July 14, 2026, The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department has issued its latest circular to tax representatives:Category D CompaniesDeadline for Filing Paper Tax ReturnsExtended to August 31, Electronic FilingExtended to October 2. As of today, it’s been exactly10天The

Cross-border e-commerce businesses and foreign trade companies most commonly use Category D Hong Kong companies with a December fiscal year-end. This extension directly affects the annual compliance schedules of thousands of sellers in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Foshan.

10天，听着不短。但拆开来看，整理关联交易、出具审计报告、备齐转让定价文档、还要做业务实质佐证——任何一项卡住，截止日就是终止日。

💡 If your Hong Kong company has a December fiscal year-end, has not yet started the audit for the 2025/26 tax year, or if you’re unsure whether you fall under Category D, add Qicaiying’s customer service on WeChat: qcygscszk, or call 18676749275, to receive a one-on-one assessment of your tax filing status and filing window.

I. Who Exactly Are Category D Companies?

The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department categorizes profits tax returns based on the company's fiscal year-end as follows:N, M, DThere are three categories. The deadlines and extension rules differ for each category.

Category D refers toThe accounting closing period is between December 1 and December 31, 2025.a Hong Kong limited company.

Translated into what matters most to you—that is,The calendar year (i.e., December 31) is used as the fiscal year-end date.a Hong Kong company.

This is precisely the year-end settlement model most commonly used by cross-border e-commerce and foreign trade companies: it makes it easier to align payment terms with mainland companies, facilitates the reconciliation of bank statements, and simplifies the annual consolidation of funds.

In other words—as long as your Hong Kong company isDecember 31, 2025Year-end closing—this extension affects you.

II. Categories N and M: Category D extensions cannot be applied to them

Hong Kong companies with different fiscal year-end dates have completely different cutoff dates. Take a look at the table below:

Please note the following detail: Electronic filing for Category N (filing period: April–November 2025) has already begun atDeadline: June 4, 2026. If your Hong Kong company’s fiscal year-end is not in December but in April, June, or September, you are not eligible for this extension.

In other words.The extension window is only available for Category D., and they are among the companies in Category D that close their fiscal year in December.

📌 Do you own multiple Hong Kong companies with different fiscal year-end dates? With this kind of mixed structure, it’s easy to get the dates mixed up during this extension period. Add Qicaiying on WeChat (qcygscszk), list your companies, and we’ll help you match the correct deadline for each one.

III. Make the Most of These 45 Days

An extension isn't meant to let you ”take your time.” It's meant toThe entire compliance processIt's all crammed into these 45 days.

What specific tasks need to be done?

① Financial Closing: Thoroughly reconcile all bank statements, order records, platform payments, and cost invoices for the period from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025. Any omissions or errors will be magnified during the audit process.

② Hong Kong Licensed Auditing: The audit report must be issued by a Hong Kong practicing accountant; financial statements prepared by mainland firmsNot recognized. The report includes a balance sheet, an income statement, and a tax calculation sheet.

③ Transfer Pricing Documentation: Under a multi-company structure for a cross-border e-commerce group, all transaction contracts, pricing bases, and cash flow records between the Hong Kong company and its affiliated companies in mainland China and overseas must be fully retained. Local documentation, master files, and lists of related-party transactions—not a single one can be missing.

④ Evidence of Economic Substance: Once Hong Kong’s new FSIE tax system takes effect in 2025,“Tax-Exemption Loopholes for ”Shell Companies” Are Narrowing. Office leases, employee hiring records, business contracts, monthly bank statements, and meeting minutes—these are key pieces of evidence used to determine ”substantial operations.”

⑤ Archiving of documents for 7 years: Under the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, all financial and business documents mustRetained in full for 7 years. If documents are missing or incomplete, the tax authority will directly deem the filing non-compliant and proceed with a mandatory assessment.

45 days, 5 exercises. Each one builds on the previous one. Miss one, and you have to start the whole set over.

IV. It’s not a question of whether you’ll be late, but when you’ll be penalized

Many sellers think, “August is still a long way off—let’s focus on the peak season first.”

