Let me ask you a question first: Do you know what information the tax authorities can access about you?

Most cross-border e-commerce business owners respond, ”I know a little bit about it, I guess.”

But ”having a general idea” isn’t enough. After all, the areas you’re unfamiliar with are precisely where problems are most likely to arise. This article breaks down and explains all the data the tax authorities can access. By the end, you’ll understand why continuing to use the old methods in 2026 is tantamount to breaking the rules right under the tax authorities’ noses.

I. What Exactly Can the Tax Authority See? Four-Dimensional Data Fully Integrated

Dimension 1: Platform Data—Every sale is pushed

Starting with Amazon’s first data submission on October 13, 2025, sales data from cross-border e-commerce platforms will be officially integrated into the tax system. For your store on the platform, every order amount, SKU category, shipping address, payment receipt record, and refund rate will be submitted to the tax authorities on a quarterly basis.

The key point is: you’re not supposed to submit ”aggregated data”—you’re supposed to submit ”detailed data.” The tax authorities can see the sales figures for each of your SKUs. Do you think you can just enter a single aggregated figure when filing your return? The system automatically cross-checks the data—if the submitted data doesn’t match the reported data, an alert is triggered immediately.

Dimension Two: Bank Data—Fund Flows Leave No Room for Hiding

Phase IV of the Golden Tax System has been integrated with banking systems. Your business accounts, personal accounts, and third-party payment accounts—any large-scale fund transfers related to your business operations are all subject to monitoring.

In particular, third-party payment collection tools (such as Lianlian, PingPong, and Wanlihui) used to operate in a ”gray area” of tax regulation, where the tax authorities couldn’t track incoming funds. Now, all licensed payment institutions are required to report transaction data to the regulatory authorities. The tax authorities have a clear picture of which account your payments are deposited into, the exact amounts, and how frequently they occur.

The Third Dimension: Customs Data—Whether to File a Declaration or Not, the System Knows

The customs and tax systems are now integrated in real time. If you have customs declaration records—the data is synchronized, and the tax authorities know how much you’ve exported and by what means. If you don’t have customs declaration records but platform data shows that you’ve made substantial sales overseas, the system automatically flags this as a risk of ”suspected export via third-party purchase” or ”deemed domestic sales.”

In cases of undervaluation, the system directly compares the platform’s selling price with the customs declaration value; if the difference exceeds the threshold, it automatically triggers a written inquiry. It’s not that the case officer is targeting you—it’s that the system flags your case for the officer to investigate.

Fourth Dimension: Vendor Data—Automatic Matching of Incoming and Outgoing Transactions

The fully electronic invoicing system under the Golden Tax Phase IV initiative allows every input and output invoice to be automatically matched. The system automatically compares input and output data to track how much your factory has purchased, how many invoices it has issued, and how much it has sold.

For sellers who have consistently filed zero tax returns, have zero input tax, but generate massive sales data on the platform, the system has already established a specific ”high-risk profile”—the algorithm flags them directly without the need for human judgment.

II. Which ”high-risk profiles” has the system already flagged?

Based on the risk control lists currently issued by tax authorities in many parts of the country, the following types of sellers are most likely to be flagged:

① The platform’s annual sales exceed 5 million, but it has consistently reported zero or extremely low sales—the discrepancy in the data is too large, triggering an automatic system alert.

② There is sales data from the platform, but customs declaration records show zero—it is immediately flagged as a ”suspected fake export.”

③ The third-party collection account shows a large amount of incoming payments, but there are no corresponding transactions in the corporate account—a break in the cash flow chain

④ Multi-store and multi-entity operations, with revenue distributed across different companies but with the same person as the actual controller—suspected revenue consolidation

⑤ Reporting consecutive losses while continuing to expand operations—this defies business logic and indicates abnormal profit margins

These five categories are not merely ”subject to potential scrutiny”; rather, ”lists are already being distributed in batches.” Following the conclusion of the annual tax settlement on May 31, risk control lists are being pushed out in batches.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Cell phone: 18676749275 ｜ WeChat: qcygscszk

III. You Know You’re Being Watched—So What?

This isn’t meant to cause anxiety. Quite the opposite—only by knowing what the tax authorities can see can you know where to start with compliance.

The first step in ensuring compliance isn’t to rush to the tax office to file a return, but to first figure out exactly where you stand: how much data the platform has, how much has been reported, and how large the discrepancy is; whether customs declaration records match shipment volumes; whether there are any breaks in the cash flow; and whether suppliers are willing to cooperate with invoicing.

Sort through all these issues thoroughly before deciding which compliance path to take. Otherwise, if you file a report blindly, you may end up exposing issues that weren’t originally that serious in even greater detail.

IV. Why Choose Qicaiying for Cross-Border Financial and Tax Compliance?

Once you know where the risks lie, the next step is to get everything done before the tax authorities catch on. This isn’t something you can pull off with a last-minute, off-the-cuff decision—it requires a professional team, systematic tools, and a deep understanding of tax logic.

Digital Empowerment: Seizing the Initiative

Qicaiying has invested tens of millions to develop its own digital management system, standardizing all key stages of cross-border tax and financial compliance and providing real-time visibility into progress. Clients can track the progress of compliance plan implementation in real time. Leveraging AI-powered analysis, the system quickly assesses whether your business structure aligns with tax authority guidelines, identifies risks of being treated as domestic sales, and verifies whether tax refund conditions are met. This makes complex tax determinations clear and transparent—relying on data, not guesswork.

A professional team of nearly 400 people handles tens of thousands of compliance cases annually

Our team consists of experienced certified public accountants, tax advisors, cross-border tax and finance consultants, and licensed Hong Kong company secretaries. We hold three TCSP company secretary licenses and operate our own Hong Kong accounting firm. We have handled cross-border compliance cases in major cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Shanghai, and Ningbo. We are familiar with the differences in interpretation among local tax authorities and can provide practical advice tailored to your specific city.

End-to-end support so you can get everything done ahead of time

We do more than just one thing for you. Qicaiying provides full-lifecycle support for cross-border finance and taxation: reviewing historical accounts prior to applying for a fixed-rate tax assessment → establishing a compliant structure → handling import/export qualifications → implementing 9810 tax refunds → annual filing and maintenance → providing full-process support in liaising with the tax authorities. The window of opportunity is still open; completing each step in advance is the most cost-effective choice right now.

Regulation will only become stricter, and data will only become more transparent. The cost of taking proactive action is always lower than the cost of reacting passively.

Want to know what risk level your business falls under? Scan the QR code to add a Qicaiying consultant and get a free data risk assessment to see how the tax authorities view your business.

Cell phone: 18676749275 ｜ WeChat: qcygscszk