The MOF, GAC and SATC Jointly Released the Tax Policies for Returned Goods of Cross-border E-commerce Exports

Contributed by Ms. Zhao Jing, Hylands Law Firm.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), General Administration of Customs (GAC) and State Administration of Taxation (SATC) jointly released the Tax Policies for Returned Goods of Cross-border E-commerce Exports (Announcement [2023] No. 4 of the MOF, GAC and SATC, hereinafter referred to as the Announcement) to reduce the cost of export refund for cross-border e-commerce enterprises, and actively support the development of new forms of foreign trade.

The Announcement provides that import duties and import VAT and consumption tax shall be exempted for goods (excluding foodstuffs) declared for exports under the cross-border e-commerce customs regulatory code (1210, 9610, 9710, 9810) within one year as of the date of promulgation of this Announcement which are returned to China in original conditions within six months from the date of export due to reasons of sluggish sale and return of goods; Export duties levied at the time of export are allowed to be refunded; Value-added tax and consumption tax levied at the time of export are subject mutatis mutandis to the relevant tax provisions governing return of goods for domestic sale. Export tax refund has been processed for the above goods, the enterprises shall repay the refunded tax retrospectively pursuant to the prevailing provisions.

The Announcement requires that Enterprises shall strictly follow the provisions of relevant policies to enjoy tax incentives, when applying for import duty exemption and other procedures, they shall provide relevant supporting materials as required, and shall not commit tax evasion, tax fraud or any other illegal acts or irregularities.

Contributor: Zhao Jing

Agency/Firm: Hylands Law Firm

Position/Title: Partner