China simplifies export tax exemption for e-commerce

For example, to benefit from the tax break, businesses need to have been granted the exemption by the relevant tax authority and to be general value added tax payers. The e-commerce exporter will need to have obtained an export declaration form, but only for export tax exemption purposes.

It is hoped that the new regulations will encourage a further increase in Chinas cross-border e-commerce. Currently, with e-commerce often involving large quantities of small value items, businesses are unable to access tax rebates without incurring uneconomical costs.

According to official statistics, the value of Chinese cross-border e-commerce grew by 25% from USD 265 billion (RMB1.6 trillion) in 2011 to USD 330 billion (RMB 2 trillion) in 2012, as is expected to have shown a further 30% increase in 2013. It has been predicted that its total value will reach USD 1.05 trillion (RMB6.4 trillion) in 2016, when it would account for 18.5% of the value of Chinas total international trade.

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