Is the foreign trade tax refund actually a "red envelope" sent by the state?

"Mr. Zhang received an unexpected windfall last month - the foreign trade tax refund, which is equivalent to picking up 3% of the profit for free!" Recently, such conversations have frequently appeared in the foreign trade circle. Many people are curious: What kind of tax is actually refunded in foreign trade tax refund? Why does the state "subsidize" enterprises? Today, we will unveil the mystery of this "hidden benefit".

The full name of foreign trade tax refund is "export goods tax refund (exemption)", and the core is to refund the three kinds of taxes that enterprises have already paid in the production and circulation links:

• Value-added tax: 6%-13% of value-added tax needs to be paid for domestic sales of goods, and it will be refunded when exporting
• Consumption tax: A tax levied on specific goods such as tobacco, alcohol, and cosmetics
• Customs duties: Customs duties paid when importing raw materials (refundable after processing and re-exporting)

1. International practice: Avoid double taxation
According to the WTO rules, only the consuming country of goods has the right to levy taxes. If there is no tax refund, China will collect value-added tax once, and the importing country will collect customs duties again, and enterprises will lose their price advantages.

2. Enhance foreign trade competitiveness
Ms. Li's textile factory can quote 8% lower than Southeast Asian manufacturers through tax refund, which is exactly the key to maintaining the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing.

3. Promote industrial upgrading
The tax refund rate of high-tech products is often higher (for example, the tax refund rate of mechanical and electrical products reaches 13%), which is equivalent to using the tax lever to guide enterprise transformation.

• Misunderstanding 1: "All goods can be refunded" → Resource-based goods such as solid wood furniture may be restricted
• Misunderstanding 2: "Tax refund is pure profit" → Agency fees, capital occupation costs, etc. need to be deducted
• Misunderstanding 3: "Tax fraud cannot be detected" → The data of the customs, tax and foreign exchange departments have been networked

With the launch of the fourth phase of the Golden Tax Project, the tax refund process is undergoing changes:

• Electronic declaration: The time for document review has been shortened from 20 days to 72 hours
• Classified management: A-level enterprises can enjoy the "refund first and review later" green channel
• Risk warning: Scenarios such as bulk commodity exports and cross-provincial acquisitions will be closely monitored

When you write the word "tax refund" on the customs declaration form, you are not only striving for the deserved benefits, but also participating in the practice of international economic and trade rules. You might as well share in the comment area: What was the most unexpected tax refund case you have encountered? (Tip: A certain enterprise almost lost a million yuan of tax refund due to misreporting the commodity code... )