What key issues should be noted for customs declaration adjustment and tax refund declaration related to export quality deduction?
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Our company is engaged in the export of small household appliances. In the first half of 2026, we sent a batch of products worth USD 500,000 to a customer in Southeast Asia. After receiving the goods, the customer proposed to deduct 10% of the payment due to minor scratches on the appearance of some products.
Both parties negotiated and agreed to the deduction as required by the customer. At present, the remaining USD 450,000 has been settled through an offshore account. When our company recently declared the export tax refund for this batch of goods to the tax authority, the application was blocked due to this quality deduction.
The tax officer said that relevant supporting documents need to be provided, but we have not prepared such documents before. We are worried that the subsequent tax refund review will not be approved, and it will also affect the company's export tax refund reputation. We do not know how to handle it, nor what contents of customs declaration or declaration need to be adjusted, and hope to get professional guidance.
OliviaYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
First of all，sort out the core process nodes: for the export tax refund handling of quality deduction，it needs to be implemented from three links: **preliminary document preparation**，core declaration adjustment，and anomaly response. In the preliminary link，three types of core documents need to be supplemented: the first is the quality deduction confirmation letter issued by the overseas customer (the electronic version signed or sealed by both parties，and customs has fully accepted electronic documents in 2026)，the second is the red-ink offset voucher corresponding to the deduction (a red-ink invoice shall be issued corresponding to the original export invoice in the VAT invoicing system，indicating the reason for deduction)，the third is the foreign exchange receipt certificate issued by the bank (which shall mark the amount of the remaining payment and the description of deduction).
For the core declaration adjustment，note that in the export tax refund declaration system，the amount of the original customs declaration shall be adjusted to the actual foreign exchange receipt amount after deducting the deduction. Meanwhile，check the foreign exchange receipt type corresponding to "quality deduction" in the *Export Goods Foreign Exchange Receipt Form*，and upload the scanned copies of the supplemented deduction documents. If the original customs declaration has been completed with customs clearance，apply to the customs in advance to modify the amount item of the customs declaration，so as to ensure consistency with the foreign exchange receipt amount and invoice amount，and avoid the inconsistency of four flows (capital flow，goods flow，invoice flow，customs declaration flow).
In terms of anomaly response plan: if the tax authority launches an audit correspondence，prepare complete transaction records，including email communication records between both parties，photos of quality defects (confirmed by the customer)，deduction agreement，etc。to ensure all materials form a closed logic loop. If there is resistance in modifying the customs declaration，the secondary declaration method can be adopted，indicating "supplementary declaration of customs declaration corresponding to quality deduction" in the new customs declaration and associating the original customs declaration number. In the final implementation，ensure that the timeline of all documents is consistent，the deduction time is after foreign exchange receipt，and the issuance time of red-ink invoice is before declaration.
In addition，the tax authority has implemented the "cloud review" system for export tax refund in 2026. It is necessary to ensure that the uploaded electronic documents are clear and legible，so as to avoid being rejected due to blurry documents. At the same time，check the amounts of foreign exchange receipt，invoice issuance and customs declaration regularly to ensure the four flows are consistent for each business，and reduce subsequent tax refund risks.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
For the customs declaration adjustment of quality deduction, pay attention to the core logic of customs valuation: the deduction made by overseas customers belongs to non-price adjustment expense, which is not included in the core dutiable value scope of customs valuation. Therefore, there is no need to modify the dutiable value of the customs declaration, but it is required to provide the deduction agreement confirmed by both parties to the customs to ensure the authenticity of the transaction.
If the original customs declaration has been declared for tax refund, submit the non-tax-refund certificate issued by the tax authority to the customs when modifying the customs declaration, so as not to affect the declared tax refund process. In addition, the 2026 customs "Single Window" system has opened a special declaration module for quality deduction, where deduction documents can be uploaded directly without submitting paper materials separately, which improves customs clearance efficiency.
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
The export tax refund handling corresponding to quality deduction needs to be optimized from the perspective of tax cost: under the traditional mode, the deducted part shall be deemed as domestic sales and subject to tax. However, the State Taxation Administration has clarified in 2026 that mutually confirmed quality deduction does not need to be deemed as domestic sales, and can be directly deducted in the tax refund declaration.
If the enterprise makes cross-month declaration, adjust the originally declared export sales amount in the declaration of the next month to ensure consistency with the actual foreign exchange receipt amount. In addition, the VAT deferral policy can be used to defer the input VAT deduction corresponding to the deduction to the time when it actually occurs, so as to reduce the current tax cost and optimize the capital flow.
CharlotteYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Currency Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
For the compliance handling of quality deduction in cross-border transactions, it is necessary to ensure the consistency of receipt and payment of foreign exchange: for the settled remaining payment, mark the transaction type as "quality deduction" in the "Goods Trade Foreign Exchange Monitoring System" of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, so as to avoid being listed as "abnormal foreign exchange receipt".
If the deducted part involves foreign exchange refund, declare "refund of foreign exchange" in the monitoring system, and provide the mutually confirmed deduction agreement as supporting evidence. In addition, check the matching degree between foreign exchange receipt and payment and goods import and export regularly to ensure that the receipt and payment of foreign exchange of each transaction is consistent with the goods flow, and avoid foreign exchange compliance risks.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
For the export tax refund declaration of quality deduction, focus on verifying the compliance of documents: the core documents include deduction confirmation letter, red-ink invoice and foreign exchange receipt certificate, and it is necessary to ensure that the amount, time and transaction subject of the three documents are consistent. If any document is missing, request the overseas customer to reissue relevant supporting documents, or submit a situation statement to the tax authority.
The focus of tax refund audit in 2026 is "four flows consistency". It is required to ensure that each link of capital flow, goods flow, invoice flow and customs declaration flow has corresponding document support, so as to avoid tax refund rejection caused by missing documents.
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
For the legal handling of cross-border quality deduction, clarify the boundary of rights and responsibilities: explicitly stipulate the conditions, process and burden of proof of quality deduction in the trade contract of both parties, so as to avoid disputes afterwards.
If the customer unreasonably deducts payment on the grounds of quality, you can require the customer to pay the remaining payment in accordance with the contract, or resolve the dispute through arbitration. In addition, keep all communication records, emails, photos and other evidence related to the deduction, to ensure that complete legal basis can be provided during tax verification, and avoid tax refund obstruction caused by insufficient evidence.
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
For the supply chain optimization of quality deduction, reduce risks from the source: in subsequent transactions, add a quality inspection link before shipment to reduce deduction caused by appearance defects. At the same time, stipulate the "handling process of quality disputes" in the trade terms, clarify the time limit for the customer to propose deduction and the proof requirements, so as to avoid unreasonable deduction.
In addition, optimize the logistics path, shorten the delivery time, reduce the appearance damage of goods during transportation, lower the probability of quality deduction, and ensure the stability of export tax refund.