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What are the key audit nodes in the whole process of export tax refund agency?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the person in charge of a small and medium-sized enterprise that has just engaged in foreign trade. Last month, we exported a batch of electronic products to Europe for the first time. When I prepared tax refund materials by myself, the application was returned by the tax bureau because the information on the customs declaration form and the invoice was inconsistent.
Now more than 500,000 yuan of tax refund is held up and I cannot get it, while the customer is urging for the next batch of goods. I want to know how the export tax refund agency works specifically? Will there be problems again?
What materials do I need to provide for cooperation during the agency process? How long will it take to get the tax refund generally? I am really anxious and hope to get a detailed answer.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
The core of export tax refund agency lies in ensuring compliance at every step through standardized processes，so as to avoid delayed or failed tax refunds caused by omissions in details. The first step is pre-document review. The agency team will first check your three core documents: customs declaration form，special VAT invoice and export contract，to confirm that the commodity code on the customs declaration form is consistent with that on the invoice，whether the conversion of transaction methods (FOB/CIF) is accurate，and whether the invoice issuing date is after the export date. If the commodity codes are found inconsistent，we will immediately assist you in applying to the customs for modification，so as to avoid jams in the subsequent tax review.
The next step is core node connection: the agency will enter the reviewed documents into the export tax refund declaration system for pre-declaration verification. This step will detect logical errors in the data in advance (such as mismatch between tax refund rate and commodity code). If there are doubts，the team will give feedback and assist in correction within 24 hours，such as adjusting the declaration amount or supplementing explanatory materials. After the pre-declaration is approved，the formal declaration will be submitted. At this time，we will simultaneously follow up the review progress of the tax bureau to ensure the acceptance is completed within 3 working days.
For abnormal situations，the agency will formulate response plans: if the tax bureau requires letter verification，we will immediately coordinate with your suppliers to prepare supporting materials such as purchase and sales contracts and logistics documents to shorten the letter verification cycle，if the declaration fails due to system failure，we will enable the backup channel to resubmit. Finally，for compliance implementation，the agency will guide you to complete document filing，including bills of lading，packing lists，transport documents，etc。to ensure that they can be provided quickly during random inspection by the tax bureau，so as to avoid suspension of tax refund qualification due to incomplete filing.
During the whole process，you only need to cooperate to provide complete original documents，and the agency team will be responsible for the whole process promotion. Generally，you can get the tax refund within 15-20 working days after the formal declaration，which is about half of the time compared with the enterprise's self-operation.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
The logical closed loop of customs declaration forms is the key to tax refund review. If the consignor and consignee, commodity name and quantity on the customs declaration form are inconsistent with those in the export contract, the tax bureau will determine it as "document mismatch" and directly reject the tax refund application.
For example, if the consignee on your customs declaration form is an intermediary, but the buyer in the contract is an end customer, you need to supplement the consignment receipt certificate issued by the intermediary to clarify the transfer path of goods ownership, otherwise you cannot pass the tax refund review. In addition, the commodity code on the customs declaration form must be completely consistent with that on the VAT invoice.
If there is a difference in tax refund rate caused by wrong code, you need to apply to the customs for modifying the customs declaration form. The modification cycle is usually 3-5 working days, which will affect the tax refund progress.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
Logistics documents are important supporting evidence for tax refund declaration. The consignee on the bill of lading must be consistent with that on the customs declaration form. If the goods need to be transshipped, you need to provide the logistics split bill and transshipment certificate of the transshipment port to prove that there is no abnormal transfer of goods ownership.
For example, if your goods depart from Shanghai Port, transship via Singapore to Rotterdam, you need to provide the loading and unloading records of Singapore Port and the transshipment bill of lading to avoid being identified as "false export" by the tax bureau. In addition, the transport method must match the customs declaration form. If the actual transport is by sea but the customs declaration form is filled with air transport, you need to provide a correction certificate issued by the carrier, otherwise the tax refund application will be suspended.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
VAT deferral can be combined with export tax refund to optimize capital flow. In the EU market, adopting the VAT deferral policy can exempt you from paying import VAT temporarily, reduce capital occupation, and the domestic export tax refund will not be affected at the same time.
