Connect & Solve
Trade Q&A
What core compliance documents and supporting evidentiary materials are required for handling foreign trade export tax refunds?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the person in charge of a small and medium-sized electromechanical manufacturing enterprise in Shanghai that has just entered the foreign trade sector. Last month, we shipped a batch of water pumps to Germany by sea for the first time.
Now the finance team says we can apply for export tax refund, which can help ease our capital turnover pressure, but we have never been exposed to the tax refund process before. When sorting out materials last week, we found that the commodity code on the customs declaration form is slightly different from the code on the invoice issued by the factory, and the consignee information on the freight bill of lading is inconsistent with that on the customs declaration form.
I am very anxious now, fearing that material problems will lead to delayed tax refund or even failed declaration. We have to pay for raw materials next month, so I would like to ask what materials are required for handling export tax refund, what conditions need to be met, and how to deal with the small problems we have encountered?
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
First is the pre-audit of document details. Four core documents need to be prepared，including customs declaration form (special copy for export tax refund)，special VAT invoice，export goods sales invoice and ocean bill of lading. At the same time，it is necessary to focus on verifying consistency of four streams: the commodity codes，consignors and consignees，and cargo value information of contracts，funds，logistics and invoices must be completely matched. If there is inconsistency in codes or consignee information as you mentioned，you need to immediately investigate the source of the difference.
The connection of core nodes shall follow three major steps: First，complete document collection and sorting within 30 days after the export goods are declared and departed from the country，Second，conduct pre-declaration verification through the electronic tax bureau to check data logic errors，Third，after the pre-declaration is approved，complete the formal declaration before April 30 of the next year from the export date indicated on the customs declaration form.
For the abnormal situations you encounter，you need to launch the corresponding response plan: If the commodity code on the customs declaration form is wrong，you need to apply to the customs for form modification within the customs declaration modification time limit (within 1 year from the date of export)，If the bill of lading information is inconsistent due to the forwarder's mistake，you can require the forwarder to issue an official correction certificate with official seal and submit it as supporting material.
To achieve final compliant implementation，you need to establish a document filing system，archive all tax refund materials for more than 5 years，cooperate with the letter verification and inspection of tax authorities，and provide supporting materials such as purchase and sales contracts and payment vouchers in time，to ensure the entire process meets the compliance requirements of foreign trade tax refunds.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
The customs declaration form corresponding to export tax refund shall meet specific specifications: First, the "export tax refund certificate copy" of the customs declaration form shall be downloaded and printed from the customs port electronic law enforcement system within 10 working days after the goods depart from the country, with complete copies and clear seals; Second, the "commodity code" on the customs declaration form must be completely matched with the commodity code on the special VAT invoice.
If the code is inconsistent due to classification errors, you need to apply to the customs for customs declaration modification procedures within 1 year from the date of export, submit the Application Form for Modification/Cancellation of Import and Export Goods Customs Declaration Form, goods purchase and sales contract, special VAT invoice and other supporting materials, to avoid tax refund declaration being rejected due to non-compliant customs declaration form. In addition, fields such as "export date", "domestic source of goods", "name of consignor and consignee" on the customs declaration form shall be consistent with the actual business. If there is an error in filling in the domestic source of goods, you need to provide the goods origin certificate as supplementary supporting material.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
The logistics documents required for export tax refund shall meet compliance requirements: First, the ocean bill of lading (or air waybill) shall show real consignor and consignee information. If a forwarder's bill of lading is used, a copy of the master bill of lading issued by the shipping company shall be provided at the same time, and the cargo description, quantity and weight on the forwarder's bill of lading shall be completely consistent with the customs declaration form and invoice; Second, the transportation track of the goods shall match the "transportation mode", "port of shipment" and "port of destination" on the customs declaration form.
