Cross-border e-commerce will bid farewell to the "tax-free era"

The three departments of the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation have recently issued a new tax system for cross-border e-commerce retail import. Starting April 8, 2016, China will implement a cross-border e-commerce retail import taxation policy, adjust the postal tax simultaneously, cancel the tax-free policy of 50 yuan, and cross-border e-commerce will bid farewell to the “tax exemption era” and use The "cross-border e-commerce comprehensive tax" replaces the postal tax.

The policy determines the single transaction limit to be RMB 2,000 and the personal annual transaction limit to be RMB 20,000. For cross-border e-commerce retail and imported goods that are imported within the limit, the tariff rate is temporarily set to 0%, and the value-added tax and consumption tax of the import link are canceled and exempted from taxation, and temporarily collected at 70% of the statutory tax payable. A single transaction that exceeds a single limit value, exceeds the individual's annual limit after the accumulation, and a single indivisible commodity whose duty-paid price exceeds the 2,000-yuan limit will be taxed in full in accordance with the general trade pattern.

This news has caused widespread concern. After the New Deal, will Haitao products increase prices significantly? Is the cross-border e-commerce industry facing "reshuffle"? What are the challenges faced by the implementation of the New Deal?

In response, the Beijing News organised the “4. 8 Cross-border Import E-Commerce Tax Reform New Political Examination” summit forum, inviting government officials, experts, mainstream e-commerce platforms, and merchants to jointly interpret and analyze the new tax system and influence the New Deal. Explore the meaning and look forward to a positive and substantive guiding role in the implementation of the new tax system.

1 Is it difficult to implement the new tax reform?

According to the new taxation policy on April 8th, policies such as tax exemption within 50 yuan of taxes and fees were abolished; single transactions exceeding 2,000 yuan in single-limit value, cumulatively exceeding 20,000 yuan in personal annual limits, and duty-paid prices exceeding 2,000 yuan in value The individual indivisible commodities are all taxed in accordance with the general trade pattern. For the new policy, many people in the industry stated that they face difficulties in the specific implementation.

Wu Di, deputy general manager of VIP Logistics Development Co., Ltd., said that the relevant departments must have detailed supporting documents to implement the policies, otherwise they will face problems in implementation.

Wu Di said that in the New Deal document, transactions with a value above 2,000 yuan and a limit of 20,000 yuan were taxed according to general trade. However, the current customs system is not perfect and does not know how to collect this tax. "We hope that government departments will have specific standards for implementation when issuing documents."

A person in charge of a German supermarket chain said that this policy has a relatively large impact on the sales of goods over 2,000 yuan, because the company did not move orders, logistics first, items above 2,000 yuan can not be sold after April 8, the stock Greater impact. Another merchant also stated that if the positive list is not issued, it is unclear what kind of goods should be ordered.

One expert who participated in the forum stated that there are many contradictions in the current policy that need to be revised and adjusted in practice. For example, the New Deal cancelled the 50-yuan tax exemption, but the Customs Law stipulates that the goods have a certain amount of tax exemption; and the "Import and Export Tariff Regulations of the People's Republic of China" also mentions that the customs duty of the goods is exempt from taxation below 50 yuan. The problem. The policies issued by the three ministries and commissions are part of the departmental rules, which are not the same as the previous two superior laws. There may be contradictions in the specific implementation.

Ma Qichen, a research fellow at the New Media Marketing Communication Research Center at Peking University, said that the government's current new taxation policy is more simplified. It clears the basic cross-border e-commerce tax framework and leaves a framework for dynamic adjustment and refinement in the future.

Regarding whether the quota will be adjusted dynamically with economic development and residents’ income levels, Zhao Ping, a research fellow of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Li Pengbo, deputy secretary-general of the China Cross-Border E-Commerce Forum, said that for the average consumer, it is currently 2,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan. The limit is basically sufficient. In the future, as the residents' income level and consumption level increase, the quota will certainly adjust dynamically.

2 Will Haitao products increase prices significantly?

According to the standards of new cross-border regulations, prices of hot mother and baby products such as milk powder and diapers have risen by 11.9%, Korean cosmetics about 100 yuan have risen by about 30%, and high-end clothing and bags have fallen slightly.

Qiu Huang, general manager of Jingdong Global Buying, believes that due to the adjustment of the tax system on April 8th, prices of some commodities in the cross-border e-commerce platform will change, and the prices of most cross-border e-commerce platforms will increase, resulting in price changes. Short-term impact on consumer psychology.

“Price arbitrage, policy arbitrage, and confidence arbitrage are major factors in promoting cross-border e-commerce.” Qiu Huang said that after the tax reform, there will be little impact on confidence arbitrage and policy arbitrage, but prices will certainly change. The e-commerce platform product prices will increase.