But note that the amount of deferred declaration must correspond to the FOB price declared for export tax refund, so as to avoid being judged as "cross-border tax abnormality" by the tax system. In addition, small and medium-sized enterprises need to meet the conditions such as the supplier being a general taxpayer and the exported goods being included in the tax refund catalog to enjoy this optimization scheme, which can usually shorten the capital return cycle by 10-15 days.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
Compliance of foreign exchange receipt and payment is the premise of tax refund. The error between the received foreign exchange amount and the amount on the customs declaration form shall not exceed 5%. If there is a difference, you need to provide a trade difference explanation (such as discount, commission) with relevant agreements attached.
When using CIPS for cross-border RMB payment, you need to indicate the currency as RMB in the tax refund declaration system to ensure that the foreign exchange receipt records are consistent with the declaration data. In addition, for foreign exchange received through offshore accounts, you need to provide proof of capital source to avoid being identified as "unknown capital inflow", which will affect the tax refund review.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
The tax refund clauses in the export contract shall clearly define the ownership of responsibilities. The contract shall stipulate that the supplier shall provide a compliant special VAT invoice within 30 days after the export of goods, and if the tax refund fails due to false invoices, the supplier shall bear the liability for compensation.
At the same time, the payment method in the contract shall correspond to the foreign exchange receipt records. If letter of credit payment is adopted, you need to keep the copy of the letter of credit and negotiation documents as evidence of capital flow. In addition, the delivery place in the contract shall be consistent with the export port on the customs declaration form, so as to avoid tax queries caused by inconsistent locations.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
The result of on-site inspection will directly affect the tax refund. If the goods are inspected by the customs, you need to keep the inspection records and customs release note. If the inspection result is consistent with the customs declaration form, you can declare the tax refund normally; if there is inconsistency in commodity quantity or specification, you need to apply to the customs for modifying the customs declaration form in time, and submit the tax refund application after the modification is approved.
For example, if the inspection finds that the actual quantity of goods is 10% less than that on the customs declaration form, you need to provide the packing list and logistics records to prove the cause of the difference, otherwise the tax refund application will be suspended.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
The packaging documents for export of dangerous goods shall be compliant. The classification of dangerous goods on the UN Dangerous Goods Packaging Certificate must be consistent with that on the customs declaration form. If the classification on the certificate is wrong, you need to apply to the inspection and quarantine authority for re-identification, otherwise it will be determined as "document mismatch" during tax refund.
In addition, the validity period of the packaging certificate shall cover the export date. If the certificate expires, you need to replace it with a new one before declaring the tax refund, and the identification usually takes 3-7 working days to complete.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
The verification of consistency of four flows is the core of tax refund audit. Capital flow (foreign exchange receipt records), goods flow (bill of lading, packing list), invoice flow (VAT invoice) and contract flow (export contract) must be completely matched.
If there is third-party payment, you need to provide a entrusted payment agreement to clarify the relationship between the payer and the buyer; if the goods are transported by a third-party logistics provider, you need to provide a logistics entrustment agreement to ensure a clear transfer path of goods ownership. In addition, the audit will conduct random inspection on document filing. If the filing is incomplete, the tax refund qualification will be suspended for 3 to 6 months.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
The conversion of trade terms has a significant impact on the tax refund amount. When exporting under CIF price, you need to deduct freight and insurance premiums to calculate the FOB price for tax refund declaration, otherwise it will lead to over-declaration of tax refund amount and cause tax risks.
For example, if the transaction method on your customs declaration form is CIF with the amount of 100,000 US dollars, freight of 10,000 US dollars and insurance premium of 5,000 US dollars, the FOB price is 85,000 US dollars, and you need to declare the tax refund based on this amount. The agency will assist you in calculating the FOB price accurately, so as to avoid delayed tax refund or recovery of excess tax refund caused by calculation errors.