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What are the core document submission checklist and compliance requirements for agency export tax refund?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the head of a Shanghai-based factory mainly engaged in women's clothing export. Last month, we exported two batches of women's clothing to Germany under agency through Zhongshen. Now we are about to start the agency export tax refund process. I heard from peers that someone missed the attached documents of customs declaration when submitting materials, which not only delayed the tax refund for 3 months, but also got included in the tax authorities' warning list, almost affecting the subsequent export qualification. I am very anxious now. I currently have customs declarations, VAT special invoices and purchase and sales contracts, but I am not sure if there are any missing documents.
For example, do I need to submit the agency agreement? Also, do we need to submit all materials online or submit paper documents offline? Are there any easily overlooked details, such as the filling requirements for the invoice remarks column? I am afraid that missing something will cause problems with the tax refund and delay the factory's capital turnover. I hope you can explain this in detail.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
First，the pre-document review details: three types of core documents need to be checked in advance. First is the formal agency export agreement，which should clearly specify the right to tax refund，agency scope and responsibility division，second is the original export customs declaration (or the cleared customs declaration downloaded from the E-Port)，which needs to be checked that the operating unit and consigning unit are consistent with the agency agreement，third is the VAT special invoice，which should ensure that the invoice remarks column is marked with "agency export goods"，and the product name and quantity are completely matched with the customs declaration.
Core node connection: After the documents are sorted out，the tax refund specialist of the agency will first conduct an internal pre-review to check for problems such as inconsistent documents and missing information，then submit online through the "Agency Export Tax Refund Declaration" module of the electronic tax bureau，and retain and archive the paper documents (if required). The declaration must be completed within 90 days after the customs declaration is cleared to avoid being unable to apply for tax refund due to overdue.
Emergency plan for abnormalities: If you receive a letter of inquiry notice from the tax authority after submission，you need to supplement and provide goods transport documents，original purchase and sales contracts，capital flow certificates and other materials within 30 days，if you find missing documents，you should immediately contact the customs broker to reprint the customs declaration or contact the supplier to reissue a compliant invoice，and notify the tax authority of the situation at the same time.
Final compliance implementation: After the declaration is completed，all documents need to be retained for no less than 5 years for subsequent verification by the tax authority，at the same time，follow up the arrival of the tax refund. If the funds have not arrived within 20 days，you should timely check the declaration status through the electronic tax bureau or contact the competent tax authority for verification.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
When submitting customs declaration documents for agency export tax refund, you need to focus on checking the "clearance status". It must be a formal customs declaration that has been cleared and can be queried on the E-Port. If the operating unit on the customs declaration is the agency company and the consigning unit is the principal, it is necessary to ensure that their unified social credit codes are completely matched with the agency agreement.
If there is information error on the customs declaration, you need to apply for deletion and re-submission within 10 days after clearance to avoid the tax refund declaration being rejected due to inconsistent customs declaration information. In addition, the "remarks column" of the customs declaration needs to be marked with the name of the principal for agency export. If it is not marked, you need to contact the customs broker to issue a supplementary note and affix the customs business seal, otherwise the tax authority will not accept the tax refund declaration.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
The logistics documents submitted for agency export tax refund need to be completely matched with the customs declaration information, including ocean bills of lading, air waybills, packing lists, etc. The consignor on the bill of lading must be consistent with the principal in the agency agreement, and the consignee information must match the overseas consignee on the customs declaration. If LCL transportation is adopted, a separate bill certificate issued by the LCL company needs to be provided to ensure that the logistics track can be traced.
In addition, you need to retain goods delivery orders, logistics expense invoices and other documents for the tax authority's letter of inquiry. If logistics documents are missing, you need to contact the logistics service provider to reissue or issue a logistics track certificate with the official seal, otherwise the tax refund verification may fail.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
The VAT special invoices submitted for agency export tax refund must meet the "four flows consistency" requirement, that is, the fund flow, invoice flow, goods flow and contract flow are unified. The invoice issuing date must be before the export date of the customs declaration. If the invoice issuing date is later than the export date, reasonable explanatory materials need to be provided, otherwise the tax authority will not allow deduction.