Qiu Huang believes that in the short term, the previously purchased products become more expensive, and consumers’ desire to buy may decline; but in the long term, there will be a certain gap between the prices of cross-border e-commerce channels and those of general trade channels. As long as the user experience and logistics experience are similar to domestic trade, the overall cross-border e-commerce industry is good. The sales level is still an upward trend for a long time.

However, some merchants indicated that they would not raise prices. The head of a brand agent in Hong Kong stated at the forum that the company has a unique business model that provides full-link solutions ranging from branding, pricing to after-sales services, and virtually eliminates all intermediate links, so even if taxes rise, the company sells The goods will not increase prices.

A German health care product merchant stated that the high retail price of traditional channels is due to the fact that dealers must deduct points, store points must be deducted, and promotions must have costs. Businesses are stationed in cross-border e-commerce platforms, and the cost of these circulations can be saved. consumer. Therefore, even if the tax burden increases after the tax reform, the retail price of goods will not be greatly affected.

Zhao Ping, a researcher at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Studies, believes that an important factor for consumers to go shopping abroad or cross-border shopping on the e-commerce platform is the price. Even after the New Deal of the tax system on April 8, compared to other distribution channels of imported goods, the price advantage of the cross-border e-commerce platform is still obvious, which means that even if the tax burden is increased, the overall price competitiveness of cross-border e-commerce has not changed. “This tax reform may affect a small number of consumers who are particularly sensitive to prices, but it will not materially affect people’s enthusiasm for cross-border shopping,” said Zhao Ping.

Yan Chunyong, deputy general manager of Beijing Suning Yunshang, said that in terms of cross-border commodity purchases, prices and taxation are not the most important considerations at present. For consumers, the price of a product is not the only factor that determines the consumer experience. It is more important whether the product is safe or not.

3 Does the cross-border e-commerce industry face “shuffle”?

At the same time as the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, it is also facing a chaotic situation of disorderly competition. Many links lack supervision and there are certain legal risks. Many cross-border e-commerce professionals believe that the tax reform on April 8 means that cross-border e-commerce companies have obtained the legal status recognized by the country and are conducive to regulating the phenomenon of unfair competition in the industry. However, there are also some people in the industry who are worried that cross-border e-commerce can get “name points” after paying the money? What does "fame" mean?

Wu Di, deputy general manager of VIP Logistics Development Co., Ltd., said that the new tax system is equivalent to a “growability certificate” for cross-border e-commerce. After the adjustment of the tax system, cross-border e-commerce has “settled” and can enjoy A series of rights and obligations, in-depth development.

Zhang Li, deputy director of the Institute of Electronic Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the cross-border e-commerce policy is aimed at maintaining the enterprise and not harming the enterprise. At present, all cross-border e-commerce companies do not make money. Enterprises that continue to “burn money” in the future will die. The current taxation mechanism is a temporary transition mechanism. The government will establish a long-term taxation mechanism. The real long-term mechanism is the same as general trade.

“The disorderly competition in this industry has come to an end. The government will promote it with one hand and follow the norm with one hand. The focus of the future policy will be on the basis of regulation.” Zhang Li said that as a company wants to take advantage of competitive advantages, the goal is to position it without tax exemption. How to do after the policy, otherwise it will feel very painful.

Zhang Li believes that the government should adapt to the market, and companies should also comply with policies and make cross-border e-commerce work together. The big trend must be good, but the process must be tortuous, and enterprises must make full preparations.

"As a cross-border e-commerce, we are very much looking forward to having a good name. Can we apply for an account when we pay?" Xing Yue, deputy general manager of Tmall International, said that "accounting" is not just about taxes, but also includes a full set of targets. Cross-border e-commerce policy and system design.

“What we are most afraid of doing business is today’s tax policy. We will introduce another policy tomorrow. We are also very scared to hear such expressions as the provisional standards. Can the government introduce a systemic thing at a time?” Xing Yue said. Stable policy expectations are not only the basic soil for Chinese business operations, but also a good international image.

“What is our reputation? We hope to respect personal trade and new things, give a reasonable name, and introduce a complete management system. When a tax is changed, this part of cross-border e-commerce products is characterized as goods. All of the laws and regulations that followed were applied in the 1990s. This will kill the industry, said Xing Yue.

Yan Chunyong, deputy general manager of Beijing Suning Yunshang, said that the cross-border e-commerce tax reform is conducive to regulating the phenomenon of unfair competition in the industry. Before talking about cross-border e-commerce, the first thing that comes to mind is Haitao, which was originally brought back from abroad by people. In this case, many links lack supervision and there are certain legal risks. After cross-border e-commerce tax reform, this issue can be regulated.