Personal postal tax, as the name suggests, is the abbreviation of import tax on luggage and postal items. It is an alternative tax that combines customs duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax. “Personal postal tax” refers to the luggage and items carried by passengers when entering the country. “Post” refers to items mailed from abroad to China through postal channels.
In the direct mail business of cross-border e-commerce, what is involved is “mail” rather than “shipping”. Since it targets imported goods with non-trade attributes, the tax rate is generally lower than the comprehensive tax rate for similar imported goods. If personal postal tax is levied, other taxes will not be levied. Personal postal tax only applies to personal non-bulk items. According to relevant customs regulations, personal-use imported items that exceed the amount specified by the General Administration of Customs but are still within a reasonable amount are classified, the dutiable value and usage tax rate are determined, and then the line is levied. Postage tax, if the tax amount does not exceed 50 yuan, personal postage tax is exempted.
The calculation formula for personal postal tax is relatively simple, and the tax rates are different for different items. In order to maintain a balance with the comprehensive tax on trade and cross-border e-commerce, the General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 25 of 2016 (About the “Classification List of Imported Articles” and the “Duty-paid Price List of Imported Articles”) determined that the tax rate will be changed from the original The divided four gears were changed to three gears, which was slightly improved.
These two tables are the standards for classifying imported items and determining the duty-paid value and applicable tax rate. It is understood that in the early days, domestic materials and commodities were scarce, and the total amount of items entering and exiting through postal channels was small. In order to take care of overseas Chinese and their family members, the customs, in accordance with the overall national policy, granted a certain degree of tax-free preferential treatment to inbound and outbound personal postal items. According to the development of the situation, the postal policy has been adjusted several times. With the great abundance of domestic commodities, most of the personal items in inbound mail are no longer used as gifts between relatives and friends, but for personal consumption.
Usually, domestic consumers go abroad for tourism, business trips, study abroad, etc., buy things for themselves or relatives and friends abroad, and then bring them into the country, which is the so-called “human flesh purchasing agent”. For customs clearance in the name of inbound and outbound passenger luggage, the tax exemption limit is 5,000 yuan according to the General Administration of Customs Document No. 54 of 2010 “Standards for the Inspection and Release of Luggage and Items Carried by Inbound Passengers”.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Finance’s “Interim Measures for the Management of Port Entry Duty-Free Shops”, individuals are allowed to increase a certain amount of duty-free shopping at port entry duty-free shops, and if the total amount of overseas purchases does not exceed 8,000 yuan, they will be entitled to enter. Border tax exemption. Customs requires that items in this kind of carry-on luggage be limited to “self-use and reasonable quantity.” If the items exceed this limit, you need to go through formalities and pay import taxes.
In fact, the manpower of each customs is limited. Except for border ports such as Shenzhen and Zhuhai, routine customs inspections are relatively flexible, and it is difficult to have too much impact on individuals who enter and leave the country with low frequency. However, many overseas shopping and purchasing agents now use postal parcels to send goods back to their home countries. In order to reduce postage costs, they even sign agency agreements with overseas postal companies and use mail to clear customs.
If the entry is randomly inspected by the customs and it is found that the tax exemption amount is exceeded, the so-called personal postal tax will be levied. However, some imported goods are split into multiple invoices and falsely declared as personal items. The preferential tax exemption for personal items stipulates that entry through postal and express channels can avoid customs taxes and trade controls, which is the so-called “grey customs clearance.”
Document No. 43 of 2010 of the General Administration of Customs, “Measures for the Management of Entry and Exit Personal Postal Items” stipulates that items mailed into the customs are subject to tax, only under the conditions of personal use, reasonableness, and the calculated tax amount is less than 50 yuan. Exempt from tax; limit the value of items. The customs accounting standard is not based on the price on the purchase receipt, but on the “duty-paid price list”. If the value exceeds the prescribed limit, according to regulations, the return procedure should be carried out or customs clearance procedures should be completed in accordance with the cargo regulations; of course, if the items in the postal parcel cannot be divided and are for personal use, customs clearance procedures can also be completed according to the procedures for personal items if the limit value is exceeded.
Since the cross-border e-commerce pilot program started in 2013, the policy agrees that if the consignee of the order is an individual at the time of entry, personal postal tax will apply. This makes reasonable tax avoidance public. For example, bonded imports can avoid taxes by splitting large orders and selling lower-priced goods.
Although the General Administration of Customs has repeatedly emphasized the “four restrictions” on cross-border bonded imports in pilot cities: limited varieties, limited enterprises, limited amounts, and limited quantities, and prohibits operations in non-pilot cities, the personal postal tax is obviously The advantages have impacted traditional trade to a certain extent. To this end, taking into account the operating order of the domestic market and the balance between tariff policies, a new tax system for cross-border e-commerce was created.