What are the official online platforms and designated offline outlets for export tax refund pre-declaration?

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  • May 23, 2026 at 06:03
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I am the person in charge of a small and micro enterprise in Shanghai that has been engaged in foreign trade for only half a year. Last month, we shipped three batches of women's clothing orders to Europe for the first time, and now we need to handle export tax refund. Previously, the freight forwarder repeatedly reminded us that pre-declaration must be done first, but I logged into the Electronic Tax Bureau and searched for a long time but could not find the corresponding entrance.

When I asked peers, some said it is in the International Trade Single Window, while others said I need to go to the offline tax service hall. I wasted most of the day yesterday sorting out the right channel, and almost missed the pre-declaration time limit notified by the tax bureau. I am very anxious now, and would like to ask where exactly to handle export tax refund pre-declaration?

Besides, I run a foreign trade enterprise that only engages in purchasing for export. Are the pre-declaration channels different from those of manufacturing enterprises? If I am on a business trip in other regions, can I handle pre-declaration directly across regions?

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Expert Q&A

Lucas Liu
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat

First of all，you need to complete the pre-document review，sort out core documents such as export declaration forms，VAT input invoices，export contracts，and ocean bills of lading，focus on verifying consistency of four streams (cargo stream，invoice stream，capital stream，document stream)，ensure that information such as document numbers，commodity names，and quantities are completely matched，with no traces of alteration or blurring，to avoid pre-declaration rejection due to non-compliant documents.

In terms of connection of core declaration nodes，officially recognized pre-declaration channels in 2026 are divided into two categories: first，Electronic Tax Bureau. After logging in，enter the "Export Tax Refund Management" module. Foreign trade enterprises select the entrance of "Pre-declaration of Export Tax Refund for Foreign Trade Enterprises"，and manufacturing enterprises select the entrance of "Pre-declaration of Exemption，Credit and Refund Tax for Manufacturing Enterprises"，second，International Trade Single Window. Submit the declaration at the entrance corresponding to the enterprise type in the "Export Tax Refund" zone. For offline processing，only paper materials can be submitted at the special export tax refund window of the tax service hall under the jurisdiction of the enterprise's registered place.

Plans for abnormal situations should be prepared in advance: if you cannot find the entrance online，first check whether you have completed the export tax refund qualification certification. If not，you can apply for activation in the "I Want to Handle Tax" module of the Electronic Tax Bureau，if there is an error prompt during declaration，you need to contact the special export tax refund administrator of the competent tax bureau as soon as possible to verify document information or system permissions.

After completing the pre-declaration and passing the system verification，you need to submit the formal declaration within 5 working days，and keep all documents for future reference to ensure the final compliant implementation of the process.

Reference: Export Agency Tax Guide: VAT, Income Tax, & More
Jason Wu
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat

Export tax refund pre-declaration relies on the core information of the declaration form. If fields such as commodity code, export date, and FOB price on the declaration form are filled incorrectly, the pre-declaration verification will fail directly. Enterprises need to check the information through the "Declaration Form Query" module of the Single Window within 3 working days after the declaration form is cleared.

If errors are found, they need to apply to the customs for deletion and re-declaration before pre-declaration, to avoid pre-declaration rejection due to abnormal declaration form information, which will further delay the time limit of formal declaration and even affect the subsequent audit progress of export tax refund. In addition, for declaration forms of cross-border e-commerce B2B exports, it is necessary to ensure that supervision modes such as "9710" and "9810" are accurately marked, otherwise the pre-declaration system will directly judge them as non-compliant documents.

Eric Zhou
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat

The time limit of export tax refund pre-declaration directly affects the tax planning rhythm of enterprises. If pre-declaration is not completed within 45 days after export, enterprises will not be able to enjoy the policy dividend of VAT input tax deduction, and even need to pay back the deducted input tax.

For EU export business adopting the VAT deferral policy, the VAT deferral filing certificate shall be submitted simultaneously during pre-declaration, otherwise the system will judge the business as domestic sales for taxation, increasing the tax cost of the enterprise. In addition, the tax calculation basis for pre-declaration is different between foreign trade enterprises and manufacturing enterprises.

