Core Service Analysis of 2026 Import and Export Tax Refund Declaration Agency

2026 Import and Export Tax Refund Policy Updates and Agency Service Implementation

1.Core Policy Breakdown of 2026 Import and Export Tax Refunds

It should be noted that the tax refund rate increase only applies to products explicitly listed in the 2026 Export Tax Refund Rate Adjustment Catalogue.Some low-value-added mechanical and electrical products still maintain a 13% tax refund rate,and enterprises should avoid misjudgment.In addition,the "list verification and release" requirement for cross-border e-commerce stipulates that enterprises must ensure that the declaration list is consistent with logistics and payment information,otherwise the pass rate of consolidated declaration will be affected.

2.Opportunities and Challenges of Policy Changes for Export Enterprises

• Opportunities: Driven by Profit Growth and Efficiency Improvement
  • The increase in tax refund rate directly increases the tax refund amount: Take a new energy vehicle parts export enterprise as an example.In the first half of 2026,its export volume reached 80 million yuan.After the tax refund rate was raised from 16% to 17%,it can obtain an additional 800,000 yuan in tax refunds,which is equivalent to directly increasing the profit margin by 1%.
  • Simplified declaration procedures save labor costs: A beauty cross-border e-commerce enterprise previously needed to process 2,500 individual declaration forms each month.Now,after adopting consolidated declaration,it only needs to submit 2 documents per month,reducing labor costs by about 35%,allowing the finance team to devote more energy to tax planning.
  • Accelerated capital recovery eases cash flow pressure: After the implementation of the "declare and refund immediately" policy for AEO advanced certification enterprises,the tax refund capital recovery cycle of a clothing export enterprise has been shortened from 10 days to 2 days,effectively easing the capital turnover pressure for raw material procurement.
• Challenges: Dual Tests of Policy Adaptation and Compliance Risks
  • Fast policy updates lead to delayed adaptation: Some financial staff of small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises failed to pay attention to the tax refund rate adjustment in time and still declared according to the old tax rate,resulting in insufficient tax refund amount in the first quarter of 2026,requiring supplementary declaration and extending the capital recovery time.
  • More detailed requirements for declaration materials: The new "product attribution certificate" (such as product technical parameter sheets for production enterprises and supplier qualification documents for trading enterprises) has been added.Some enterprises have their declarations returned due to incomplete materials,and the audit time has been extended from 3 working days to 10 working days.
  • Difficulty in operating new cross-border e-commerce procedures: Small and medium-sized cross-border e-commerce enterprises are unfamiliar with the operation of the "list verification and release" system,and are prone to errors such as incorrect HS code filling and inconsistent logistics information and declaration lists,resulting in the consolidated declaration being rejected by the customs.

3.How Zhongshen’s Agency Services Implement Policy Dividends

In response to the opportunities and challenges brought by the 2026 policy changes,Zhongshen has established a policy implementation team led by Director Xie,providing end-to-end support from pre-consultation to post-declaration to help enterprises accurately seize policy dividends:

• Accurate Policy Matching: Avoid Missing Preferential Benefits Director Xie’s team sorts out the enterprise’s export commodity list,compares it with the 2026 Export Tax Refund Rate Adjustment Catalogue,marks the mechanical and electrical product categories eligible for rate increases,and counts the export volume proportion of such products.For example,a smart equipment export enterprise previously failed to notice the tax refund rate adjustment of core components of industrial robots.After being reminded by Director Xie,it obtained an additional 120,000 yuan in tax refunds in the first quarter of 2026.
• Declaration Material Pre-review Optimization: Reduce Return Rate Manager Bao is responsible for the pre-review of declaration materials,adding a "product attribution certificate" review link,and checking the consistency of customs declaration forms,VAT invoices,logistics documents and other materials in advance.In the past six months,the return rate of declaration materials of enterprises pre-reviewed by Manager Bao has dropped from 15% to 3%,effectively shortening the audit time.
• Exclusive Cross-border E-commerce Services: Improve Declaration Efficiency Mr.You connects with the customs "list verification and release" system,provides operation training for cross-border e-commerce enterprises,and assists in establishing a consolidated declaration ledger.After being guided by Mr.You,a beauty cross-border e-commerce enterprise has increased the accuracy of its declaration list from 85% to 98%,and the monthly declaration time has been shortened from 5 days to 1 day.
• Customized Services for High-credit Enterprises: Accelerate Capital Recovery Manager Mai assists enterprises in applying for customs AEO advanced certification,and sorts out materials such as the enterprise’s compliance management system and logistics control procedures.After being assisted by Manager Mai in obtaining certification,a clothing export enterprise enjoys the "declare and refund immediately" policy,and the tax refund capital recovery cycle has been shortened from 8 days to 2 days.

4.Practical Suggestions for Enterprises: Quickly Adapt to the 2026 Tax Refund Policy

Combined with the practical experience of Zhongshen’s team,enterprises can prioritize the following 3 actions to quickly adapt to the 2026 tax refund policy:

• Step 1: Sort Out Commodity Lists —— Organize the HS codes of export commodities in the past 6 months,compare them with the 2026 Export Tax Refund Rate Catalogue,mark the mechanical and electrical products with increased tax refund rates (such as auto parts and core components of industrial robots),and count the export volume proportion of such products to provide data support for subsequent declarations.
• Step 2: Check Declaration Materials —— Confirm whether the new "product attribution certificate" (such as product test reports for production enterprises and supplier qualification certificates for trading enterprises) has been prepared,and check whether the commodity names and quantities on the customs declaration form and VAT invoice are consistent,so as to avoid declaration returns due to incomplete materials or inconsistent information.
• Step 3: Evaluate Credit Rating —— Check the enterprise’s customs credit rating.If it is a general credit enterprise,you can consult the agency to assist in applying for AEO certification to obtain the "declare and refund immediately" qualification; if it is already an AEO advanced certification enterprise,you need to regularly update the compliance management system to ensure continuous enjoyment of preferential policies.

In addition,enterprises can pay attention to the Monthly Tax Refund Policy Report released on the Zhongshen official account every month to timely understand policy updates and avoid affecting the tax refund progress due to delayed information.