| Constant Promotion for Reform of Tax Collection & Administration System, Average Drawback Period Shortened by 12 Days for Enterprises in China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone
“Over 100 pages of paper documents were required and submitted to apply for export drawback in the past, and people had to go for processes for several times if the documents were incomplete, but now, it is more convenient that such declaration can be processed at the comprehensive service platform for the export drawback.” Recently, Yang Xuhong, in charge of financial affairs of Ruijia Technology Ceramics Industry (Sichuan) Co., Ltd. which has been Sichuan province’s first enterprise to enjoy the drawback policy of departure port, told the journalist that since the paperless declaration pilot of China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Sichuan FTZ), the drawback processing speed for the company has been accelerated by over 50% to reduce at least 2/3 of the taxpayer’s tax disposing cost.
The accelerating speed to process the drawback benefits from the constant and profound promotion for the reform of tax collection and administration system. Sichuan Provincial Tax Service gives the right to Chengdu and Luzhou Sub-zones, two parts of the Sichuan FTZ, to check and approve the foreign trade enterprises that drawback (exemption) of such enterprises only needs to be checked and approved by the county for once instead of twice respectively by the city and county. The administrative levels are simplified and reduced to improve the efficiency for such check and approval so that the average drawback period for enterprises has been shortened by around 12 workdays. Meanwhile, the whole province’s unified online declaration platform for export drawback is built to offer the export enterprises with such declaration service for “7 days per week and 24 hours per day” without the need to “go outside”. In the FTZ, the paperless declaration, check and approval for the export enterprise have been comprehensively carried out, improving the efficiency to this respect and accelerating the processing speed for export drawback.
Creating the “Upgrading Version” of Drawback at the Departure Port
Able to Enjoy the Benefits of Drawback Policy within Three Days
This January, the Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, and State Administration of Taxation jointly released the Notice on Perfecting the Drawback Policy of Departure Port, in which Luzhou Port has been included as one of China’s 13 departure ports. Luzhou Port and Chongqing’s Guoyuan Port become the “two heroes” together among departure ports of the western regions. Traditionally, it is required that export drawback can be applied for cargos, which are for export, after the corresponding customs clearance and export are completed in Shanghai. But since Luzhou Port’s being the departure port, enterprises registered in port-surrounding areas of Sichuan’s southern parts have been able to apply for export drawback at the taxation authority after they load the cargos onto the ships at Luzhou Port, and the drawback period can be at least 20 days in advance.
In order to make more enterprises benefit from the aforesaid policy, Sichuan Provincial Tax Service innovates an “upgrading” collaborated drawback pattern of “departure port and dry port” for port-surrounding areas of Sichuan’s southern parts that enterprises in the dry ports of Chengdu, Guiyang, Kunming, Chongqing, etc., which are close to Luzhou, can declare to local customs for “drawback of the departure port” when the cargos start to be transported from local place, and such enterprises can enjoy such drawback policy of the departure port at Luzhou Port if the cargos are arrived at Luzhou Port and completed with customs clearance for export within three days.
“Luzhou has a favorable location connecting four parts: Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing municipality, the pattern of ‘departure port and dry port’ greatly extends the scope of drawback policy of the departure port towards the surrounding areas, and the investment value and siphon effect of port-surrounding areas of Sichuan’s southern parts have been shown”, Ai Yingkui, chief economist of Bureau of Local Tax of Luzhou City, said.
Besides the Luzhou Port included in the scope of export drawback policy of the departure port, enterprises in the Chengdu Hi-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone are also listed into the pilot scope of general VAT taxpayer qualification for the zones specially supervised by China’s customs, and meanwhile, the enterprises for airplane financial leasing registered in such specially-supervised zones are allowed to apply for becoming the general VAT taxpayer and issuing the special VAT invoice. Such policies launched in Sichuan FTZ will further bring in driving forces of tax revenue for the FTZ’s enterprises to expand the market and strengthen the development.