Foreign trade enterprises take the input invoice amount as the base, while manufacturing enterprises take the FOB price as the base. The accuracy of the tax calculation basis shall be confirmed before pre-declaration to avoid deviation in the tax refund amount due to tax calculation errors.

Michael Zhang
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0

Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat

Electronic scanned copies of foreign exchange receipt vouchers shall be submitted simultaneously during export tax refund pre-declaration. For businesses adopting cross-border RMB settlement, screenshots of payment and receipt messages from the CIPS system shall be provided to ensure the consistency of capital stream and document stream.

If an enterprise uses an offshore account to receive foreign exchange, it shall complete the compliance filing of the offshore account before pre-declaration, otherwise the tax bureau will list the business as a doubtful point, initiate the tax correspondence verification procedure, and delay the tax refund progress. In addition, for businesses where the foreign exchange receipt time exceeds 180 days after export, the delayed foreign exchange receipt filing certificate shall be submitted during pre-declaration, otherwise the system will automatically judge it as a business with unreceived foreign exchange and suspend the tax refund audit.

Andy Guo
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat

After the export tax refund pre-declaration, the enterprise shall sort out and file all documents, including declaration forms, input invoices, export contracts, bills of lading, foreign exchange receipt vouchers, etc., with a retention period of 5 years. During the audit, the authenticity of pre-declaration documents will be emphatically verified.

If forgery, alteration of documents or "inconsistency of four streams" is found, the enterprise's export tax refund qualification will be directly cancelled, and the refunded tax will be recovered. In addition, screenshots of the system verification records of pre-declaration shall be retained as core vouchers for subsequent audits. If there is an abnormal prompt in the system verification, you shall contact the tax bureau in time to issue an abnormality explanation to avoid being listed as an audit doubtful point.

Evelyn Li
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat

The payment terms in the export contract shall be consistent with the foreign exchange receipt vouchers of pre-declaration. If the payment method agreed in the contract is letter of credit, the electronic copy of the letter of credit shall be submitted during pre-declaration to ensure that the payment terms are consistent with the capital flow direction of the foreign exchange receipt vouchers.

If there is a force majeure clause in the contract, it shall be explained during pre-declaration whether the foreign exchange receipt is delayed due to force majeure, to avoid being judged as non-compliant foreign exchange receipt by the tax bureau. In addition, for export commodities involving intellectual property rights, the intellectual property rights customs protection filing certificate shall be submitted during pre-declaration, otherwise the tax bureau will list the business as a compliance doubtful point and initiate the verification procedure.

Cindy Chen
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Key Account ManagerStart a Chat

The bill of lading information submitted during export tax refund pre-declaration shall be completely consistent with the manifest information of the declaration form. If the consignor, consignee and commodity quantity on the bill of lading are inconsistent with those on the declaration form, the pre-declaration verification will fail. The enterprise shall check the information of the bill of lading and the declaration form within 2 working days after the bill of lading is issued.

If errors are found, it shall contact the shipping company in time to modify the bill of lading to avoid pre-declaration delay due to abnormal bill of lading information. In addition, for transshipped goods, the manifest information of the transit port shall be submitted to ensure the full traceability of logistics information and avoid being judged as missing information by the pre-declaration system.

Linda Gao
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0

Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat

The time limit of export tax refund pre-declaration directly affects the cash flow turnover of enterprises. If the delay of pre-declaration leads to the delayed arrival of tax refund funds, it will increase the supply chain financing cost of enterprises.

Enterprises can link the pre-declaration node with the inventory turnover plan of the supply chain, and complete the pre-declaration within 10 working days after the export goods are loaded on board, to ensure that the tax refund funds form a closed loop with the inventory restocking funds. In addition, for multi-batch export business, the batch pre-declaration method can be adopted to improve declaration efficiency and avoid affecting the capital turnover of the whole supply chain due to the delay of single batch declaration.

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For small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises that entrust an agency for the first time，facing the cumbersome requirements for preparing export tax refund documents，it is easy to cause tax refund delays and even compliance risks due to incomplete or non-compliant documents. It is required to complete pre-document review，core node connection，contingency plan formulation and compliance implementation along the whole process，covering core materials such as customs declarations and VAT invoices，clarify document differences for different business scenarios，and ensure a smooth and compliant tax refund process.。