Entrusted Export Tax Refund 2026: How Can Enterprises Choose a Reliable Agent?

Entrusted Export Tax Refund 2026: Policy Changes and Enterprise Choices

Since 2026,the global trade landscape has been continuously adjusted.To stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade,China has introduced multiple optimizations to the export tax refund policy.However,many small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises still face common pain points: "unclear policy requirements,time-consuming declaration procedures,and fear of errors in tax refund".Entrusting professional agency companies to handle export tax refund has become the choice of more and more enterprises.This article combines the latest 2026 policy to break down core points,analyze impacts on enterprises,and introduce the implementation service plan of Zhongshen.

I.Core Points Breakdown of the New 2026 Export Tax Refund Policy

In March 2026,the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration of China jointly issued the Notice on Optimizing Export Tax Refund Policy (Cai Shui [2026] No.12),with core adjustments focusing on three aspects that directly affect enterprises’ tax refund efficiency and profits:

1.Dynamic Increase of Tax Refund Rates for Key Industries

The new policy clarifies that for 12 categories of export products encouraged by the state,including new energy vehicle parts,high-end medical devices,intelligent equipment manufacturing,the tax refund rate will be uniformly increased from the original 13% to 16%; meanwhile,the tax refund rate for some traditional high-energy consumption and low value-added products (such as some plastic products and ordinary textiles) will be reduced from 9% to 6%.The core logic of this adjustment is "guiding industrial upgrading" -- encouraging the export of technology-intensive products through tax leverage and reducing overcapacity of traditional industries.

2.Comprehensive Upgrade of Electronic Declaration System

Starting from May 1,2026,all export tax refund declarations must be completed through the "International Trade Single Window" electronic system.Paper materials such as customs declaration forms and VAT special invoices only need to be kept by the enterprise for future reference,and do not need to be submitted to the tax authority.The system adds a new "data pre-verification" function: if the declaration data does not match the information of customs and taxation systems,it will prompt errors in real time to avoid repeated rework for enterprises.

3.Strengthened Compliance Review and Penalties

The new policy further tightens the compliance review of export tax refund: first,the traceability period for acts such as "false self-operation with actual agency" and "fraudulent tax refund via fake invoicing" is extended from 3 years to 5 years; second,for enterprises with first-time declaration errors,the "tolerance for error declaration" is canceled,and enterprises are directly required to correct the error and explain the reason; third,a "blacklist" system is established,and enterprises included in the blacklist are not eligible for export tax refund preferences for 3 years.

II.Opportunities and Challenges Facing Enterprises Under the New Policy

The new 2026 export tax refund policy brings "coexistence of opportunities and risks" for enterprises,and the specific impacts can be analyzed from two aspects:

1.Opportunities: Release of Policy Dividends

• Increased profit for key industries: Take a new energy vehicle parts enterprise as an example,if its annual export volume is 10 million RMB,the tax refund rate increases from 13% to 16%,the enterprise can get an extra 300,000 RMB of tax refund every year,which directly increases profit.
• Significantly shortened tax refund cycle: The pre-verification function of the electronic declaration system reduces repeated manual review links,the average tax refund cycle is shortened from the original 20 days to less than 10 days,improving enterprises’ capital turnover efficiency by 50%.
• Cost reduction via process simplification: With the cancellation of paper material submission,enterprises do not need to arrange special personnel to visit tax authorities,saving about 20,000 to 30,000 RMB of labor and time costs every year.

2.Challenges: Increased Compliance and Operation Difficulties

• Difficulty in tracking policy updates: Tax refund rate adjustment involves 12 categories of products,and tax refund rates of some segmented categories may be adjusted quarterly.If enterprises do not update their policy database in time,declaration errors are likely to occur.
• Complex operation of the electronic system: The International Trade Single Window system needs to connect data from multiple departments including customs,taxation,and foreign exchange.If enterprises are not familiar with the operation process,problems such as failed data upload and format errors may occur.
• Increased compliance risk: With the traceability period extended to 5 years and penalties strengthened,once an enterprise has declaration errors or fake invoicing,it not only needs to repay the tax refund,but may also face fines or even criminal liability.

III.Zhongshen: Implementation Service Plan for Entrusted Tax Refund

In response to the opportunities and challenges brought by the new 2026 policy,Zhongshen relies on over 20 years of foreign trade agency experience to provide enterprises with full-chain entrusted tax refund services covering "policy matching - process optimization - risk prevention and control",the specific plan is as follows:

1.Accurate Policy Matching: Avoid Missing or Misapplying Policy Dividends

Zhongshen has set up a special "Policy Research Group" with dedicated staff tracking the dynamics of 2026 tax refund policies and updating the Export Tax Refund Policy Manual every month.After an enterprise entrusts the service,the group will first sort out the HS codes of the enterprise’s export products and match the latest tax refund rate.For example,a new device exported by a high-end medical device enterprise in 2026 originally had a 13% tax refund rate.After verification by the group,it was confirmed that the product meets the scope of 16% tax refund rate,helping the enterprise obtain an extra 120,000 RMB of tax refund.

2.Process Optimization: Improved Electronic Declaration Efficiency

Zhongshen has built an internal data platform connected with the International Trade Single Window system,which can realize automatic capture and verification of data such as customs declaration forms,VAT invoices,and foreign exchange cancellation certificates.Enterprises only need to provide basic materials,and the agency team can complete "one-click declaration",shortening the tax refund cycle from the 10 days required by the new policy to less than 7 days.Taking an intelligent equipment enterprise as an example,after entrusting the service in June 2026,the first tax refund arrived in just 6 days,4 days faster than self-declaration.

3.Risk Prevention and Control: Full-Process Compliance Guarantee

Zhongshen has established a "three-level review mechanism":

• Pre-declaration review: Cross-verify invoices,contracts and customs declaration forms provided by enterprises to ensure information consistency;
• In-process monitoring: Track declaration progress in real time,if the system prompts an error,feedback to the enterprise and assist in correction within 1 hour;
• Post-declaration archiving: Establish declaration archives and keep them for more than 5 years,assist enterprises to provide complete materials if tax authorities conduct inspection.

In addition,Zhongshen maintains regular communication with tax authorities.If enterprises have any questions about declaration,they can get official answers quickly through the agency team,avoiding errors caused by information asymmetry.

IV.Self-Declaration by Enterprise vs Entrustment to Zhongshen: Core Difference Comparison

V.Practical Suggestions for Entrusted Export Tax Refund in 2026

For the new 2026 policy,Manager Mou of Zhongshen advises enterprises: Sort out export customs declarations and VAT special invoices of the recent 3 months in advance before entrustment,mark the HS code and corresponding industry of each product,so that the agency can quickly match the latest tax refund rate and avoid declaration delay caused by incomplete materials.

With the continuous optimization of export tax refund policy in 2026,entrusting professional agency companies to handle tax refund has become an inevitable choice for enterprises to improve efficiency and reduce risks.With over 20 years of industry experience,Zhongshen will continue to provide full-process,one-stop entrusted tax refund services for foreign trade enterprises in Shanghai and across the country,helping enterprises seize policy dividends and achieve stable development.