Are All Export Goods Eligible for Export Tax Refund Policy
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I am engaged in the export of small and medium-sized home appliances. In the past two years, I have gradually expanded my business coverage to Southeast Asia and cross-border e-commerce. Recently, several orders are due for shipment, and I suddenly recalled the export tax refund policy. I heard from peers before that not all exports are eligible for tax refunds, which makes me quite worried now.
For example, I have 3 ordinary foreign trade orders shipped by sea, 2 small parcel orders delivered through cross-border e-commerce platforms, a batch of free samples sent to clients, and one order whose supplier is a small factory with incomplete input invoices. Can I apply for tax refund for all these cases? If not, my previous cost accounting will be incorrect, and I may face considerable losses. I want to figure out exactly which scenarios meet the tax refund requirements and what specific materials need to be prepared, to avoid unnecessary wasted efforts.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
Export tax refund is not applicable to all export goods，and compliance must be verified one by one through all full-link segments. The first step is pre-document review: confirm whether the goods are included in the *2026 List of Tax Refund Eligible Goods*，which covers more than 90% of industrial manufactured products，while prohibited and restricted goods (such as endangered species products and high energy-consuming products) are excluded. The second step is core node alignment: three core conditions including customs declaration and outbound departure，foreign exchange collection credentials and complete input credentials must be satisfied. In 2026，the foreign exchange collection requirement for cross-border e-commerce small parcels is simplified，which only requires the platform settlement voucher instead of bank payment memo.
For abnormal contingency plans: if input credentials are incomplete，you can request the supplier to reissue the corresponding special VAT invoice. Small-scale suppliers can apply for invoices at a 3% collection rate，and the tax refund shall be calculated at the 3% tax refund rate. For sample exports，you need to mark "no commercial value" on the customs declaration form. Such samples can only be declared for tax exemption，and cannot qualify for tax refund. In final compliance implementation，ensure that the "trade mode" on the customs declaration form is consistent with the actual situation，use "General Trade" for ordinary foreign trade，and use supervision codes "9610" and "1210" for cross-border e-commerce small parcels. The difference between the foreign exchange collection amount and the customs declaration amount shall not exceed 5%，otherwise official verification will be triggered.
In addition，the newly added "pre-declaration verification function for export tax refund" in 2026 can check document problems in advance. The verification must be completed before formal declaration，and error items need to be corrected within 3 working days to avoid declaration failure. The tax refund application must be submitted within 90 days after the goods are declared outbound. Applications submitted after the time limit will not be eligible for the policy，and no extension is allowed.
WilliamYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics AdvisorStart a Chat
Ordinary sea-shipped foreign trade orders shall be declared under the "General Trade" supervision code, and the corresponding customs declaration form shall clearly state the product name, HS code and trade purpose. For cross-border e-commerce small parcels, supervision codes "9610" (direct mail) or "1210" (bonded warehouse) shall be used, and the two codes correspond to different tax refund rules. If the goods are free samples, the customs declaration form shall be marked "no commercial value". Such goods cannot qualify for tax refund, and can only be processed for tax exemption.
The HS code classification at customs declaration must be completely consistent with the information on the input invoice. In 2026, customs carries out stricter verification on HS codes, and classification errors will directly lead to rejection of tax refund review. In addition, the goods must actually depart from the territory. Transshipment goods that have not arrived at the outbound port cannot apply for tax refund, and the validity of the outbound departure credential must be confirmed.。
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat
Export tax refund requires valid transportation outbound departure credentials, such as sea bill of lading, air waybill, cross-border parcel waybill, etc. The sea bill of lading shall match the port of loading and port of discharge on the customs declaration form. For port change or transshipment, ensure the transshipment information does not affect the validity of the outbound departure certificate.
In 2026, logistics data of part of the transshipment ports will be synchronized to customs, no extra transshipment certificate is required, but confirm in advance whether the logistics service provider is compliant. Cross-border e-commerce small parcels shall provide the waybill issued by the platform, and the consignee on the waybill shall be consistent with the overseas consignee on the customs declaration form. Demurrage fees generated by goods not picked up within the free storage period will not affect tax refund, as long as the goods have actually departed from the territory.。
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
Export tax refund requires complete valid VAT input credentials. If general taxpayer suppliers provide 13% special invoices, tax refund shall be processed according to the corresponding tax refund rate. If small-scale suppliers issue substituted 3% special invoices, tax refund shall be calculated at the 3% tax refund rate.
Incomplete input credentials must be supplemented before application, otherwise the application cannot pass the review. In 2026, the new cross-border e-commerce VAT deferral policy allows deferred VAT payment through deferral mechanisms in some countries of the European Union and Southeast Asia.
Ensure the tax refund application information is consistent with the deferral declaration information to avoid tax risks. In addition, deemed export scenarios (such as foreign aid and overseas investment) need to provide official certificates, and the tax refund rules are different from those of ordinary exports.。
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
Export tax refund requires valid foreign exchange collection credentials. In 2026, the foreign exchange collection requirement for cross-border e-commerce is simplified, which only requires the platform settlement voucher. Ordinary foreign trade requires bank foreign exchange collection memo, and the payer shall be consistent with the overseas consignee. Pre-received payment shall be registered in the State Administration of Foreign Exchange system, otherwise tax refund will be affected.
If the difference between the settlement amount and the export amount on the customs declaration form exceeds 5%, reasonable explanations (such as sample fee and commission) shall be provided. Retain the message of CIPS system collection as credential to avoid tax refund failure caused by non-standard payment vouchers. For offshore account collection, ensure the source of funds is compliant to avoid being marked as abnormal by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.。
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
Export tax refund requires clear specification of the nature of goods in the trade contract. General trade contracts shall specify the sales value, and free samples shall be marked "no commercial value". If export adjustment is caused by force majeure, official force majeure certificate shall be provided before applying for tax refund.
If the goods infringe overseas intellectual property rights, they will be detained by customs and cannot qualify for tax refund. Complete customs intellectual property protection record in advance. The contract payment clause shall specify the foreign exchange collection method (such as T/T and letter of credit) to avoid collection failure caused by non-standard payment methods which affects tax refund.。
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
Documents and records shall be filed for record within 15 days after export, including customs declaration form, bill of lading, contract, invoice, foreign exchange collection credential, etc. In 2026, the "four flows consistency" (consistency of subjects of goods flow, capital flow, invoice flow and contract flow) is required, and agency agreement shall be provided for entrusted export. If the information on the input invoice is inconsistent with the goods information, the invoice shall be red-voided and reissued.
The pre-declaration shall be submitted through the customs tax refund system, which automatically verifies the documents, and error items shall be corrected before formal application. The tax refund application shall be submitted within 90 days after the goods depart from the territory, no tax refund will be allowed for applications exceeding the time limit, and all documents shall be retained for more than 10 years for future reference.。