China
China Monthly Tax Update: April 2025
In April 2025, China’s State Council approved new Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zones in Hainan and 15 cities, expanding to 165 nationwide. This initiative enhances customs facilitation and tax incentives, promoting high-quality development and compliance in e-commerce and international shipping sectors.
In this China Monthly Tax Brief for April 2025, we highlight key taxation developments for businesses:
On April 25, 2025, the State Council issued official approval (Guohan (2025) No. 40) to establish new Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zones (综试区) in Hainan Island and 15 additional cities and regions, including Qinhuangdao, Baoding, and Erenhot. This marks the eighth round of expansion since the launch of the first pilot zone in Hangzhou in 2015, bringing the total number of cities covered to 165 nationwide.
The expansion is part of China’s broader strategy to promote high-quality development in cross-border e-commerce by advancing policy innovation and institutional reform. These new pilot zones will focus on key priorities such as customs facilitation, preferential tax treatment, and overseas warehouse construction. They are also intended to support regional trade upgrading and contribute replicable models for national policy scaling.
According to the Notice, the incentive measures for A-grade taxpayers span 18 categories covering 44 facilitations across tax services and management, project approval procedures, financial fund utilization, and more. Key examples include:
This initiative underscores Qinghai’s commitment to fostering tax compliance and rewarding trustworthy taxpayers through streamlined administration and tangible benefits.
On April 21, 2025, China’s State Taxation Administration (STA) issued a revised version of the Administrative Measures for Value Added Tax (VAT) Refunds on International Transport Vessels (Announcement [2025] No. 10), replacing the previous version issued in 2020. The revision clarifies refund eligibility, refines filing procedures, and introduces compliance requirements for transport enterprises purchasing domestically built vessels.
This policy update aims to standardize and streamline VAT refunds for vessel purchases, supporting China’s international shipping industry while ensuring compliance and reducing risks of abuse.
| This article was first published by China Briefing , which is produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm assists foreign investors throughout Asia from offices across the world, including in in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and India . Readers may write to info@dezshira.com for more support. |
Read the rest of the original article.
