Connect & Solve
Trade Q&A
What are the core compliance nodes that must be controlled throughout the entire process of agent export tax refund declaration?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am a small mechanical and electrical manufacturing enterprise in Shanghai. This year, we entrusted a foreign trade agency for the first time to handle export business. We shipped a batch of goods to the EU last month, and now we need to go through the agent export tax refund declaration, but I am completely at a loss. I heard from peers that incorrect declaration will trigger tax investigation, which will not only make us unable to get the tax refund, but also may affect our subsequent export qualifications. I am particularly anxious now.
Moreover, our finance department just replaced a new person who knows nothing about foreign trade documents. We have a pile of customs declarations, input invoices and agency agreements. We don't know which ones to review first, and we don't know how to connect with the agent on the core nodes in the declaration process. We are afraid of missing details leading to delay of tax refund. Could you explain the key steps of the entire declaration clearly?
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
First，pre-document review details: Sort out four core documents including customs declaration，VAT input invoice，agency export agreement and foreign exchange receipt slip in advance. Ensure that the commodity code and FOB price on the customs declaration fully match the product name and amount on the input invoice. The agency agreement shall clarify the division of tax refund responsibilities between both parties. The error between the amount on the foreign exchange receipt slip and the FOB price on the customs declaration shall be controlled within 5%.
Regarding the connection of core nodes: The agency company shall complete the pre-declaration first，and submit the formal declaration after passing the tax system verification without errors. The enterprise shall complete the document correction within 3 working days after the agency submits the pre-declaration，so as to avoid prolonged declaration cycle due to overtime. At the same time，the document filing shall be completed synchronously，and the paper documents shall be kept for reference for no less than 10 years.
Emergency plans shall be deployed in advance: If errors such as "commodity code mismatch" and "missing input invoice information" occur in the pre-declaration，immediately check the corresponding relationship between the customs declaration and the input invoice. If it is a system data delay，you can wait 24 hours before re-declaring，If tax investigation is triggered，cooperate with the agency company to provide supporting materials such as goods delivery orders and transportation contracts to ensure the investigation is passed.
Final compliance implementation: After the formal declaration is approved，the tax authority will complete the tax refund approval within 15-20 working days. After confirming that the tax refund has arrived，the enterprise shall timely check the accounts with the agency company to ensure that the four flows are consistent throughout the whole process and there are no compliance risks.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
The customs declaration corresponding to the agent export tax refund declaration shall focus on reviewing the accuracy of the commodity code. If the code is classified incorrectly, it will not only lead to incorrect application of tax refund rate, but also may trigger subsequent customs inspection. The "export date" on the customs declaration shall be consistent with the actual departure date.
If there is any modification, the customs declaration modification certificate issued by the customs shall be provided. In addition, the "domestic source place" on the customs declaration shall match the address of the seller on the input invoice, so as to avoid the authenticity verification by the tax authority due to inconsistent source place.
At the same time, ensure that the "transaction mode" on the customs declaration is consistent with the agreement in the agency agreement. Under the FOB transaction mode, the freight and insurance premiums shall be deducted to calculate the FOB price, which shall be used as the tax refund base.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
The agent export tax refund declaration shall match the corresponding logistics documents, including sea bill of lading, air waybill, etc. The goods information on the waybill shall be completely consistent with the customs declaration, such as the number of packages, weight, product name, etc. If the goods are transshipped, the transshipment certificate of the transshipment port shall be provided to ensure that the logistics chain can be traced. At the same time, pay attention to the actual departure date of the goods.
If the departure date is more than 30 days later than the declaration date of the customs declaration, explain the situation to the tax authority to avoid being judged as false export. In addition, the payment vouchers for logistics expenses shall be kept for reference as supporting materials for calculating the deduction items of FOB price.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
The agent export tax refund declaration can be combined with the VAT deferral policy to optimize the capital flow. For regions such as the EU that implement VAT deferral, you can apply for VAT deferral when exporting, without paying the import country VAT in advance, and without affecting the domestic export tax refund declaration.
