2026 Comprehensive Guide to Export Tax Exemption and Refund Declaration Procedures and Key Considerations

2026 Comprehensive Guide to Export Tax Exemption and Refund Declaration Procedures and Core Policy Interpretation

1.Core Key Points of 2026 Export Tax Exemption and Refund Policy

Since 2026,the state has carried out targeted optimization of the export tax exemption and refund policy,focusing on the two core directions of "accurate tax refund and efficient compliance",among which 3 key points directly affect the practical operations of foreign trade enterprises:

• Dynamic Subdivision Adjustment of Tax Refund Rates: Instead of making unified adjustments to tax refund rates by major industry categories,adjustments are now refined based on product attributes.For strategic emerging industry goods such as new energy vehicle parts,high-end medical devices,and intelligent equipment,the tax refund rate remains at 13% (consistent with the original applicable tax rate).For some traditional labor-intensive goods (such as certain plastic products and furniture),the tax refund rate is slightly adjusted from 11% to 10% (must meet environmental protection export standards at the same time).The tax refund rate for agricultural product processing goods remains unchanged at 9%.Manager Song from a Shanghai electronic export enterprise stated that the company’s main business is chip packaging equipment,which falls under high-end equipment,and the 13% tax refund rate has allowed them to maintain more stable profit margins.
• Digital Upgrading of Declaration Procedures: The national export tax refund declaration system has achieved full data interconnection with the General Administration of Customs’ Single Window and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange’s (SAFE) Trade Foreign Exchange Monitoring System.Enterprises do not need to repeatedly upload customs declarations,foreign exchange receipt certificates and other data when declaring,as the system will automatically match and verify the information.The number of paper materials to be submitted has been reduced from 8 items in 2025 to 2 items (only the original export contract and printed traceability code are required,and the remaining electronic data shall be retained for future reference).The declaration cycle has been reduced from 8-12 working days in 2025 to no more than 5 working days.
• Shift of Compliance Verification Focus: Tax authorities have shifted their verification focus from "authenticity of invoices" to "authenticity of the entire business chain",and added a new requirement for "export commodity traceability codes".For 12 categories of high-risk goods such as electronic,chemical and agricultural products,enterprises must complete traceability code registration before customs declaration,and customs declarations must mark traceability code information,otherwise they will fail the tax refund audit.At the same time,cross-verification of the "three-in-one compliance" (contract,invoice,logistics) has been strengthened.If the logistics information does not match the customs declaration,the declaration will be directly rejected.

2.Opportunities and Challenges of Policy Adjustments for Shanghai Foreign Trade Enterprises

The 2026 policy adjustments have differentiated impacts on different types of Shanghai foreign trade enterprises,with both opportunities and challenges:

Opportunities:

• Faster capital turnover for emerging industry enterprises: Enterprises in high-end equipment,new energy and other industries have stable tax refund rates,and the declaration cycle has been shortened to within 5 working days.Some enterprises report that their capital recovery time has been reduced by nearly half,alleviating cash flow pressure.General Manager Yin from a new energy vehicle parts export enterprise stated that in the first quarter of 2026,their tax refund arrival time was shortened from the original 10 days to 4 days,which just caught up with the raw material procurement deadline.
• Reduced declaration costs for small,medium and micro enterprises (SMEs): The digital upgrading has reduced the printing and mailing costs of paper materials,and the automatic data matching of the system has reduced manual entry error rates.Ms.Ye from a clothing foreign trade company said that she used to spend 3 days sorting out tax refund materials every month,but now she only needs 1 day to complete the system declaration.

Challenges:

• Traditional enterprises need to adapt to tax refund rate adjustments: The tax refund rates of some traditional labor-intensive goods have been slightly adjusted.If enterprises fail to adjust their product structure or optimize costs in a timely manner,their profits may decline.Manager Sheng from a Shanghai plastic product export enterprise revealed that the tax refund rate for their main business of ordinary plastic tableware has been reduced from 11% to 10%.For every 1 million yuan worth of goods exported,the tax refund is reduced by 10,000 yuan,which affects annual profits by more than 200,000 yuan.
• Increased compliance risks due to traceability code requirements: 12 categories of high-risk goods require pre-registration of traceability codes.Some enterprises,due to lack of understanding of the policy,failed to mark the traceability code when declaring customs,resulting in their tax refund declaration being rejected.Mr.Qin from a chemical product export enterprise said that when they declared for the first time,due to incorrect traceability code information,their tax refund was delayed by 15 days,and they were also required by the tax authorities to supplement materials,which delayed their capital turnover.

3.Zhongshen’s On-site Service Plan

In response to the 2026 export tax exemption and refund policy adjustments,Zhongshen,with more than 20 years of foreign trade agency experience,provides precise on-site services for Shanghai enterprises to help them seize opportunities and address challenges:

• Policy Research and Plan Customization: Zhongshen’s policy research team updates the industry tax refund rate list every month,and pushes policy change alerts to cooperative enterprises one month in advance.For different types of goods,custom tax refund plans are provided for enterprises - for example,optimizing declaration paths for new energy enterprises,and analyzing cost control strategies for traditional enterprises after tax refund rate adjustments.After cooperating with Zhongshen,a high-end medical device export enterprise shortened its tax refund arrival time to 3 working days in the first quarter of 2026.
• Full-process Digital Declaration Agency: Zhongshen assists enterprises in upgrading and configuring the export tax refund declaration system,connecting with customs and foreign exchange data interfaces to achieve automatic data import.At the same time,special personnel are arranged to review declaration materials to ensure that information such as traceability codes and customs declarations is accurate.Since 2026,the declaration rejection rate of cooperative enterprises has dropped from the industry average of 12% to less than 3%.
• Pre-emptive Compliance Risk Verification: Before enterprises declare customs,Zhongshen conducts advance verification of "three-in-one compliance" information and traceability code registration,and conducts secondary verification for high-risk goods.For compliance issues that may arise from policy adjustments,one-on-one rectification suggestions are provided.A plastic product export enterprise,under the advice of Zhongshen,upgraded some low-profit plastic tableware to environmentally friendly products,and the tax refund rate remained at 11%,avoiding profit losses.
• Tax Refund Advance Payment Service: For eligible small,medium and micro enterprises,Zhongshen provides tax refund advance payment services,advancing tax refund funds within 3 working days after the tax authorities approve the declaration,helping enterprises quickly recover capital.A clothing foreign trade company used this service to receive 800,000 yuan in tax refund funds before the 2026 Spring Festival,solving the problem of employee salary payments.

4.Practical Operation Suggestions for 2026 Export Tax Exemption and Refund Declaration

In response to the 2026 policy adjustments,Shanghai foreign trade enterprises need to focus on the following practical operation points:

Core Suggestion: Complete Export Commodity Traceability Code Registration by June 30,2026 - The tax authorities have clearly stated that starting from July 1,2026,export tax exemption and refund declarations for high-risk goods that have not completed traceability code registration will not be accepted.Enterprises need to sort out their export commodity list in advance,confirm whether they fall under the 12 categories of high-risk goods (can be queried on Zhongshen’s official website),and complete traceability code registration at the Electronic Port to avoid delaying tax refunds.