Shouldn't you take the export tax rebate if you can?

Mr. Zhang recently received an unexpected sum of money - the goods exported last year actually got a 13% tax rebate. However, Ms. Li's company next door was not only unable to get the tax rebate due to improper operations but also was interviewed by the tax department. Both are export enterprises. Why are their situations so different? Today, we will unveil the mysterious veil of export tax rebate.

Simply put, export tax rebate is a system in which the state refunds the value-added tax and consumption tax that enterprises have already paid in China for their exported goods to the enterprises. This is equivalent to the state reducing the transaction costs for foreign trade enterprises and enhancing their international competitiveness. However, in actual operations, many enterprises have fallen into three common misunderstandings:

• Believing that all exported commodities can get tax rebates
• Ignoring the importance of document filing
• Confusing the differences between tax exemption and tax rebate

The director of the Foreign Trade Service Department of Zhongshitong revealed that 90% of the application problems are concentrated in the following links:

• The names of the goods on the customs declaration form and the value-added tax invoice are inconsistent
• There is a difference between the amount of foreign exchange received and the amount declared
• Cross-year declarations exceed the deadline

Special reminder: Since 2023, the Golden Tax Phase IV system has been implemented, which has realized real-time data comparison among the customs, tax, and foreign exchange departments, and the risks of traditional "edge-ball" operations have increased sharply.

1. Commodity Code Management: Accurately match the HS code with the tax rebate rate
2. Document Chain Construction: The contract, bill of lading, and invoice should be "in line with each other"
3. Time Limit Monitoring: Complete the declaration within 15 months starting from the month after the export date

An enterprise shortened the tax rebate cycle from 45 days to 12 days and increased its annual capital turnover rate by 27% through the transformation of the ERP system.

With the rise of new business forms such as cross-border e-commerce, the tax rebate policy is undergoing subtle changes:
• The tax rebate channels for B2C small package exports are gradually being opened

• The tax rebate rates for high-value-added products are continuously being raised
• The intensity of tax fraud inspections is being increased

It is recommended that enterprises participate in the policy interpretation meetings held by the tax department every quarter or entrust professional institutions to conduct health audits.

According to statistics, about 38% of small and medium-sized export enterprises have never fully enjoyed their tax rebate rights. You might as well check now:
1. Has the latest tax rebate been fully credited to the account?

2. Are the documents kept intact?
3. Are there any cross-border e-commerce businesses that have not been declared?

Please feel free to share your tax rebate stories in the comment area. We will select three readers to provide free tax diagnosis services.