The General Administration of Customs ("GAC") has recently issued the Announcement [2018] No.194 to clarify matters concerning regulation of cross-border e-commerce retail imports and exports. This announcement will go into effect from January 1, 2019.
The announcement covers "enterprise management", "customs clearance management", "tax collection and administration", "venue management", among others. The announcement states that at the time of the import of retail goods via cross-border e-commerce platforms, domestic agents of cross-border e-commerce enterprises or customs declaration enterprises entrusted by such e-commerce enterprises shall submit the Declaration Checklist of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Cross-border E-commerce Retail Imports and Exports and go through customs declaration formalities under the mode of "release based on checklist verification". Furthermore, the announcement clearly states that, consumers of or parties placing orders for retail goods imported via cross-border e-commerce platforms are taxpayers. Cross-border e-commerce platform operators, logistics enterprises, or customs declaration enterprises, which have been registered with the customs, shall, as the withholding agents, fulfill the tax payment obligation on behalf of the aforesaid consumers or parties, and bear the corresponding obligations of payment of tax unpaid and related legal liabilities.