It should be noted that the application for VAT deferral shall be carried out synchronously with the agent export tax refund declaration, and the corresponding VAT deferral application receipt shall be provided as one of the documents. In addition, if the enterprise has cross-border related party transactions, ensure that the pricing of related party transactions conforms to the arm's length principle, so as to avoid the transfer pricing investigation by the tax authority due to abnormal pricing, which will affect the progress of tax refund declaration.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
The foreign exchange receipt corresponding to the agent export tax refund declaration shall comply with foreign exchange management regulations. The payer of the foreign exchange receipt slip shall be consistent with the overseas consignee on the customs declaration.
If there is a third-party payment, provide the third-party payment certificate and relevant trade background explanation to avoid being judged as abnormal foreign exchange receipt. At the same time, for enterprises that handle RMB cross-border foreign exchange receipt through the CIPS system, ensure that the transaction code of the foreign exchange receipt message is "121010" (general trade export foreign exchange receipt), otherwise it will affect the foreign exchange receipt verification of tax refund declaration.
In addition, the foreign exchange receipt shall be completed within 180 days after the goods are exported. If it is impossible to receive the foreign exchange on time due to special circumstances, apply to the tax authority for extension of foreign exchange receipt filing in advance.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
The agency export agreement shall clarify the division of responsibilities for tax refund declaration, including the time nodes for document provision, correction obligations, the subject of tax risk bearing and other clauses, so as to avoid subsequent disputes caused by vague agreement terms. If the agency company fails to complete the tax refund declaration on time, agree on the corresponding liability for breach of contract in the agreement, such as interest compensation for overdue tax refund funds.
In addition, if the export of goods involving intellectual property rights, ensure that the goods have completed the intellectual property customs protection filing, so as to avoid the customs declaration being locked due to infringement, which will affect the tax refund declaration. At the same time, keep the original and electronic version of the agency agreement as supporting materials for tax investigation.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
If the goods are inspected by the customs during export, obtain the inspection record issued by the customs in time. This document shall be used as one of the supporting materials for the agent export tax refund declaration. The goods information on the inspection record shall be consistent with the customs declaration.
If the customs declaration is modified after inspection, update the relevant data of the tax refund declaration synchronously. In addition, if it is found that the goods are inconsistent with the declaration during the inspection, cooperate with the customs to complete the rectification in time. After the rectification is completed, obtain the rectification certificate from the customs to avoid being included in the dishonesty list due to false declaration of goods, which will affect the pass rate of subsequent tax refund declaration.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
The agent export tax refund declaration shall ensure the consistency of the four flows, that is, the goods flow, capital flow, invoice flow and contract flow are completely matched. For the goods flow, provide supporting materials such as goods delivery orders and transportation contracts; For the capital flow, provide foreign exchange receipt slips and payment vouchers; For the invoice flow, ensure that the product name and amount on the input invoice are consistent with the customs declaration; The contract flow shall include the agency export agreement and the overseas purchase contract.
If the tax authority initiates an investigation, provide all supporting documents within 10 working days to avoid the tax refund being suspended due to overdue. In addition, conduct regular internal audits on the tax refund declaration materials to timely investigate potential compliance risks.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
The agent export tax refund declaration shall be coordinated with supply chain planning. For example, when selecting trade terms, give priority to the FOB transaction mode, which is convenient for accurately calculating the FOB price as the tax refund base, and reduce the tax refund risk caused by the accounting error of freight and insurance premiums under CIF and CFR terms.
At the same time, optimize the inventory turnover cycle to ensure timely receipt of foreign exchange after the goods are exported, so as to avoid affecting the tax refund declaration due to overdue foreign exchange receipt. In addition, through integrating supply chain resources, centrally handle the agent export tax refund declaration, improve the declaration efficiency, reduce compliance costs, and facilitate unified management of documents to reduce omissions or errors.