Is the agency fee for export tax rebate outrageously high? The truth is here!

"Last month, Mr. Zhang handled the export tax rebate through an agency, and the service fee was actually 30% higher than that of his peers!" Is this an accident or an industry norm? Today, we are going to uncover the mystery of the agency fee for export tax rebate.

For foreign trade enterprises, export tax rebate is one of the important sources of profit. However, due to the complex process and changeable policies, many enterprises choose to entrust professional agencies to handle it. Data shows that more than 65% of foreign trade enterprises choose agency services, which is a trade-off between time cost and professional threshold.

The fees charged by agencies usually include the following parts:

• Basic service fee: including basic services such as document review and declaration processing
• Proportion of tax rebate amount: usually charged at 0.5% - 3% of the tax rebate amount
• Additional service fee: such as expedited processing, solution to difficult problems, etc.
• Other fees: may include third-party fees such as translation and notarization

Even if the tax rebate amounts of Ms. Li's clothing export enterprise and Mr. Wang's machinery manufacturing enterprise are the same, the agency fees may be quite different. The main influencing factors include:

• The industry the enterprise belongs to (the difficulty of tax rebate varies by industry)
• The complexity of export products (the number of HS codes involved)
• Historical declaration records (new enterprises usually have higher fees)
• The professionalism of the agency (senior agencies may charge higher fees but are more efficient)

Facing a wide variety of quotes in the market, how should foreign trade enterprises choose? We suggest considering from the following aspects:

• Compare the quotation plans of 3 - 5 agencies
• Verify the qualifications and industry experience of the agency
• Find out whether the fees are transparent and whether there are any hidden fees
• Evaluate the service response speed and processing efficiency

As a leading service agency in the industry, we suggest that enterprises should not simply pursue low-cost services. Low prices may mean a discount in service quality, ultimately affecting the progress and amount of tax rebates. The ideal cooperation model should be transparent, efficient, and of equal value.

Export tax rebate seems simple, but in fact, there are hidden mysteries. Choosing the right agency service may enable your enterprise to obtain 5% - 10% more tax rebate earnings annually. Is the agency fee you are currently paying reasonable? Welcome to share your experience in the comment section, or send us a private message to get a professional evaluation.