However, the penalties imposed by the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department for late payments areStep-by-Step Approach:

① Fines increase in stages: Penalty for the First Late Payment1,200 Hong Kong dollars, if not addressed within 14 days, it will rise to3,000 Hong Kong dollars. For multiple late payments within five years, the rate will be increased by 10%–25%; in severe cases, the maximum50,000 Hong Kong dollarsThe

② Mandatory Assessment Based on Estimated Value: The tax authority uses the industry-average profitDirect AssessmentYour tax liability. You will permanently lose the right to carry forward losses, claim tax exemptions for asset depreciation, and claim tax exemptions for offshore gains, among other benefits.Previously Eligible for Deductions. Overpaid taxes,It's basically impossible to get it backThe

③ Directors with Criminal Records: A delinquency isUnlawful Acts. The tax authorities may file charges in the District Court, and the directors will have a criminal record in Hong Kong—which could affect their visa applications, their ability to open bank accounts in the future, and their overseas investments.

④ Freezing of Bank Accounts: A 10% surcharge will be imposed on taxes overdue for more than 6 months. The tax authority may send third-party tax collection notices to your bank and your customers,Freezing Hong Kong Accounts, apply for a travel ban on the directors, and initiate the company's liquidation and bankruptcy proceedings.

Just think about it: How many payments are linked to your Hong Kong account? If it gets frozen,It's not just a tax issue; it's a cash flow problem.The

V. Qicaiying Class D Tax Filing Compliance Solution

Qicaiying has developed a proven four-step process for filing tax returns for Category D Hong Kong companies for the 2025/26 tax year:

Step 1: Determining Your Tax Filing Status—Confirm the company’s closing date, its N/M/D category, the corresponding cutoff date, and whether it is eligible for this extension.

Step 2: Document Review and Substantive Assessment—Verify the completeness of the chain of evidence for business contracts, monthly bank statements, employee hiring, office leases, and other relevant documents.

Step 3: Auditing and Transfer Pricing— Collaborate with a licensed accounting firm in Hong Kong to issue a compliant audit report and simultaneously complete the filing of related-party transaction documentation.

Step 4: Filing Tax Returns and Tracking Receipts—Work backward from the deadline to schedule the process; submit applications through both paper and electronic channels simultaneously; track the tax authority’s acknowledgment and the tax assessment results.

It's not just a tax filing service. It'sA Complete Closed-Loop Process from Architecture to ArchivingThe

5 Self-Checks (See If You’ve Fallen Into Any Pitfalls)

1. Is the fiscal year-end for your Hong Kong company December 31, 2025?

2.2025年度的银行月结单、平台回款、订单台账，你手上是否齐全？

3. Are the transaction contracts and pricing bases between the Hong Kong company and its affiliated companies in mainland China and overseas complete?

4. Does the Hong Kong company have a valid office lease, local employees, and meeting minutes of directors held in Hong Kong?

5. Have the financial documents and business records from the past seven years been fully archived in accordance with the requirements of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance?

If any of the above apply,Any one of the followingIf you answered ”Not sure” or ”Incomplete”:

→ Add Qicaiying Customer Service on WeChat qcygscszk, to get a one-on-one assessment of your tax filing status and filing window;

→ Or call directly at 18676749275, Qicaiying Consulting helps you break down the 45-day compliance checklist.

The extension is a window of opportunity reserved for companies that are truly compliant.10天之后，香港税局不会再有下一次延期. Is your Hong Kong company ready to make the most of these 45 days?

Qicaiying Group | Cross-Border E-Commerce Financial and Tax Compliance Service Provider

Specializing in end-to-end financial and tax compliance for cross-border e-commerce companies: compliance reviews of input VAT invoices, reconciliation of export revenue with cash flow, compliance assessments of related-party transactions in multi-entity structures, and historical tax risk assessments and remediation plans.

手机电话：18676749275

WeChat:qcygscszk

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Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Shenzhen, Qicaiying Group is a leading provider of corporate services and tax compliance solutions in China.

The Group is deeply committed to providing services across the entire corporate lifecycle. Its core business areas include: business registration, bookkeeping services, tax compliance, overseas company registration (Hong Kong, the U.S., Singapore, Mexico, etc.), cross-border structuring, outbound direct investment (ODI) filing, overseas tax planning, bank account opening assistance, and identity planning.

Over the past decade, Qicaiying has served more than 10,000 corporate clients and has accumulated solid practical experience in key areas such as corporate structuring in Hong Kong and overseas, cross-border tax and financial compliance, and corporate accounting management. The Group boasts a team of seasoned financial and tax advisors who closely monitor changes in domestic and international tax systems and regulatory trends, providing clients with one-stop solutions ranging from structural planning to implementation.