No matter what method is used, such as order brushing, order pushing, and purchasing on behalf of others, the purpose is to import the ordered goods through cross-border e-commerce retail to enjoy preferential e-commerce taxes. From the cases investigated, the three methods will more or less involve issues such as trade methods, prices, and classification. The result is: importing goods that should have been imported through general trade or postal channels through cross-border e-commerce retail is suspected of falsely reporting trade methods; reporting commodity prices from high prices to low prices is suspected of underreporting prices; concealing goods outside the list as goods on the list is suspected of falsely reporting product names and false tax numbers. In order to avoid smuggling violations, standardized operations should be carried out in terms of the applicable trade methods, transaction price declaration, and whether the goods are on the list.
(I) Restore the actual trade and accurately apply the trade method
Generally speaking, there are three ways to import taxable goods: general trade, postal express, and cross-border e-commerce. The tax rates of the three are different and vary. Overall, cross-border e-commerce has the most favorable tax rates. Which trade method to apply needs to be determined based on the actual trade. In the domestic order-payment operation mode, domestic consumers place orders and pay domestic e-commerce companies, and the two parties reach a transaction, which constitutes domestic trade (payment first and then receipt of goods); the relevant orders are directed to the cross-border e-commerce platform to realize secondary order promotion and import delivery, and the domestic e-commerce company reaches a transaction with the overseas seller, which constitutes foreign trade. Looking at the whole process, domestic consumers have never traded with overseas sellers, and foreign trade actually occurs between domestic e-commerce companies and overseas sellers. The applicable trade mode should be general trade rather than cross-border e-commerce.
In the overseas order-payment operation mode, domestic consumers place orders and pay overseas sellers, and the two parties reach a transaction. If it meets the regulatory requirements of “three bills comparison”, it can be imported through cross-border e-commerce retail; if it is for self-use and reasonable quantity, it can be imported through express mail channels, otherwise it is applicable to general trade. Therefore, restoring the actual transaction can accurately apply the trade mode.
(II) Truthfully declare the transaction price and prevent the occurrence of tax-inclusive situations
The tax-paid price of cross-border e-commerce retail imports is derived from the logic of “goods price + freight + insurance premium”, and is determined based on the comparison of “three bills”. The payment price involved in the comparison of the real “three orders” is the price that consumers actually pay for the ordered goods, that is, the transaction price. In domestic consumer e-commerce online shopping, the transaction price is what the industry calls the price including tax and shipping.
It should be pointed out that the price including tax and shipping is not “tax included”. The tax-inclusive price corresponding to the “tax-inclusive” import includes customs clearance fees (transportation and delivery, import taxes and fees) and profits. Under the condition of fixed transportation and delivery fees, in order to seek greater profits, cargo collectors often smuggle imports by underreporting prices and falsely reporting trade methods. With the expansion of the market, there is also a trend of groupization of segmented cargo collection and layer-by-layer tax package. Only by eliminating tax-inclusive imports and truthfully declaring transaction prices can we be invincible in import and export operations.
(III) Accurately carry out classification and ensure list management
To carry out cross-border e-commerce retail import business, it is necessary to ensure that the imported goods belong to the scope of the “List of Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import Goods”. Whether the goods under a certain tariff number belong to the list management and enjoy e-commerce tax benefits, it is necessary to accurately classify them. The following work should be done well: obtain complete and accurate commodity information; make full use of commodity pre-determination rules; make full use of the right to inspect goods in advance, test, declare and make supplementary declarations, etc.