• Amazon sellers should be wary not of “data discrepancies,” but of “discrepancies that cannot be explained.”

“I clearly filed my taxes based on the data from the Amazon backend, so why are the tax authorities still questioning me?”

This is an issue that has recently been of great concern to many cross-border e-commerce sellers.

This is especially true for businesses operating on platforms such as Amazon, Temu, and AliExpress, where their backends handle a large volume of orders, refunds, commissions, advertising fees, shipping costs, and taxes withheld by the platforms every day.

The platform has one set of data, the finance department has another, and the bank has yet another set of transaction records.

Finally, when it comes to filing tax returns, companies are prone to:

Platform Sales ≠ Financial Revenue
Financial Revenue ≠ Funds Received in the Bank
Amount Received by the Bank ≠ Amount Declared for Export Customs Clearance

So the boss's first reaction is often:

“Could it be that the tax office’s data is incorrect?”

But what we should be thinking about now is:

Why do the data differ across different systems? Can these discrepancies be explained? Is there supporting documentation?

This is the real issue that needs to be addressed when it comes to financial and tax compliance in cross-border e-commerce.

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1,Let’s first look at a recent case: Data discrepancies can indeed trigger tax scrutiny.

In 2026, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Tax Bureau of the State Taxation Administration released a case study involving data comparison at an e-commerce company.

Local tax authorities compared tax-related information from online platform companies with the companies' tax return data and discovered an e-commerce companyThere was a significant discrepancy between the reported revenue and the platform’s transaction volume from July through December 2025.The

After tax officials further cross-checked the back-end transaction records with the details in the tax returns, they discovered that:

It is not simply a matter of companies “deliberately underreporting,” but rather a matter ofMisunderstanding of the rules for recognizing revenue from promotional activities such as discounts and free shipping...which ultimately resulted in underreporting of income.

The company subsequently made the correction. (Guangxi Tax Bureau)

This case is well worth Amazon sellers’ attention.

Because it explains:

Tax risks do not necessarily stem from “intentional concealment of income”; they may also result from a company’s misinterpretation of the financial and tax definitions applied to platform data.

So, when cross-border sellers face tax data comparisons in the future, what really matters isn’t just a single phrase:

“I just followed what was listed in the Amazon backend.”

Rather, it is able to answer:

“Why do your reported figures differ from the platform’s data?”

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2,Why is it becoming easier for tax authorities to detect “discrepancies in the data” these days?

The key change stems from a very significant regulatory update.

In June 2025, the State Council issued the “Regulations on the Reporting of Tax-Related Information by Internet Platform Companies,” stipulating that internet platform companies must, in accordance with the law, report relevant tax-related information concerning business operators and employees on their platforms to the tax authorities.

Subsequently, the State Taxation Administration issued Announcement No. 15 of 2025, which further clarified the scope, content, timing, and methods of reporting by platforms.

Specifically, the information on platform operators that the platform is required to submit includes:

• Name/Full Name
• Unified Social Credit Code or Taxpayer Identification Number
• Store Name
• Store Unique Identifier
• Contact information and other personal details

At the same time, this also involves business operators on the platform:Revenue informationand other tax-related information. In principle, platform companies should submit the relevant information for the previous quarter by the month following the end of the quarter. (China Government Network)

What’s more noteworthy is:

These rules do not apply only to domestic platforms.

The State Taxation Administration has clarified that overseas internet platform companies falling within the specified scope are also subject to the relevant rules on the reporting of tax-related information. (China Government Network)

As of November 2025, according to information released by the State Taxation Administration, there have beenMore than 7,000 domestic and international platformsFulfill the obligation to report tax-related information in accordance with the law. (China Tax Network)

This means that cross-border sellers must change an outdated way of thinking:

Stop treating “platform back-end” and “tax filing” as two unrelated sets of data.

The degree of correlation between platform data, corporate financial data, and other tax-related information is increasing.

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3,But there’s a major misconception here: you’re not supposed to “simply copy data from the Amazon backend to file your taxes.”

This point must be made clear.

Many articles tend to tell sellers directly:

“Just list it at the same price as Amazon.”

Or:

“Revenue is recognized uniformly based on the delivery date.”

Actually, that’s an oversimplification.

Because:

The reporting criteria for the platform ≠ the criteria for corporate tax filings.

