this time aims to reduce the tax burden of returned goods for cross-border e-commerce, and further improve the import tax policy to support the development of cross-border e-commerce. In terms of specific operations, the announcement stipulates that enterprises should provide relevant certification materials as required when applying for the enjoyment policy: First, they should obtain the Certificate of Tax Refund/Non-Tax Refund for Export Goods issued by the competent tax authorities, and apply for import tax exemption and other procedures with this certificate. Second, the customs shall submit the declaration list of export commodities or the export declaration form, the explanation of the reasons for returning the goods, and other materials that prove that the returned goods are indeed returned to the country due to unsalable sales and return, and bear legal responsibility for the authenticity of the materials.
in addition, the announcement also stipulates that illegal acts such as tax evasion and tax fraud by enterprises shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant state laws and regulations. "Enterprises should enjoy tax incentives in strict accordance with the policies and regulations, and should not evade taxes or cheat taxes by passing imported goods off as returned goods for export. Once relevant violations of laws and regulations occur, enterprises and relevant personnel will be punished." Li Xuhong, a professor at Beijing National Accounting Institute, said in an interview.
tax policy brings benefits to the industry
"As a witness of the cross-border e-commerce industry, I have witnessed the vigorous development of the industry in the past 9 years. This tax policy adjustment will save a lot of sunk costs for cross-border e-commerce export enterprises, so that practitioners can reduce their worries and embrace overseas markets more actively. " Zhang Hao Iridium, chairman of Hunan Zhimeitong Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., an overseas warehouse enterprise, said in an interview.
Changsha shiqi e-commerce co., ltd. is a cross-border e-commerce export enterprise, mainly engaged in 3C electronics, lamps, outdoor leisure, home and sports products. Gao Fen, deputy director of the company's logistics department, said in an interview that the company has developed rapidly in recent years. Since its establishment, the company's annual operating income has basically maintained an average growth rate of 45%, and online sales have reached about 4 million yuan.
"After the introduction of this policy, the company expects to save 2, yuan in tariffs every year, which will accelerate the turnover of working capital of enterprises and make the handling of defective products and unsalable products more flexible and convenient." Gao Fen said.
"This policy adjustment is conducive to reducing the tax burden and operating costs of cross-border e-commerce enterprises, which will certainly benefit the smooth development of cross-border e-commerce enterprises and further expand the export scale of cross-border e-commerce." Guang Xu Jian said.
"Cross-border e-commerce is an important part of the digital economy, which has developed rapidly in recent years and has become an important engine of economic growth at home and abroad. The introduction of this policy can help China's cross-border e-commerce enterprises reduce the tax burden, smooth the trade cycle at home and abroad, and help stabilize the economy. " Li Xuhong said.