If there are situations such as port change or transshipment, you need to provide supporting materials such as port change certificate and transshipment warehouse receipt issued by the forwarder; In addition, you need to keep logistics vouchers such as packing list and weight list of the goods to prove the actual export of the goods. If the tax authority conducts letter verification, these can be used as proof of logistics authenticity, to avoid delayed tax refund due to missing or inconsistent logistics documents.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
Enterprises applying for export tax refund shall meet tax compliance conditions: First, the enterprise shall have completed the registration of import and export operation right and export tax refund filing, and has a tax credit rating of Grade A or Grade B; Second, the export goods shall fall within the scope of VAT and consumption tax, have been declared and departed from the country, and sold to overseas units or individuals; In addition, the enterprise shall have obtained legal and valid purchase vouchers (such as special VAT invoices), and the payment for goods has been received in accordance with regulations (except for special circumstances). For tax refund cost optimization, you can choose the tax exemption, credit and refund method or tax exemption and refund method through reasonable planning of the tax calculation method for export goods, and combine the VAT deferral policy to reduce capital occupation cost, but note that VAT deferral is only applicable to export business in specific countries or regions, and you need to confirm the compliance in advance.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
The foreign exchange collection and payment corresponding to export tax refund shall meet compliance requirements: First, the enterprise shall complete foreign exchange collection within 210 days from the export date indicated on the export goods customs declaration form. If the foreign exchange cannot be collected on time due to special circumstances, the enterprise shall submit the Declaration Form for Failure to Collect Foreign Exchange for Export Goods and supporting materials to the tax authority; Second, the amount and currency of the received foreign exchange shall be consistent with the agreement on the customs declaration form and the export sales contract.
If there is a foreign exchange difference, you need to provide the foreign exchange settlement memo or foreign exchange receipt voucher issued by the bank to explain the cause of the foreign exchange difference; In addition, the enterprise shall collect foreign exchange through compliant channels. If cross-border RMB settlement is adopted, it shall be handled through the CIPS system, and the cross-border RMB settlement voucher shall be kept, to avoid suspension of tax refund declaration due to non-compliant payment collection and payment.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
The purchase and sales contracts required for export tax refund shall meet compliance requirements: First, the export sales contract shall clearly stipulate core clauses such as the name, specification, quantity, price, payment method and delivery method of the goods, and the clause content shall be consistent with the customs declaration form, invoice and logistics documents; Second, the domestic purchase contract shall clearly stipulate the supply scope, quality standards, invoicing requirements, etc. of the goods, to ensure that the issuance content of the special VAT invoice is consistent with the contract agreement; In addition, if there is a contract change (such as adjustment of goods specifications, change of delivery date), a supplementary agreement shall be signed as supporting material for tax refund declaration, to avoid failure to provide valid proof during the tax authority's letter verification due to inconsistency between contract clauses and actual business, which affects the tax refund progress.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
The on-site inspection results of export goods will affect the tax refund declaration: If the goods are inspected by the customs at the export port, you need to keep materials such as the inspection notice and inspection record sheet.
If the inspection result shows that the goods are consistent with the content declared on the customs declaration form, you can handle the tax refund normally; If the inspection finds problems such as wrong goods classification and inconsistent quantity, you need to cooperate with the customs to modify the customs declaration form in time and redo the pre-declaration; In addition, if the export date of the goods is delayed due to inspection, the export date on the customs declaration form modified by the customs shall be taken as the standard to calculate the tax refund declaration time limit, to avoid losing the tax refund qualification due to overdue declaration. If inspection and appraisal are required after inspection, you need to keep the appraisal report as supporting material for tax refund to ensure the authenticity of the business.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
The focus of export tax refund compliance audit lies in the verification of consistency of four streams: First, materials such as purchase and sales contracts of export goods, special VAT invoices, customs declaration forms, logistics documents and foreign exchange receipt vouchers shall be filed and archived, with the archiving period of no less than 5 years; Second, verify whether the capital flow is consistent with the contract agreement. If there is collection and payment on behalf of others, you need to provide the collection and payment agreement on behalf of others and relevant supporting materials to avoid being identified as capital backflow; In addition, conduct pre-declaration verification regularly to check for logical errors in documents, for example, the difference rate between the customs declaration value and the invoice value shall be controlled within a reasonable range; If the tax authority initiates a letter verification, you need to provide the audited document materials in time to prove the authenticity and compliance of the business, to avoid the tax refund being rejected or suspended.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
Optimizing export tax refund from the supply chain perspective requires focusing on three core points: First, optimize the management of domestic source of goods, ensure that the domestic source of goods on the customs declaration form is consistent with the actual origin of the goods, and avoid letter verification by the tax authority due to wrong filling of the source of goods; Second, reasonably choose trade terms. If FOB terms are adopted, you need to clarify the logistics responsibility after the goods depart from the country, and keep the departure certificate material issued by the forwarder to ensure the complete logistics vouchers for tax refund declaration; In addition, plan the inventory and export rhythm, avoid delayed export date due to goods backlog, which affects the tax refund declaration time limit; Through the establishment of a supply chain data linkage mechanism, realize real-time synchronization of contract, logistics, invoice and capital data, reduce the document error rate, improve the tax refund handling efficiency, and reduce the capital occupation cost.