The platform may log:

• Product Price
• The buyer pays the shipping costs
• Tax Collection by the Platform
• Discount
• Refund
• Platform Commission
• advertising cost
• FBA Fees
• storage charges
• Other Service Fees

In corporate financial accounting, revenue, costs, expenses, and taxes must be classified and recognized in accordance with applicable accounting standards, tax policies, and actual business conditions.

So the truly correct approach is not:

The platform reports 1 million → The company reports 1 million for machinery.

Instead:

Platform data: 1 million → Financial breakdown → Determine the nature of revenue → Confirm taxable income → Aggregate and document discrepancies.

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4,Why Are Amazon Sellers Most Prone to “Data Discrepancies”?

Usually, it’s not just one cause, but a combination of the following types of issues.

• “Sales” and “amounts received” are not the same thing at all.

For example, an order:

Product Price: $100

The platform may also involve:

• The buyer pays the shipping costs
• The buyer pays the taxes and fees
• Platform Promotions
• Refund
• commissions
• advertising cost
• FBA Fees
• Other Service Fees

In the end, the only funds that may actually end up in the receiving account are:

$65.

So the boss took a look at the bank statements:

“I only received $650,000 this month.”

However, sales figures at the platform transaction level may be significantly higher than this number.

If a company were to directly takeNet settlement amount on the platform or amount received in the bank accountIf it is treated as sales revenue, it can easily lead to revenue recognition errors.

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5,Pitfall #2: Refunds, discounts, and coupons are the most likely to mess up your data

Every day on cross-border e-commerce platforms:

Refunds, partial refunds, coupons, spend-and-save offers, promotions, chargebacks, order cancellations.

This is why the Dongxing case published by the tax authorities is particularly worth referring to.

The reasons for the discrepancies in the company’s tax filings ultimately include:

“Misunderstanding of the revenue recognition rules for promotional activities such as ”spend-and-save“ and ”free shipping.”(Guangxi Tax Bureau)

Therefore, sellers cannot just do the following:

Total orders for the month × exchange rate

Instead, we should further establish:

Orders → Discounts → Refunds → Actual Receipts → Platform Fees → Financial Revenue

the correspondence between .

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6,Pitfall #3: Differences in Time Frames

Cross-border e-commerce is particularly prone to “spanning months and quarters.”

For example: An order placed on December 29

However: Ships on January 2

Or: Ship on December 31

However: Signed for on January 3

In addition:

• Platform Settlement Cycle
• Bank Processing Time
• Refund Period
• Overseas Warehouse Outbound Processing Timeframe

Eventually, the following will appear:

The platform data is from December, while the bank statements are from January; the finance department may have used different rules for recognition.

Therefore, we cannot simply assume that:

“The tax authorities will definitely recognize revenue based on Amazon's delivery dates.”

A more accurate approach is:

Companies should determine the timing of revenue recognition in accordance with applicable tax and accounting rules, while establishing mappings between fields such as the platform order date, shipment/delivery, settlement, and receipt of payment.

If the tax authorities ask:

“Why is there a discrepancy between the platform data and reported revenue for December?”

It is much more convincing for a company to provide a complete explanation and supporting documentation than to simply say, “That’s just how the platform handles settlements.”

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7,Pitfall #4: Due to different exchange rates, the amounts naturally don’t match up

Cross-border sellers also face another very common issue:

The trading platform uses USD/EUR, while financial records are in RMB.

Then:

How much is $1 million in RMB?

Different systems may use different exchange rate timings and rules.

This will result in:

Platform USD data × the company’s conversion rules ≠ the RMB amount credited to the bank account

Therefore, companies should not arbitrarily adjust exchange rates just to “make the data look the same.”

The correct way to do this is:

Clarify the exchange rate policies adopted by the company, ensure consistency in their application, and retain documentation of the basis for the exchange rates.

The key point is not that “the numbers must be exactly the same.”

Instead:

Reasonable differences, consistent rules, and explainability.

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8. The Fifth Pitfall: Deducting Platform Fees Directly from Sales Revenue

This is the mistake that many Amazon sellers are most likely to make.

For example:

Platform Sales: 10 million yuan

Platform Commission: 1.5 million yuan

Advertising expenses: 800,000 yuan

FBA: 1 million yuan

Final platform settlement: 6.7 million yuan

So the finance department said:

“We actually only received 6.7 million, so we’ll report our revenue as 6.7 million.”

