Recently, a tax penalty notice has been trending in both the finance and taxation circles and the cross-border e-commerce community. This case is worth careful study by every seller currently using the “Hong Kong company for payment collection + mainland company for operations” model.

A mainland company failed to report a remittance of 11.94 million from a Hong Kong company and was ultimately required to pay back taxes and fines totaling approximately 660,000 yuan!

Mr. Zhou, a foreign trade executive in Hangzhou, is trying to decide between Singapore and Hong Kong. He heard from a friend that “you can register a company in Hong Kong for just 7,400 yuan,” but he also heard that “failure to file for ODI registration will result in a fine.” He’s unsure about the actual costs and the proper compliance procedures.

做跨境的陈总，香港公司注册完就当“收款壳”用：没有采购、没有合同、业务全在深圳，只挂个秘书地址。今年银行尽调直接冻结了账户，税局也来函问利润来源。 他一直以为“注册了香港公司就能随便收外币”。

Mr. Li, who has held a High-Talent Pass for two years, saw his initial visa nearing expiration but realized that, aside from occasional trips to Hong Kong to “check in,” he had no substantive work ties to the city. He thought he could obtain permanent residency after completing seven years, but when the new policy took effect in 2026, he was immediately asked to submit additional documentation for his renewal application.

Mr. Chen, who works in international trade, hadn’t paid much attention to his Hong Kong company after it was registered, and last year he forgot to complete the annual review. This year, when he tried to open a bank account, the bank saw the overdue annual review record and immediately rejected his application. Only then did he start to panic: Just how important is the annual review? He had always held the misconception that “if the company isn’t operating, there’s no need for an annual review.”