Cross-border e-commerce, as a new type of cross-border transaction model, leads the rapid development of the global e-commerce market. However, for consumers, whether cross-border e-commerce shopping needs to pay tariffs has always been a matter of great concern. According to the “Import and Export Tariff of the People’s Republic of China” and other laws and regulations, cross-border e-commerce shopping needs to pay tariffs, value-added tax and consumption tax and other taxes and fees under certain conditions. The specific situation needs to be determined based on factors such as commodity category, value and quantity.
The provisions on cross-border e-commerce import tariffs mainly follow the following principles:
1. Tax types.
Cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods are mainly subject to tariffs and import value-added tax and consumption tax. Individuals who purchase cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods will be taxpayers, and the actual transaction price (including the retail price of goods, freight and insurance premiums) will be the tax-paid price. E-commerce enterprises, e-commerce trading platform enterprises or logistics enterprises can be the collection and payment obligors.
2. Value limits and tax rates.
The single transaction limit for cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods is RMB 5,000, and the annual transaction limit for individuals is RMB 26,000. For cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods within the limit, the tariff rate is temporarily set at 0%; the exemption of VAT and consumption tax at the import stage is cancelled, and 70% of the statutory tax payable is temporarily levied.
Single transactions exceeding the single limit, and the accumulated individual annual limit, as well as single indivisible goods with a tax-paid price exceeding the limit of 5,000 yuan, are all taxed in full in accordance with the general trade method.
3. Secondary sales and prohibited sales.
The purchased cross-border e-commerce imported goods are final goods for personal use by consumers and shall not be resold in the domestic market; in principle, online bonded imported goods are not allowed to carry out the “online bonded + offline self-pickup” model outside the special customs supervision area.
4. Scope of application.
The cross-border e-commerce retail import tax policy applies to goods within the scope of the “List of Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import Goods” imported from other countries or regions. Specifically, it includes all goods that are traded through e-commerce trading platforms that are connected to the customs network and can achieve “three documents” comparison of transaction, payment, and logistics electronic information, as well as goods that are not traded through e-commerce platforms but express delivery and postal companies provide unified transaction, payment, logistics and other electronic information and bear legal responsibility.
Conclusion: The provisions of cross-border e-commerce import tariffs and tax policies provide consumers with clear tax payment standards and tax rates, and at the same time strengthen the supervision of cross-border e-commerce transactions. When shopping in cross-border e-commerce, consumers need to understand the relevant taxes and fees based on the attributes and value of the goods, and comply with relevant regulations to ensure that the transaction is compliant and completed smoothly.