Introduction: 2026, the official opening of the era of cross-border e-commerce "compliance and survival".

For the cross-border e-commerce industry, 2026 marks the end of the era of sloppy growth and the advent of the era of "compliance and survival". The State Administration of Taxation (SAT) Announcement No. 15 and No. 17, the implementation regulations of the new Value-added Tax (VAT) Law, as well as the in-depth promotion of the customs and tax data network verification, have jointly constructed a tight all-chain and penetrating tax supervision network. Tax compliance has changed from "optional" to "lifeline" for the survival and development of enterprises. In this article, we will systematically sort out the key points of the new policy in 2026, analyze the core risks, and plan a practical compliance path.

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I. 2026 Core New Deal In-Depth Interpretation: How Full-Chain Regulation Is Reshaping the Industry

The 2026 regulatory system aims to realize closed-loop management from the "income side" to the "export side", so that all business practices are exposed to the sun.

1. Two major announcements to build a "skynet": platform data reporting and export chain penetration

• Bulletin 15 (Platform information reporting): Amazon, Sizzler and other platforms are required to report seller identity and sales data to the tax authorities on a regular basis. This means that every income of the seller's store is transparent to the tax authorities, and "zero declaration" or low declaration will directly trigger the warning.
• Announcement No. 17 (Optimization of Enterprise Income Tax Prepayment Returns): Requirements for freight forwarders, foreign trade service enterprises and other export agents must report the true owner of the information. This completely blocked the traditional gray path of hiding income through the "purchase order export", realizing the "capital flow, goods flow, invoice flow" of the three streams in one traceability.

2. The new VAT law and regulations: tightening of recognition and disappearance of buffers

• Regulations for the Implementation of the Value Added Tax Act: Provides a top-level legal framework for year-round compliance, with more specific and stringent levies.
• New rules for the recognition of general taxpayers (Announcement No. 2 of 2026): The key changes areElimination of the "buffer period".. Enterprises with annual sales exceeding 5 million yuan (RMB, the same below) for 12 consecutive monthsFirst day of the period in which the standard is exceededThat is, it is required to register as a general taxpayer, and enterprises are required to establish a real-time sales monitoring and warning mechanism.

3. Data networking and industry regulation: closing loopholes and setting standards

• Customs and Excise Electronic Data Network VerificationThe real-time comparison between customs declaration and tax declaration information realizes 100%, the exposure rate of "buying single export" is 100%, and all gray channels are substantially closed.
• Code of Practice for Enterprises and Affiliated Service Providers of Cross-border E-commerce Platforms: As the industry's first programmatic document, it provides platforms, sellers, and service providers with a full chain of compliance operating standards.

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Second, the four fundamental changes and risks that cross-border e-commerce must deal with in 2026

Change 1: VAT taxpayer status conversion "instantaneous trigger", tax costs steeply increased risks
Once the sales are exceeded, they are immediately taxed as general taxpayers (up to 13%). Failure to obtain compliant input invoice credit will directly lead to significant profit erosion.

Change 2: "Buying and exporting" has become history, and the legal risk is extremely high.
Under the data networking verification, any buying behavior will have no place to hide, not only facing back taxes and fines, but also serious cases may involve criminal liability such as tax fraud and tax evasion.

Change 3: Tax Audit "Retrospective Recovery of Responsibility", Historical Problems Have No Place to Hide
Income non-compliance issues found by audits for prior periods will be retroactively applied to the period in which the business occurred for back taxes and late fees, with late fees of five ten thousandths of one percent per day interest at a staggering annualized cost of up to 18.251 TP3T.

Change 4: Export tax rebate "standardization and facilitation" coexist
On the one hand, there is a 36-month deadline for filing tax rebate returns, after which it will be treated as domestic sales tax reimbursement; on the other hand, there is a 36-month deadline for filing tax rebate returns.9810 (Export Overseas Warehouse) Model Launches "Pre-Refund", which can relieve financial pressure in advance, reflecting an incentive for compliant companies.

Hi ~ I am the customer service of Enterprise Finance Group! We provide domestic (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, etc.) company registration, overseas (Hong Kong, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.) company registration, Hong Kong identity application and renewal services, while covering the cross-border tax planning, shareholding structure design, compliance and risk control programs, such as the whole chain of corporate services. Contact me at any time if you have the need.Tel: 16620947137, WeChat: Qicaiyingjituan (can be added by direct search) or scan the QR code below to add!

C. 2026 cross-border e-commerce fiscal compliance path selection matrix

Companies should choose the most appropriate compliance path based on their size and business model:

1. Selection by size of operation:

• Small and medium-sized sellers (annual sales ≤ 5 million): It is recommended to register the domestic company and apply forsmall scale taxpayer. Adoptable:
  • 9610 (cross-border e-commerce retail exports): Enjoy the "no-ticket, no-tax" policy (registration in the pilot zone is required).
  • 1039 (Market Purchase Trade): To address the difficulty of not having input invoices, an authorized levy has been introduced with a limit of $150,000 for a single invoice.
• Medium to large sellers (annual sales > 5 million): Recommended to build "Domestic general taxpayer enterprise + foreign company (e.g. Hong Kong company)" Structure. Domestic subjects pass0110 (General Trade)maybe9810 (export overseas warehouse)The model complies with customs declaration and applies for tax rebate, and the offshore company is responsible for sales collection, so as to realize the compliant return of capital and optimization of tax burden.

2. Selection by business model:

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IV. Five Urgent Action Recommendations for Fiscal Compliance in 2026

1. Launch Health Diagnostics Now:: Comprehensively verifying sales revenue in the past 12 months to assess the risk of general taxpayers; comparing historical customs declaration data with tax declaration records to identify inconsistencies.
2. Reconstructing Supply Chain Tax Relationships: Confirm with upstream suppliers their taxpayer status and invoicing ability to ensure that the source of input invoices is compliant and to safeguard the integrity of the deduction chain.
3. Select and solidify compliance channels: According to the main business, choose one core customs clearance model from the above table and establish long-term cooperation with reliable customs brokers and tax services organizations.
4. Make good use of local incentives: Actively registering in comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones and applying for local tax exemptions, financial incentives and other fine-tuned support policies.
5. Upgrading internal digital management: Introducing or upgrading the ERP system to realize the integration of business, financial, tax and customs data in order to cope with the precise supervision of "tax by numbers".

Conclusion: From "Formal Compliance" to "Substantive Compliance" to Build Long-Term Competitiveness

The regulatory storm of 2026 is essentially an inevitable process to push the cross-border e-commerce industry from barbaric growth to high-quality development. Although short-term compliance costs have risen, the only way to completely say goodbye to gray operations and achieve business, financial and taxSubstantive complianceIt is only by doing so that enterprises can build a firm foundation, make profits in a legal and compliant manner, win the long-term trust of investors and the market, and build irreplaceable core competitiveness in global trade.

Hi ~ I am the customer service of Enterprise Finance Group! We provide domestic (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, etc.) company registration, overseas (Hong Kong, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.) company registration, Hong Kong identity application and renewal services, while covering the cross-border tax planning, shareholding structure design, compliance and risk control programs, such as the whole chain of corporate services. Contact me at any time if you have the need.Tel: 16620947137, WeChat: Qicaiyingjituan (can be added by direct search) or scan the QR code below to add!