(I) Definition of the scope of application
The luggage tax is the abbreviation of the luggage and mail import tax, which is the import tax levied by the customs on the luggage and personal mail of passengers entering the country. Its scope of application includes:
1. Luggage carried by inbound passengers
According to the current regulations, if the total value of personal items for personal use acquired abroad carried by inbound resident passengers is within RMB 5,000 (including RMB 5,000), the customs will release them duty-free. For personal imported items for personal use exceeding RMB 5,000, if the customs verifies that they are for personal use, the customs will only tax the excess amount of personal imported items for personal use, but will tax the full amount of indivisible single items.
2. Personal items sent by post
According to the General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 43 of 2010, the supervision regulations for personal postal items entering and leaving the country are as follows:
(1) For personal items sent by post to the country, the customs shall collect import tax in accordance with the law, but if the amount of import tax payable is RMB 50 (inclusive) or less, the customs shall exempt it.
(2) For personal items sent from or to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the limit is RMB 800 per time; for items sent from or to other countries and regions, the limit is RMB 1,000 per time.
(3) For personal items sent by post to or from the country that exceed the prescribed limit, they shall go through the return procedures or go through the customs clearance procedures in accordance with the goods regulations (general trade).
3. Others
Announcement No. 18 of the Ministry of Finance and Customs Tariff [2016] simultaneously adjusted the tax policy for personal items. Personal items that are not cross-border e-commerce retail imports and cross-border e-commerce retail imports that cannot provide electronic information such as transactions, payments, and logistics are still subject to tax management as luggage and mail items.
(II) Taxpayers
Inbound passengers and transport service personnel carrying taxable personal items for their own use, recipients of imported mail items, and recipients of taxable personal items for their own use imported by other means are taxpayers of luggage and mail tax.
(III) Calculation method
The calculation method of luggage and mail tax is ad valorem tax. When the tax amount is less than 50 yuan, the customs shall classify, determine the dutiable price and applicable tax rate for personal items for their own use that exceed the amount specified by the General Administration of Customs but are still within a reasonable amount in accordance with the Import Tax Rate Table of Inbound Articles of the People’s Republic of China and the Classification Table of Inbound Articles of the People’s Republic of China and the Dutiable Price Table of Inbound Articles of the People’s Republic of China formulated by the General Administration of Customs, and collect import tax.
(IV) Dutiable price and tax rate
The dutiable price of inbound articles shall be determined in accordance with the following principles:
(1) Articles with dutiable prices listed in the dutiable price list shall be determined in accordance with the dutiable price list.
(2) Articles with dutiable prices not listed in the dutiable price list shall be determined in accordance with the retail price of the same article in the main market at the same source at the most recent time.
(3) For articles whose actual purchase price is 2 times or more of the dutiable price listed in the dutiable price list, or 1/2 or less of the dutiable price listed in the dutiable price list, the owner of the inbound articles shall provide the customs with the purchase invoice or receipt of the real transaction issued by the seller in accordance with the law and bear the relevant responsibilities. The customs may determine the dutiable price of the taxable articles in accordance with the law based on the above-mentioned relevant certificates provided by the owner of the articles.
The dutiable price of ethnic special commodities in border areas shall be implemented in accordance with the dutiable price list separately approved by the General Administration of Customs.
The tax rates of travel tax are divided into three levels: 15%, 30% and 60%.