Can export tax refund be normally processed after completing compliant export customs declaration under EXW trade term?
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I am a small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprise exporting home wood products. Last month, I just received an order from a long-standing European and American customer. The customer required signing the contract under EXW factory delivery terms, and the freight forwarder was specified by the customer themselves.
After the goods were taken from the factory last week, I engaged a cooperative customs broker to declare customs in the name of our company. Now I have obtained the customs declaration form for tax refund. I have never handled tax refund under EXW before.
I heard from peers that many people cannot get the refund in this mode, and some are even judged as domestic sales requiring tax payment. I am particularly anxious now and want to confirm whether EXW customs declaration export can actually get tax refund, and what aspects should be paid attention to during operation to smoothly obtain the tax refund amount?
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
EXW customs declaration export can fully process tax refund. Most claims in the market that "EXW cannot get tax refund" are misunderstandings targeting early sporadic cases of non-standard operations. Under the current 2026 export tax refund management rules，as long as core compliance requirements are met，normal declaration can be made.
In the pre-document review stage，pay attention to three details. First，although the transaction method on the customs declaration form is filled as FOB by default，when declaring tax refund，split the freight and insurance items according to the actual FOB price. Do not directly use the EXW transaction price to declare the FOB price.The product name，specifications，and quantity on all documents must completely match the input VAT invoice. Avoid any slight category deviations to prevent triggering system warnings.
At the core node connection，do well in foreign exchange receipt verification. Under EXW terms，the customer specifies the freight forwarder to arrange transportation. Your side only needs to bear responsibility before factory pickup. In the foreign exchange receipt process，ensure that the payment account of the overseas customer completely corresponds to the information of the overseas consignee on the customs declaration form.Third-party payments without written explanation are not allowed. Under the four-flow consistency verification requirements，retain goods flow documents such as factory outbound slips and pickup receipt slips from the customer-specified freight forwarder. There is no need to additionally provide original bills of lading.
Prepare contingency plans in advance for letter investigation response. Enterprises declaring tax refund under EXW for the first time are likely to trigger the letter investigation process by the local tax authority. Organize trade contracts，communication records，and goods ownership transfer documents in advance for reference. Do not create materials temporarily.The formal declaration time should not be later than the April VAT declaration period of the year following the export customs declaration date. For overdue foreign exchange receipts，timely handle deferred foreign exchange receipt filing. As long as all materials form a logical closed loop，tax refund can be successfully completed.
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
The filling rules for the transaction method column on the customs declaration form have been optimized in the latest 2026 customs integration system. Under EXW, the actual transaction terms can be noted in the remarks column during customs declaration. There is no need to forcibly fill the transaction method as EXW. The system's default FOB transaction method only requires your side to manually adjust the corresponding FOB price calculation logic during subsequent tax refund declaration.
If the transaction method was mistakenly filled as EXW previously, a secondary declaration modification can be initiated with customs. There is no need to go through the complex process of deleting and re-declaring. After modification is completed, simultaneously upload the modification receipt of the customs declaration form to the tax refund declaration system to resolve the system's logical verification errors.
Note that the modification operation must be initiated within 30 days after the customs declaration form is cleared. After the deadline, the system will lock modification permissions. Subsequently, only paper explanations can be submitted to the local customs for manual review channels, prolonging the entire tax refund processing cycle.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
In the latest 2026 cross-border tax rules, export tax refund under EXW can match the VAT deferral policy applicable scenarios. If your supplier is within the Yangtze River Delta compliant zone, you can directly have the supplier handle VAT deferral for export goods flow, without prepaying input VAT in advance, further reducing the company's cash flow occupation. During operation, pay attention to the fairness of related-party transaction pricing.
The EXW goods value cannot differ from the FOB goods value of similar goods in the same period by more than 5%, otherwise it will trigger BEPS-related anti-tax avoidance checks, requiring adjustment of taxable income. In the scenario of non-resident enterprise withholding tax determination, under EXW terms, your side does not need to bear any costs after goods leave the country, and does not need to withhold and pay any overseas service taxes. All cost documentation must be retained for at least 7 years for reference.