If the principal adopts the VAT deferral method for export, it needs to provide the VAT deferral filing certificate issued by the tax authority, and submit the agency export agreement and VAT deferral declaration materials at the same time to avoid the tax refund declaration being rejected due to non-filing. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the tax rate of the VAT special invoice matches the export tax refund rate of the export goods. If the tax rate does not match, you need to contact the supplier to reissue a compliant invoice.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
The foreign exchange receipt and payment documents submitted for agency export tax refund include bank exchange settlement slips, foreign exchange receipt vouchers, etc. The received foreign exchange amount must be consistent with the export value on the customs declaration. If there is a difference, reasonable explanatory materials need to be provided (such as commission payment agreements, freight deduction vouchers, etc.).
If CIPS RMB cross-border payment is adopted, the printed copy of the CIPS payment message needs to be provided to ensure that the payer is consistent with the overseas consignee. In addition, you need to retain the capital transaction vouchers between the agency company and the principal to prove that the capital has not flowed back, so as to avoid the tax authority's letter of inquiry due to abnormal capital flow. If the foreign exchange receipt and payment documents are missing, you need to contact the bank to reissue the exchange settlement slip or issue a capital flow certificate.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
The agency export agreement submitted for agency export tax refund must comply with legal norms. The agreement must clearly stipulate clauses such as the right to tax refund, agency service content and responsibility division of both parties, and must be affixed with the official seals of both companies and signed by the legal representatives. If the agreement is a scanned copy, a photo of the original or a copy affixed with the official seal of the agency company needs to be provided.
If the agreement does not clearly specify the right to tax refund, a supplementary agreement needs to be signed, otherwise the tax authority will not be able to determine the tax refund subject, resulting in the rejection of the tax refund declaration. In addition, the original of the agreement needs to be retained for no less than 5 years for verification by the tax authority and judicial authorities.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
If the documents submitted for agency export tax refund involve on-site customs inspection, the inspection notice, container unloading record, inspection report and other documents issued by the customs need to be provided. If there is information adjustment after the goods are inspected, the customs declaration amendment notice issued by the customs needs to be provided to ensure that the tax refund documents are consistent with the final customs declaration information.
If the inspection documents are not retained, you need to contact the on-site inspection department to reissue the inspection certificate, otherwise the tax authority may reject the tax refund declaration because it cannot confirm the authenticity of the goods. In addition, if the inspection finds that the goods are inconsistent with the customs declaration, the tax refund declaration documents need to be adjusted in time, and the tax authority should be notified of the situation at the same time to avoid tax warnings due to inconsistent documents.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
The documents submitted for agency export tax refund must meet the audit requirements of "four flows consistency", that is, the information of fund flow, invoice flow, goods flow and contract flow is completely matched. If there is information deviation, reasonable explanatory materials need to be provided.
The documents need to be sorted and archived according to export batches. Each batch of documents includes agency agreement, customs declaration, VAT invoice, foreign exchange receipt and payment vouchers, logistics documents, etc. If the declaration is made across months, the batch number and declaration date need to be marked.
In addition, the pre-declaration verification records need to be retained. If there are errors in the pre-declaration, the modification process and reasons need to be recorded for the tax audit. If the documents are not sorted as required, the audit may fail, affecting the arrival of the tax refund.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
The documents submitted for agency export tax refund need to match the records of all links of the supply chain, including purchase contracts, sales contracts, inventory delivery records, etc. The product name and quantity of the purchase contract must be consistent with the VAT invoice, and the overseas consignee of the sales contract must be consistent with the customs declaration.
To optimize the efficiency of document submission, you can establish an export tax refund document ledger in advance, record the document collection status according to batches, and complete the pre-sorting of documents 7 days before the goods are shipped, so as to avoid the tax refund declaration being overdue due to untimely document collection. In addition, you can synchronously update the document status through the supply chain management system to ensure consistent information in all links, reduce the document error rate, and improve the pass rate of tax refund declaration.