This calls for particular caution.

Because:

Revenue recognition and expense deduction are not the same thing.

Whether platform commissions, advertising fees, warehousing fees, logistics fees, and other such charges should be treated as deductions from revenue or recognized as expenses depends on the specific transaction model, contract terms, the substance of the business, and the applicable accounting and tax rules.

We cannot simply equate:

“The money the platform finally paid me”

Equivalent to:

“A company’s sales revenue.”

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9,There’s one more thing cross-border sellers must pay special attention to: platform revenue, customs declaration data, and tax refund data are not the same thing.

Many sellers ask:

“Amazon sold 10 million in a year—why is my export customs declaration amount only 5 million?”

This issue in itself does not necessarily indicate a problem.

Because:

Platform Sales ≠ Export Customs Declaration Value

The following may be present in between:

• Overseas Warehouse Inventory
• Different Customs Declaration Batches
• Ending Inventory
• Returns
• Multi-platform Sales
• Different Export Entities
• Different modes, such as 9610, 9710, and 9810
• Overseas Procurement
• Overseas Sales

In particular, for companies operating overseas warehouses, tax authorities have already taken notice in actual casesCustoms Declaration, Financial Accounting, and Business Data Reconciliation IssuesThe

Information from a 2026 survey on cross-border e-commerce released by the Jiangsu tax authorities noted that, in practice, there are:

It is difficult to fully reconcile the customs declaration descriptions, quantities, and amounts with the actual transaction and financial accounting data.

In such cases, this may result in risks such as additional tax payments and penalties. (Jiangsu Provincial Tax Bureau)

So what we really need to establish is not:

“Platform Data = Customs Declaration Data”

Instead:

Platform Data → Orders → Shipping → Logistics → Customs Clearance → Overseas Warehouse Inventory → Sales → Payment Collection

The entire chain can be explained.

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10,Let’s take a look at another “best practice” that’s well worth studying for cross-border sellers.”

In 2026, the Guangdong tax authorities publicized the compliance practices of an export company.

Dongguan Dongjing Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd. specializes in:

A large volume of orders, a geographically dispersed customer base, and varying payment receipt times

In light of these and other circumstances, the following was established:

“The ”One Order, One Code” management model.

In a nutshell:

One order → One unique code

Then continue to associate this code with:

Purchasing → Production → Warehousing → Transportation → Customs Clearance → Invoicing → Foreign Exchange Receipts → Export Tax Rebate

Establish a complete chain of business documentation.

The company also focuses on:

• Foreign Exchange Receipts Matching
• Document Conformity
• Invoicing Standards
• Orders for Which Payment Has Not Been Received

...and conduct ongoing monitoring of such risks.

In 2025, the company's operating revenue exceeded 240 million yuan, and it processed export tax rebates totaling more than 17 million yuan. (Guangdong Provincial Tax Bureau)

This case actually offers a very important lesson for cross-border e-commerce sellers:

True tax and financial compliance isn't about “making the data match,” but rather about establishing a system that can explain discrepancies in the data.

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11,What Should Amazon Sellers Do?

Here’s some advice: Stop overthinking it:

“Which is more accurate—the platform’s data or the tax data?”

Instead, create your own “four tables.”

First: Platform Sales Report

Record:

• Order Number
• store
• SKU
• Sales Revenue
• Discount
• Refund
• The buyer pays the taxes and fees
• Shipping Costs for Buyers
• Platform Commission
• advertising cost
• FBA Fees
• Final Settlement Amount

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Second: Statement of Financial Income

Record:

• Revenue Recognition Date
• Amount of Income
• currency type
• exchange rates
• Amount in RMB
• Accounting Voucher Number
• Platform-Specific Order/Settlement Reports

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Page 3: Cash Flow Statement

Record:

Platform Settlement → Receiving Account → Bank Statements → Foreign Exchange Settlement → Domestic Account

Trace the flow of each major fund transfer.

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Page 4: Export and Tax Refund Form

If export tax rebates are involved, you will also need to continue linking:

Order → Shipment → Logistics → Customs Declaration → Input Invoice → Foreign Exchange Receipt → Tax Rebate Declaration

In this way, even if the data from several systems isn’t completely consistent, it can be explained as follows:

Why is there a discrepancy?

Where do these differences come from?

Is there a corresponding voucher?

Have financial adjustments already been made?

