Import and Export Tax Refund Agency: How Enterprises Efficiently Obtain Tax Refunds Under 2026 New Policies

Key Points of 2026 Import and Export Tax Refund New Policies and Enterprise Responses

At the beginning of 2026,the Announcement on Adjustment of Import and Export Tax Policies for 2026 jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Customs officially took effect.The optimization and adjustments to the tax refund link directly affect the cash flow efficiency of foreign trade enterprises in Shanghai and across the country.Many heads of small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises reported that clauses such as "linking tax rebate rates with commodity codes" and "exemption of paper materials for electronic declarations" in the new policies seem simple but are easy to cause pitfalls.This article combines actual cases of local foreign trade enterprises in Shanghai to break down the core of the new policies,analyze their impact on enterprises,and explain how professional agency services can be implemented.

1.Key Breakdown of 2026 Tax Refund New Policies

2.Opportunities and Challenges of the New Policies for Enterprises

After the new policies took effect,Mr.Jin,head of a Shanghai mechanical and electrical export enterprise,contacted Zhongshen immediately.He said: "In 2025,the export tax rebate rate for the industrial robots we exported was 16%.If we can get 17% this year,we can get nearly 500,000 RMB more in tax refunds a year,which can just be used to update the production line." However,while the new policies bring opportunities,there are also hidden challenges,as detailed below:

• Opportunities:
  • Increased tax refunds: The increase in tax rebate rates for 32 categories of mechanical and electrical products directly improves the profit margin of enterprises
  • Improved tax refund efficiency: Exemption of paper materials for electronic declarations saves enterprises’ time cost of going through procedures
  • Regional policy preference: The shortened tax refund review period for enterprises in Lin-gang Special Area speeds up cash flow turnover
• Challenges:
  • Higher compliance requirements: Electronic declarations rely on accurate commodity codes and invoice data.Once filled incorrectly,the tax refund application will be directly rejected
  • Difficulty in matching policies: Some enterprises do not know which products fall within the scope of the increased tax rebate rates,and are likely to miss the policy dividends
  • Higher data security requirements: Electronic data submissions must comply with the tax bureau’s encryption standards to avoid information leakage

3.Implementation Measures of Zhongshen’s Agency Services

In view of the characteristics of the 2026 new policies,Manager Tong from Zhongshen led the team to sort out a targeted agency service process,with the core of "accurately matching policies + full-process risk prevention and control":

• Step 1: Accurate policy matching.Manager Tong will first obtain the enterprise’s export commodity list,and check one by one against the 2026 tax rebate rate adjustment commodity code database.For example,the industrial robots exported by Mr.Jin’s enterprise have the commodity code 8515319000,which falls exactly within the 200 codes covered by the increased tax rebate rates.Manager Tong confirmed this immediately,preventing Mr.Jin from missing the policy dividends.
• Step 2: Declaration process optimization.Zhongshen assists enterprises in connecting to the electronic tax bureau and completing the activation of the tax refund declaration system’s permissions.In response to the requirement of "exemption of paper materials",Manager Tong’s team will review the enterprise’s electronic customs declaration forms and electronic VAT invoice documents in advance to ensure data consistency.For example,Manager Pang from a Shanghai clothing export enterprise used to go to the customs three times a month to print paper documents.Now,through Zhongshen’s agency service,he only needs to submit once online,saving 2 days per month.
• Step 3: Compliance risk prevention and control.The new policies require that electronic data must be completely consistent with the data in the customs and tax authorities’ systems.Once there is a deviation in commodity codes or an inconsistency in invoice amounts,the tax refund application will be rejected.Zhongshen’s compliance team will conduct three audits before declaration: matching degree between commodity codes and tax rebate rates,consistency between invoice amounts and customs declaration amounts,and whether electronic data encryption meets the standards.For example,in March 2026,Mr.Zuo from an electronic enterprise had his tax refund application rejected by the tax bureau due to incorrect invoice amount filling.Zhongshen assisted him in rechecking the invoice data,and the re-declaration was completed and the refund was received within 3 working days.
• Step 4: Exclusive services for Lin-gang Special Area.For enterprises registered in the Lin-gang Special Area,Zhongshen has opened a green channel and arranged a dedicated person to liaise with the tax refund review post of the Lin-gang Tax Bureau,ensuring that enterprises receive tax refunds within 3 working days.For example,Ms.Wu from a new energy enterprise in Lin-gang exported solar modules in April 2026.Through Zhongshen’s agency service,the tax refund was received within 2 working days,4 days faster than in 2025.

4.Practical Suggestions for Enterprises

In view of the 2026 tax refund new policies,Manager Tong from Zhongshen advises all foreign trade enterprises: Before June 30,2026,complete the code review of all export commodities,and check against the new policy’s tax rebate rate adjustment list to confirm whether they fall within the scope of the increased rates.If any code errors are found,contact the customs promptly for correction to avoid affecting the tax refund. For example,a Shanghai toy export enterprise lost 1 percentage point in tax rebate rate in 2025 due to incorrect commodity codes.In 2026,after completing the code review and making timely corrections,it can receive nearly 20,000 RMB more in tax refunds per month.