Export Tax Refund Process for Import and Export Trading Companies: Full Guide to 2026 Compliant Operations

Summary of Key Policy Changes for Export Tax Refund in 2026

In 2026,China has made structural adjustments to the tax refund rates for export products of different categories in line with the direction of industrial upgrading: refund rates for high value-added products are increased,while rates for high-energy-consuming and high-pollution products are reduced,which directly affects the profit margin of import and export trading companies.We have sorted out the comparison of refund rate changes for three types of common general cargo for enterprises’ reference:

Many small and medium-sized trading companies do not arrange dedicated personnel to follow up policy updates,and often use wrong tax refund rates,which either leads to less refund,or triggers inspection due to incorrect refund.Headquartered in Shanghai,Zhongshitong synchronizes policy updates from the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration in real time,supports cross-port declaration across the country,and works with the global agency network to complete pre-audit of HS codes in advance,avoiding classification errors from the source.

Key Process Nodes of Export Tax Refund for Import and Export Trading Companies

According to current regulatory requirements,the core operation nodes of export tax refund are divided into four steps,each with clear time limits and compliance requirements.Errors in any link will delay tax refund or even lead to refund failure:

• Pre-audit of customs declaration information: Prior to export customs declaration,verify HS code classification and consistency between declaration elements and actual goods,and check for problems such as missing brand authorization and wrong filling of specifications and models in advance.
• Verification of foreign exchange receipt and write-off: In 2026,the State Administration of Foreign Exchange explicitly requires that export tax refund must correspond to authentic foreign exchange receipt.Enterprises in the abnormal list need to provide additional foreign exchange receipt certificates,and the matching degree between bank slip information and customs declaration amount shall be checked in advance.
• Submission of tax refund declaration: The declaration shall be completed within four VAT declaration periods starting from the month following the export of goods.Overdue applications cannot be processed for tax refund,and can only be treated as tax exemption,resulting in loss of all refundable tax.
• Response to tax audit: After receiving audit correspondence,provide corresponding materials such as purchase contracts,logistics bills of lading,and foreign exchange receipt bank slips within 15 working days,and cooperate with the verification.

Practical Pitfall Avoidance: Common Compliance Risk Alerts

In 2025,Manager Ke from an import and export trading company in Ningbo contacted us.His company exported a batch of hardware tools,and misclassified the HS code into the category with 16% refund rate to enjoy higher refund,while the actual applicable refund rate was 13%.Three months after declaration,the company was audited by the tax authority: it was not only required to return the overpaid refund of RMB 120,000,but also listed as the key annual monitoring target,all subsequent refunds were delayed for review,which directly affected the company’s cash flow.After taking over the case,we helped him re-sort out classification rules,supplement and correct all declaration materials,followed up the audit process,and finally helped the enterprise remove from the key monitoring list,and the subsequent refund resumed normal processing timeframe.

Accurate HS code classification is the core of export tax refund compliance.Intentional misclassification of codes to fraudulently obtain higher tax refunds has touched the regulatory red line,which is a tax fraud behavior,will directly affect the import and export qualification of enterprises,and even lead to administrative penalties.In addition,there are two other common risks to be alert to: First,hidden cost traps.Some small agencies charge additional document fees and switch bill fees in the customs declaration process,and raise prices temporarily at the time of settlement,increasing the hidden cost of enterprises.Second,foreign exchange loss risk.Global exchange rate fluctuates greatly in 2026,many enterprises fail to receive foreign exchange in time,and exchange loss directly erodes tax refund profits.

Practical Value of Agency Tax Refund Services

Relying on the customs clearance and information advantages of Shanghai Port,our pre-audit pass rate is 12 percentage points higher than the industry average,and the average time for tax refund to be credited is 7-10 working days faster than enterprise self-declaration.Export goods from Shenzhen,Ningbo or Qingdao Port can be handled for unified declaration,breaking geographical restrictions and solving the declaration connection problem of cross-regional trade.

For exports to RCEP member states,we will complete the audit of certificate of origin in advance,to ensure that enterprises enjoy import tariff reduction at the destination without affecting domestic export tax refund declaration,and realize both dual benefits.For exports to EU and US markets,we will synchronize the latest trade barrier rules in advance,complete anti-dumping early warning and inspection,and avoid tax refund failure caused by document issues.

In response to the latest customs regulatory requirements in 2026,we conduct three pre-checks for each tax refund application: First,verify the consistency between HS code and actual goods to confirm the applicable tax refund rate is accurate.Second,check all declaration elements,and match brand,model,material and specification one by one to avoid targeted inspection caused by inconsistent information.Third,pre-assess goods value,compare with the customs valuation benchmark for the same category in advance,and prepare corresponding supporting documents to avoid tax refund impact caused by valuation adjustment.

For small and medium-sized import and export trading companies,independent operation of export tax refund requires dedicated personnel,which brings high labor cost,and it is easy to fall into pitfalls due to lack of experience.Entrusting professional agencies for operation not only saves labor cost,but also avoids risks in advance through a sound risk control system,ensuring that all refundable tax is fully claimed,and securing tax refund profits.