Home   FAQ  Taxation  China  Import Tax Policy for Cross-border E-commerce 

FAQ

SHARE

Taxation - China

Question

Import Tax Policy for Cross-border E-commerce

Answer
In order to promote the healthy development of the cross-border e-commerce retail import industry and create a fair competition market environment, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and the General Administration of Customs issued the fiscal tariff [2018] No. 49 on November 29, 2018, “About Perfection Notice of the Tax Policy for Cross-border E-commerce Retail Imports”, and the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and other departments jointly issued Shangcaifa [2018] No. 486, “Notice on Perfecting Work Related to the Supervision of Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import”.

Q:
What does cross-border e-commerce retail import mean?
A:
Refers to consumers in China who purchase goods from overseas through operators of cross-border e-commerce third-party platforms, and deliver them through "online shopping bonded imports" (customs supervision mode code 1210) or "direct purchase imports" (customs supervision mode code 9610) entry consumer behaviour.

Q:
What are the main bodies of cross-border e-commerce retail imports?
A:
  • Cross-border e-commerce retail import operator (hereinafter referred to as cross-border e-commerce enterprise): an overseas registered enterprise that sells cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods to domestic consumers from abroad, and is the owner of the right of goods.

  • Operators of cross-border e-commerce third-party platforms (hereinafter referred to as cross-border e-commerce platforms): apply for industrial and commercial registration in China to provide web space, virtual business premises, and transaction rules for both parties (consumers and cross-border e-commerce enterprises) , transaction matching, information release and other services, and operators of information network systems for trading parties to independently carry out trading activities.

  • Domestic service providers: apply for industrial and commercial registration in the country, accept cross-border e-commerce enterprises to provide them with declaration, payment, logistics, warehousing and other services, have the corresponding operating qualifications, directly provide customs with payment, logistics and warehousing information, accept Customs, market supervision and other departments follow-up supervision, the subject responsible for the corresponding.

  • Consumers: Domestic buyers of cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods.

Q:
What conditions should be met to purchase goods from abroad?
A:
  • Belong to the "Cross-border e-commerce retail import goods list", limited to personal use and meet the requirements of the cross-border e-commerce retail import tax policy.

  • Through the e-commerce transaction platform networked with the customs, the "three orders" comparison of transaction, payment and logistics electronic information can be realized.

  • The transaction has not passed through the e-commerce transaction platform connected with the customs, but the inbound and outbound express operators and postal enterprises can accept the entrustment of the relevant e-commerce enterprises and payment enterprises, and undertake to bear the corresponding legal responsibilities to transmit electronic information such as transactions and payments to the customs.

Q:
What is the difference between the cross-border e-commerce transaction limit and the fiscal tariff [2016] Circular 18?
A:
 

Iterms

Notice 18

Invalid from January 1, 2019

Notice 49

Effective from January 1, 2019

Single transaction limit for cross-border e-commerce retail imports

RMB 2,000

RMB 5,000

Individual annual transaction limit

RMB 20,000

RMB 26,000


Q:
How to handle the tax treatment of cross-border e-commerce?
A:
  • Belong to the "Cross-border e-commerce retail import goods list", limited to personal use and meet the requirements of the cross-border e-commerce retail import tax policy.

  • Through the e-commerce transaction platform connected with the customs, transactions, payments, and logistics electronic information "three orders" can be compared.

  • The transaction has not passed through the e-commerce transaction platform connected with the customs, but the inbound and outbound express operators and postal enterprises can accept the entrustment of the relevant e-commerce enterprises and payment enterprises, and undertake to bear the corresponding legal responsibilities to transmit electronic information such as transactions and payments to the customs.

Language

繁體中文

简体中文

日本語

close