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
Foreign exchange receipt operations under EXW must completely match the latest 2026 CIPS RMB cross-border payment rules. If your side uses RMB cross-border settlement, mark the corresponding trade term attributes when declaring the foreign exchange list, to avoid SWIFT messages triggering warnings due to transaction background and declaration information mismatch.
In the scenario of offshore account foreign exchange receipt, submit the corresponding trade contract to the account opening bank in advance for background filing, to avoid temporary account freezing after large foreign exchange receipts. In the foreign exchange settlement and account balancing process, do not mix foreign exchange funds from different orders to offset corresponding customs declaration forms.
Achieve single-ticket correspondence. It is best to mark the last 9 digits of the corresponding customs declaration form in the remarks column of each foreign exchange receipt slip, significantly reducing the sampling probability by the foreign exchange bureau and avoiding foreign exchange receipt abnormalities affecting tax refund progress.
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
Document filing under EXW must comply with the latest four-flow consistency verification requirements. In addition to regular customs declaration forms, input invoices, and foreign exchange receipt slips, additionally supplement goods ownership transfer related documents, including factory outbound weighing slips, pickup personnel identity verification records from the customer-specified freight forwarder, and goods ownership transfer slips stamped by both parties. Organize the entire set of materials into a volume for retention and reference.
During the pre-declaration verification stage, if information mismatch prompts appear, do not directly ignore and force submission. First, check whether the product name on the input invoice completely matches the category description corresponding to the customs code. For cross-month declaration, enter the corresponding deferred declaration explanation in the system in advance. If a letter investigation notice is received, all submitted materials must completely match the book inventory records, without any logical contradictions.
CharlotteYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Currency Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
Many enterprises choose EXW terms to reduce their own logistics operation costs. In actual operation, the trade contract can be supplemented to stipulate that the goods ownership transfer node is completed within 24 hours after factory outbound, completely avoiding all responsibilities related to goods after they leave the country. In the cost actuarial model, under EXW mode, your side does not need to bear sea freight, international insurance, and other related costs.
The corresponding FOB price calculation only needs to add the factory price to the short-distance transportation cost from the factory to the port. Do not additionally list logistics costs not borne by your side, to avoid FOB price calculation logic errors during subsequent tax refund declaration. If long-term shipment volume is stable, some EXW orders can be converted to FOB orders, further optimizing the smoothness of tax refund declaration and reducing the probability of being checked.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
In EXW trade contracts, clearly stipulate relevant clauses that the overseas customer self-designates the freight forwarder and self-handles all transportation procedures after export. Do not include any descriptions in the contract that your side arranges sea freight or pays international leg freight on behalf of others, to avoid subsequent confusion in trade term attribute determination.
All emails and instant communication records with customers regarding EXW delivery terms must be completely retained. If tax checks occur later, they can serve as evidence of genuine transaction background. Do not accept customer requests to modify the transaction method to other terms during customs declaration while actually still executing under EXW, to avoid legal risks of goods ownership and customs declaration information mismatch, and also avoid subsequent compliance gaps in tax refund.
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat
If goods under EXW encounter customs on-site inspection, there is no need for your side to arrange personnel to accompany throughout. You can pre-authorize the customer-specified freight forwarder to handle all inspection-related matters on your behalf. Only need to pre-synchronize the accurate product name, composition, photos, and other information of the goods to the freight forwarder.
For container unpacking inspection response, confirm the actual loading situation of the goods in advance. Do not have goods product name and declaration information mismatch. During the machine inspection process, if image abnormality prompts appear, immediately explain to customs that this batch of goods is directly delivered by EXW factory.
All details can be confirmed with the overseas consignee. Do not arbitrarily submit explanation materials that do not match the actual situation. The inspection notice obtained after inspection completion should be simultaneously archived into the tax refund document filing materials, as a supplementary proof of genuine goods flow.