Integrating the “Resultant Force” through Institutions
Sichuan Provincial Tax Service Launches Several Convenience-for-people Measures
As the legal person of Tuba (Chengdu) International Trade Co., Ltd., Abdoulaye, a foreign taxpayer, just finished four tax-related operations, like registration and information confirmation of “multiple certificates into one”, at the tax administration window of Sichuan Tianfu New Area’s government affairs center several days ago. “Very good!”, when receiving the journalist’s interview, Abdoulaye thumbed up for the “Chinese-English Bilingual Service” of the tax payment after the “one window to process all operations” has been launched. He told the journalist that “he was not good at Chinese, and in the past, he worried that the communication would influence the efficiency when he came to process the tax affairs, but now, don’t worry”. Abdoulaye having come to China for less than three years is attracted by Tianfu New Area’s graceful environment and favorable supporting and preferential policies, and always pays attention to the trends of Tianfu New Area. “It is the first time for me to process the operation after the tax affaire institutions are integrated, and I am very satisfied with bilingual service of the New Area’s tax affaire window.” On the spot, Abdoulaye also connected with the public Wechat account of the Tianfu New Area’s tax authority, and took away two Chinese-English tax affairs operation manual from the bulletin shelf of the said tax authority’s tax service hall, who said that he would share such practical manuals with his friends.
“Along with the annually increasing number of foreign enterprises investing in Chengdu, ‘foreign’ taxpayers, like Abdoulaye, become more and more.” The reform of tax collection and administration system offers bigger space to further optimize and integrate the operation process, and Tianfu New Area timely unifies the data archive to realize the tax affairs process of “one application, one set of documents, and one window for issuing the certificate”, according to relevant insider in charge of the Tianfu New Area’s tax authority. Meanwhile, this tax authority still takes advantage of carrying out the “open day for taxpayer” activity, combining the “process-based watch and experience” and “discussion on tax revenue”, and inviting foreign guests to freely talk about experience on tax affairs process, to realize mutual exchange of tax culture; it accurately targets on the hot issues focused by the foreign taxpayers, and holds the counseling on special “Belt & Road” enterprise-based tax revenue from time to time, so as to help enterprises learn well about the tax differences between China and overseas countries, answer the enterprises’ tax-related questions, and effectively prevent the overseas tax risk.
Bureau of Local Tax of Luzhou City takes “three considerate measures”. Firstly, it inspects and files the documents in advance: according to regulations of tax policy, export enterprise shall prepare all related documents for record and inspection within 15 days at the latest since its declaration for export drawback; Bureau of Local Tax of Luzhou City brings forward such inspection into routine service. Secondly, it carries out site inspection ahead of schedule: tax authority needs to conduct the site inspection after the enterprise declares for export drawback, if it is the first time for this enterprise to declare for such drawback; but Bureau of Local Tax of Luzhou City changes the traditional operations to brings forward such site inspection on business site, equipment, personnel, production capacity, and financial system filed in the export drawback record into routine management. Thirdly, it allows the appointment for inspection on suppliers: based on traditional operations, a pattern that a letter will be sent to the regulatory tax authority of the upstream suppliers is usually adopted for the inspection on such suppliers during the export drawback process, but the average apply period is around one month, which will be longer if with delays; while Bureau of Local Tax of Luzhou is active to bring forward such service to visit such suppliers for site inspection, check the authenticity of their supply business, and remove the tax-related risks.
“In the past, it took at least over two months for us to process the export drawback in Shenzhen, mainly due to the long period for confirmation by letters; Bureau of Local Tax of Luzhou allocates the service specialists for us to complete many checks and inspections in advance so that we can submit the application and finish the process in the same month; their services are so considerate”, according to Li Feng, legal person of Sichuan You Xin Da Technology Co., Ltd.
Related officer in charge of Sichuan Provincial Tax Service indicated that along with the in-depth promotion for the reform on tax collection and administration system, the tax authorities will further optimize the tax payment service in the future and offer practical measures for service optimization. In next step, the coverage scope of standard “single window” for international trade will be expanded, and the export drawback function will be launched under mature condition. Efforts will be made to strive for information sharing among multiple departments, and well take advantage of related information for enterprises to prevent the risk and enhance the development. Meanwhile, it will pursue for the actual effect of standardizing the management, constantly optimize and perfect the modes and means of tax administration, well maintain the tax order, create a harmonious tax environment, and comprehensively offer the convoy for the FTZ’s enterprise development. |
