Core Adjustments to 2026 Import/Export Tax Refund Policies and Practical Guide

I.Core Adjustments to 2026 Import/Export Tax Refund Policies and Practical Adaptation

The 2026 export tax refund policy continues the approach of "precise regulation," focusing on optimizing refund rates for high energy-consuming and high polluting products,and increasing support for new energy and high-end equipment industries.Taking general cargo as an example,the refund rate for chemical products (such as coatings and dyes) dropped from 13% to 9%,while mechanical and electrical equipment (such as industrial robots) remained unchanged at 13%,and some new energy battery components saw their refund rate increase from 10% to 15%.

Practical Experience: Manager Feng of a Shanghai chemical enterprise reported that due to an HS code classification error (misclassifying "coatings" as "other chemical raw materials"),the company’s refund rate dropped from 13% to 9%,resulting in a loss of approximately 800,000 RMB per shipment.Zhongshitong verified the "2026 Edition of the Import and Export Commodities Standard Declaration Directory" and found that the product should actually be classified under the "coatings" subheading (HS code 28349000).Ultimately,this helped the enterprise complete a corrective declaration and recover over 1.5 million RMB in tax payments.

1.1 Strategies for Coping with Refund Rate Changes

• Complete HS code pre-classification 3 months in advance and obtain a pre-classification conclusion through the "Customs Commodity Classification Pre-ruling System" (Zhongshitong can assist enterprises in submitting applications);
• For sensitive categories (such as chemicals and textiles),additionally verify whether the "use" and "component content" in the declaration elements match the physical goods to avoid refund rate reductions due to classification disputes;
• Newly established enterprises are advised to prioritize categories with stable refund rates (such as medical devices) for export to reduce policy fluctuation risks.

II.Practical Operation of Certificate of Origin Endorsement and Tax Refund Linkage

The Certificate of Origin is one of the core vouchers for export tax refunds.In 2026,RCEP member countries added a "Regional Value Component" (RVC) verification requirement.Some enterprises saw their refund amounts decrease by 10%-15% due to calculation errors in the "value component" of the Certificate of Origin.Taking a Shanghai electronic enterprise exporting to Vietnam as an example,the "material origin" in its Certificate of Origin was not clearly marked as "China," so Customs ruled it did not comply with RCEP rules,affecting the progress of the tax refund.

Practical Points: Enterprises need to complete the Certificate of Origin application before customs declaration,focusing on verifying the following elements:

• The production enterprise name is consistent with the filing record;
• The export commodity HS code matches the "commodity code" on the Certificate of Origin exactly;
• If "material import" is involved,import customs declarations and VAT invoices must be provided additionally to ensure the calculation of "domestic procurement value" is correct.

III.Collaborative Operation of Tariff Reduction and Tax Refund

In 2026,a new policy on "the linkage of processing trade manual write-off and tax refund" was added.Enterprises must complete domestic sales tax supplementation and tax refund declarations before manual write-off.A Shanghai garment enterprise failed to write off its processing manual in time,resulting in 3 million RMB in security deposits being frozen by Customs,affecting subsequent tax refunds.Zhongshitong assisted the enterprise in completing the manual write-off through a closed-loop operation of "tax supplementation first,then tax refund," unfreezing the security deposit and completing the tax refund within 3 working days.

Compliance Red Lines: The following behaviors will trigger tax refund audit anomalies:

• Declaring "export tax refund" and "tariff reduction" on the same customs declaration simultaneously without providing corresponding supporting documents;
• When processing trade goods are sold domestically,failing to calculate the tax supplementation amount based on "original import price of materials + reasonable costs," resulting in excessive tax refunds;
• After enjoying tariff reduction,enterprises in Free Trade Zones fail to complete "actual departure" write-off within the prescribed period (180 days),and are identified as "false exports."

IV.2026 Tax Refund Risk Early Warning and Avoidance

1.Risk of Declaration Data Consistency: The Customs Document Review Center verifies the consistency of declaration data and physical goods through a "big data comparison system." For example,a Shanghai hardware enterprise filled in "product specification" as "diameter 5mm" in the declaration elements,but the actual specification was "diameter 4.9mm," causing a 3-month delay in the tax refund.Zhongshitong recommends that enterprises adopt a "double-person review system" (declarant + document clerk) to ensure data accuracy.

2.Exchange Rate Loss Risk: In 2026,the fluctuation range of the RMB against the USD reached 8%.Enterprises need to lock in the exchange rate in advance through "forward settlement." Zhongshitong can assist enterprises in locking the exchange rate before the tax refund arrives to avoid the shrinking of the actual tax refund amount.

3.Hidden Cost Traps: Some agencies use "fast tax refund" as a gimmick to charge high service fees (e.g.2%) and hide hidden expenses such as demurrage charges and document exchange fees.Zhongshitong promises an "all-inclusive price" service with all fees disclosed in advance,helping enterprises save an average of 300,000 RMB per shipment in hidden costs over the past year.

V.Advantages of Shanghai Port Tax Refund Agency

As a professional agency headquartered in Lujiazui,Shanghai,Zhongshitong possesses three core capabilities:

• Cross-port declaration nationwide: Can handle tax refund declarations for 15 major ports including Beijing,Shenzhen,and Ningbo; enterprises do not need to travel for cross-port customs declarations;
• Global agency network coordination: Cooperates with agents in ports such as Hong Kong,Singapore,and Hamburg to realize a full-chain service of "export - tax refund - import";
• 24-hour emergency response: When enterprises encounter issues such as Customs inspections or tax refund anomalies,the mechanism of "response within 3 hours,solution within 24 hours" can be initiated immediately.

Summary: The 2026 import and export tax refund policy presents the coexistence of "strict regulation + high support." Enterprises need to start from three links: "pre-event compliance (classification),in-process monitoring (data verification),and post-event optimization (risk review)," and leverage professional agencies to avoid policy risks and maximize tax refund benefits.