What is your first reaction when you receive a risk alert or audit notice from the tax authority?

Many business owners have told me: "I'm panicking."

But panicking won't help. What really helps is figuring out what kind of situation you're facing and what to do next.

In this article, we’ll break down the three most common risk scenarios and provide you with a comprehensive set of steps to address them.

If your business has consistently filed zero tax returns throughout its history, or if your accounting records are unclear and you’re unable to accurately calculate costs, then “fixed-rate taxation” is likely the term you need to understand most right now. It is not some kind of “gray area,” nor is it a temporary stopgap measure—it is a tax collection method explicitly permitted by tax law, specifically designed for situations where taxable income cannot be accurately calculated.

This article clearly explains the key issues surrounding the fixed-rate tax assessment system.

You’ve probably heard the term “Saiwei Model” more than once.

When Amazon sellers discuss platform architecture, they bring it up; when sellers managing multiple stores worry about taxes, they bring it up; and even the recent statistical report on cross-border e-commerce multi-store models issued by the tax authorities specifically targets it.

But if you ask ten business owners in the cross-border e-commerce industry what exactly the SAIWEI model is, I doubt many of them could explain it clearly.

In today’s post, we’ll go over the underlying logic from the beginning.

Is the SAIWEI model still viable? This is the question cross-border sellers have been asking most frequently lately.

The tax authorities have collected statistical forms on multi-store models, there are more and more notifications about audit-based taxation, and there are rumors that some competitors have been audited… Many business owners are starting to panic: Can I still use this business structure?

First, here’s a straightforward answer:

The Suntech model hasn't been shut down, but your past practices may no longer be sustainable.

These are two different things; it’s important to keep them separate.

Both sellers are involved in cross-border e-commerce on platforms such as Amazon and TikTok, and their business models are strikingly similar:
Purchases on 1688 without invoices → Paying for exports → Platform proceeds deposited into a personal bank account → Company files a zero tax return or underreports taxes