2026 Agent Export Tax Refund New Policy: 3 Key Points Enterprises Must Know for Declaration
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
Interpretation of Core Changes to 2026 Agent Export Tax Refund Policy
In March 2026,the State Taxation Administration and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued the Announcement on Optimizing Export Tax Refund Policies to Support Stable Growth of Foreign Trade (Announcement No.12 of 2026).The adjustments to agent export tax refund mainly focus on two dimensions: tax refund rates and declaration procedures.These changes directly affect enterprises’ export profits and capital turnover efficiency.The following is a plain-language interpretation of the two key points.
Key Point 1: Tax Refund Rate Increase by 3 Percentage Points for Some Mechanical and Electrical Products
This policy clarifies that the tax refund rates of 237 types of mechanical and electrical products,including core components of new energy vehicles (such as battery management systems,drive motors),industrial robots,and smart home appliances,have been raised from the original 13% to 16%.It should be noted that the tax refund rate adjustment is subject to the commodity code.Enterprises need to check whether the 10-digit customs code of their exported products is included in the "2026 Export Tax Refund Rate Adjustment Catalogue" — for example,a washing machine equipped with an intelligent control system originally corresponded to a 13% tax refund rate under its old code,while the updated 2026 code allows it to enjoy the 16% preferential rate.
Key Point 2: Paperless Declaration Scope Expanded to All Agent Export Businesses
The "paperless tax refund declaration" pilot launched in 2025 will be fully rolled out in 2026.Agent export enterprises no longer need to submit paper customs declarations,special VAT invoices and other materials,and only need to upload electronic data through the E-Port.At the same time,a new "tolerant acceptance" mechanism has been added: if the electronic materials submitted by the enterprise have minor defects (such as incorrect invoice number entry),the tax authorities can accept the declaration first,and the enterprise must make corrections within 3 working days.Only overdue uncorrected submissions will affect the tax refund progress.
Opportunities and Challenges of the Policy for Export Enterprises
| Category | Specific Impact | Actual Enterprise Feedback |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunities | 1.Improved profits for high tax refund rate product categories: Taking new energy battery exports as an example,for a single container with a value of 10 million RMB,the tax refund amount will increase by 300,000 RMB after the tax refund rate adjustment; 2.Improved declaration efficiency: Paperless declaration reduces the number of trips enterprises need to make to tax authorities,shortening the average tax refund arrival time from 12 days to 8 days; 3.Expanded error tolerance: The tolerant acceptance mechanism avoids declaration failure caused by small mistakes,reducing enterprises’ trial-and-error costs. | Mr.Fu,General Manager of a Shanghai-based new energy enterprise,stated that in the first quarter of 2026,the tax refund arrival time for battery products exported through agents was 4 days faster than in 2025,significantly easing capital turnover pressure. |
| Challenges | 1.Delayed code updates: Some small,medium and micro enterprises fail to update their commodity code databases in a timely manner,leading to selection of old codes during declaration,which results in rejection by tax authorities; 2.Electronic signature compliance requirements: Paperless declaration requires the use of CA certificates or electronic signatures,and some enterprises have not completed the filing and cannot submit declarations normally; 3.Increased inspection intensity: For products with high tax refund rates,tax authorities will verify whether logistics tracks and foreign exchange receipts and payments match,significantly increasing the risk of false exports. | Mr.Gao,a supervisor from a home appliance enterprise in Zhejiang Province,reported that in February 2026,his tax refund application was rejected due to unupdated commodity codes,delaying the arrival of funds by 10 days. |
Zhongshen’s Practical Service Plan
In response to the 2026 policy changes,Zhongshen,relying on more than 20 years of foreign trade agency experience,provides targeted services for enterprises to help them seize opportunities and address challenges:
- Accurate Code Matching: The team led by Director Luo from Zhongshen updates the commodity code database corresponding to the "Tax Refund Rate Adjustment Catalogue" every month.After enterprises submit their exported product lists,the team will complete code verification within 1 working day and mark the categories eligible for high tax refund rates to avoid code errors.
- Full-process Assistance for Paperless Declaration: Provide enterprises with CA certificate filing and electronic signature processing services,and optimize the tax refund declaration system to automatically fill in data such as customs declarations and invoices.The declaration time is reduced from the traditional 7 days to within 3 days,and the average tax refund arrival time is shortened by 4 days.
- Proactive Risk Prevention and Control: In preparation for tax authority inspections,assist enterprises in sorting out the "logistics-capital-documents" three-in-one documents in advance,including bills of lading,packing lists,foreign exchange receipts,purchase contracts,etc.to ensure the authenticity of each export business.Since 2026,the tax refund declaration approval rate for assisted clients has reached 100%.
- Customized Training: Hold policy interpretation meetings for cooperative enterprises every month,with the team led by Director Luo explaining the latest tax refund rate changes and key points of code updates,helping enterprises improve their independent declaration capabilities.
Take a Shanghai-based smart home appliance enterprise as an example: after cooperating with Zhongshen in January 2026,Zhongshen helped it identify that 3 models of smart air conditioners qualify for the 16% tax refund rate (the old code was mistakenly selected for 13%).The enterprise received an additional 126,000 RMB in tax refunds in a single quarter,and at the same time shortened the tax refund arrival time from 11 days to 7 days through paperless declaration,improving capital turnover efficiency by 36%.
Enterprise Action Recommendations
Before declaring agent export tax refund in 2026,enterprises need to focus on the following one task:
Sort Out Exported Product Lists One Month in Advance: Compare with the "2026 Tax Refund Rate Adjustment Catalogue" provided by Zhongshen,mark the products eligible for high tax refund rates,and check the 10-digit customs code of each product.If the code does not match the catalogue,contact the team led by Director Luo from Zhongshen in time for confirmation,to avoid delaying tax refunds due to code errors during declaration.
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