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12,The biggest danger right now isn't “data discrepancies,” but these four situations

① The platform's sales are significantly higher than the company's reported revenue

Furthermore, the company was unable to provide a reasonable explanation regarding refunds, discounts, time differences, or discrepancies in the subject matter.

② The settlement amount from the platform is treated directly as revenue

It does not break down items such as platform commissions, advertising, shipping, and taxes at all.

③ Multiple stores and multiple entities mixed together

Company A registers the store, Company B handles payments, Company C handles customs clearance, and Company D handles tax refunds.

In the end, no one can clearly account for whose revenue, costs, and profits are involved.

④ The company did not retain data working papers.

The tax authorities ask:

“Why is there a 3 million difference between the platform’s data and the reported income?”

The company can only respond:

“That’s how the finance department calculates it.”

That's where the real danger lies.

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13,What Changes Are Taking Place in Cross-Border E-Commerce Tax and Financial Compliance in 2026?

Based on current policies and publicly disclosed cases from tax authorities, the trend is becoming increasingly clear.

In the past, companies focused on:

Are there invoices? Have the taxes been reported? Have the taxes been paid?

It is becoming increasingly important to focus on:

Can the data be cross-verified?

Starting in 2025, the system for internet platforms to report tax-related information will officially take effect; beginning in October 2025, platforms will report information such as the identities and income of business operators on their platforms to tax authorities for the first time. (China Government Network)

In 2026, the cases released by the tax authorities further demonstrated that:

Platform Data Comparison → Risk Identification → Company Verification → Correction and Rectification

It is becoming an important method for tax administration in cross-border e-commerce. (Guangxi Tax Bureau)

At the same time, the digital transformation of export tax rebates for cross-border e-commerce is continuing.

For example, the 9810 overseas warehouse service has already been implemented:

“Tax Refund Upon Departure, Sales Recalculated”

There also needs to be consistent alignment between a company’s export, sales, and tax refund data. (Guangxi Tax Bureau)

In fact, starting in 2026, customs and tax authorities have implemented electronic data verification for the “Certificate of Tax Payment/Non-Refund for Exported Goods,” further strengthening the integration between customs declaration and tax data.

Therefore, in the future, financial and tax management for cross-border sellers will likely increasingly resemble:

Platform Data + Order Data + Logistics Data + Customs Data + Banking Data + Invoice Data + Tax Filing Data

Multidimensional cross-validation.

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14,A final reminder to Amazon sellers: Don’t adjust just for the sake of “logs.”

One of the most common mistakes many companies make these days is:

When I noticed that the platform data and the reported data didn't match, I figured out a way to make the two numbers match.

Actually, this isn't compliant.

True compliance should be:

Platform data has its own metrics;

Financial accounting has its own rules;

Tax returns are filed in accordance with applicable tax policies;

Establish clear reconciliation tables and audit trails between different accounts.

The ultimate goal is to:

Data has sources, discrepancies have reasons, adjustments are justified, and supporting documents are traceable.

This is the kind of financial and tax management capability that cross-border e-commerce companies should truly be building in the face of increasingly strict data regulations.

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put at the end

For Amazon sellers, in the past, they may have only needed to focus on:

“How much did we sell this month?”

Now, the question we should be asking is:

“Why are this month’s platform sales, financial revenue, payment receipts, export data, and tax filing data different?”

If this question can be answered clearly, it indicates that the company’s financial and tax system has begun to mature.

If you can't even explain where the discrepancy comes from, then even if you haven't received a tax inquiry yet, it's advisable to do so as soon as possible.Platform Data—Financial Records—Bank Statements—Customs Declaration and Tax Refund Dataa special audit.

Scan the QR code to add our online customer service representativeWeChat ID: kuajinghg001, GetCustomized Cross-Border Compliance Solutions, where professional consultants will provide one-on-one analysis of your business structure to identify the compliance path that best suits your needs.

Note: The scope of application of the platform’s tax information reporting system, the content to be reported by the platform, and matters such as enterprise revenue recognition, value-added tax, corporate income tax, and export tax refunds (or exemptions) referred to in this article should be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the enterprise’s legal status, transaction model, platform rules, contracts, and actual business circumstances. This article does not recommend that enterprises mechanically file returns based solely on a specific field or date provided by the platform. Specific tax-related matters should be determined in accordance with current and effective tax policies and the guidelines of the competent tax authorities.