Export Agent Q&A

What current regulations shall be followed to correctly pay stamp duty in agency export business?

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I am a small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprise that has just started agency export business. This year, I have received more than ten agency export orders, including full-process export agency for production enterprises, and light agency models that only handle customs declaration and foreign exchange collection without advancing funds.

I have not paid much attention to stamp duty declaration issues before, recently received a notice from the tax bureau to make an annual stamp duty final settlement declaration. After going through the new implementation rules of the Stamp Duty Law in 2026, I still cannot figure out who should pay tax in our situation and what the tax base is.

I also worry that incorrect payment will leave abnormal tax records, affecting subsequent export tax rebates and customs declaration qualifications. I want to understand the specific operation methods, whether there are available reduction and exemption policies, and how to rectify after making mistakes.

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Expert Answer

Charlotte
CharlotteYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0

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First，sort out the core requirements of the pre-audit link，first organize all contracts related to agency export，and distinguish the nature of contracts under different cooperation models: if it is a general contract for full-power export agency，the two core amounts of the principal's export goods value and the agent's agency fee need to be clarified，if it is a light agency contract that only provides customs declaration and logistics supporting services，only the agency fee amount needs to be clarified. It is necessary to check in advance whether the tax obligations of both parties are clearly stipulated in the contract to avoid unclear rights and responsibilities in the future.

Operation requirements for core payment nodes: The agent shall pay stamp duty for the agency fee income it obtains under the "contract for work" tax item，with a tax rate of 0.03‰; the principal shall pay stamp duty for the export goods sales contract under the "sales contract" tax item，with a tax rate of 0.03‰. If the agency contract does not separately specify the agency fee amount，stamp duty shall be paid according to the total amount of the contract.

Plan for handling abnormal situations: If all taxes were incorrectly paid by one party before，or part of the taxes were underpaid，a correction declaration shall be filed through the electronic tax bureau within the current declaration period，and the tax supplement shall be paid in time if applicable. Failure to correct within the time limit will result in late fees and also affect the enterprise's tax credit rating.

Final compliance implementation: According to the current policies in 2026，eligible small and low-profit enterprises can enjoy the 50% reduction of stamp duty preference. Enterprises can automatically check to enjoy the preference when declaring，without advance record filing. After completing the declaration，all agency export contracts shall be kept for 10 years for tax inspection.

Alexander
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

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According to the implementation rules of the Stamp Duty Law in 2026, stamp duty payment for agency export business follows the principle of "separate taxation and itemized calculation", and there will be no double taxation on the same goods value. If the agency contract clearly allocates the goods value and agency service value, it is only necessary to calculate tax separately for the two parts, and there is no need to combine them to pay tax according to the total amount.

If the enterprise meets the identification standards of small and low-profit enterprises or small-scale VAT taxpayers, it can enjoy the 50% reduction of stamp duty preference, and the two preferences can be enjoyed together to further reduce tax costs. It should be noted that agency export contracts are not within the stamp duty exemption scope, and cannot be exempted from stamp duty according to general entrustment agency contracts. This is a place where many enterprises are prone to misjudgment. They need to confirm their qualifications in advance before declaration to avoid risks caused by wrong enjoyment of preferences.

Sophia
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0

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Vouchers related to stamp duty payment shall be included in the cross-border trade compliance archives for retention. No matter which payment method is adopted, tax payment vouchers, agency export contracts and export customs declarations shall be retained separately to cooperate with subsequent inspections by tax authorities.

If agency fees are settled in RMB, the tax payment vouchers shall correspond one-to-one with CIPS payment vouchers, so as to achieve consistency of capital flow, contract flow and tax payment information, and avoid compliance risks caused by information mismatch. If the tax liability occurs after January 1, 2026, declarations shall be made in accordance with the new tax source collection rules. There is no need to attach physical stamp papers anymore, and the whole process can be completed online through the electronic tax bureau.

Olivia
OliviaYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat

Tax inspection in the export tax rebate link will simultaneously check the payment status of stamp duty. If stamp duty payment is non-compliant, it will directly affect the verification process of export tax rebates, leading to delayed rebates or even failure to obtain normal tax rebates. In agency export business, it is necessary to ensure that the tax payment time of stamp duty is earlier than the declaration time of export tax rebates, so as to avoid the problem of delayed tax payment information.

For the agent, stamp duty declaration shall be completed in the current period when the agency fee invoice is issued to the principal. Do not delay the declaration across quarters or years, otherwise it will bring unnecessary obstacles to the export tax rebate process of the principal. After completing the declaration, a copy of the tax payment voucher can be provided to the principal as one of the necessary materials for the principal's tax rebate filing.

Emily
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

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The stamp duty payer shall be clearly marked in the agency export contract to avoid subsequent tax disputes. If there is no agreement in the contract, stamp duty shall be paid separately by both parties signing the contract according to the law, and neither party is obligated to bear the tax payable of the other party.

If one party incorrectly pays the tax of the other party, it cannot apply to the tax authority for tax refund deduction, and can only recover it from the other party through civil litigation, which will increase unnecessary legal and time costs. When drafting agency export contracts, special tax clauses shall be added to clarify the tax obligations of each party, divide responsibilities clearly, and avoid subsequent disputes from the source.

Sarah
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat

In the agency export customs declaration link, although customs does not directly verify the stamp duty payment status, under the information sharing and linkage mechanism between tax authorities and customs, abnormal tax information will be transmitted to the customs clearance system synchronously. If the abnormal tax situation is serious, it will affect the enterprise's customs clearance qualification, lead to a significant increase in the customs inspection rate of goods, and even affect the normal use of the enterprise's integrated customs clearance qualification.

If the enterprise has already had abnormal tax situations, it is necessary to complete rectification in time, obtain a compliance certificate issued by the tax authority, and update it to the customs enterprise credit file in time to avoid affecting the development of subsequent export customs clearance business.

Ella
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat

Although the proportion of stamp duty cost in agency export business is not high, it will form a certain hidden cost over time. When planning the business structure of agency export, different business segments can be split according to the enterprise's scale, so that business segments meeting the preference conditions can independently enjoy the 50% reduction of stamp duty, reducing the overall tax cost.

For long-term agency export business with multiple orders, framework agency contracts can be signed monthly, and tax can be calculated in installments according to the actual amount, without paying tax in advance according to the estimated total amount, improving capital utilization efficiency, optimizing the overall cash flow of the enterprise, and being more suitable for small and medium-sized agency export enterprises.

Note: We respect all users' opinions and contributions. However, comments and answers reflect the views of their respective authors only.
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