Cross-border e-commerce receives another positive boost: cross-region returns to be promoted nationwide starting April 1

Reporter Liu Meng

To further promote the export of cross-border e-commerce, the General Administration of Customs recently issued an announcement, stating that starting from April 1, 2026, the “cross-customs-area return” model for cross-border e-commerce retail export goods will be promoted nationwide in customs.

The cross-customs-area return for cross-border e-commerce retail export goods (customs regulatory code: 9610) refers to a regulatory model under which, when cross-border e-commerce enterprises’ retail-export goods are returned overseas, they are no longer required to return the goods to the original export customs. Instead, they can flexibly choose any customs port within the country to handle the inward processing procedures for returned goods.

Previously, in 2024, the General Administration of Customs issued the “Announcement on Further Promoting the Development of Cross-Border E-Commerce Exports,” which clearly stated that pilot programs for the cross-customs-area return regulatory model would be conducted in 20 directly affiliated customs, including Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Harbin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Hefei, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Nanchang, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huangpu, Chengdu, and Urumqi. After more than one year of pilot operation, the conditions for national promotion have now been met.

According to the requirements of this announcement, the cross-customs-area return applies only to cross-border e-commerce retail export goods, namely the “9610 model.” At the same time, returned cross-border e-commerce retail export goods may be returned across customs areas. The returned goods are only allowed to be returned to the customs regulatory operational premises or sites where cross-border e-commerce retail export business is carried out.

As a new form of international trade, cross-border e-commerce has seen a strong momentum of development in recent years and has become an important engine driving the growth of China’s foreign trade. However, along with the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, the issue of cross-border returns has long been a pain point and difficult issue troubling the industry.

Song Xiangqing, deputy director-general of the China Society of Business Economics, said in an interview with The Securities Daily that, for enterprises, the cross-customs-area return model breaks the restriction of “returning to the original export customs area.” Enterprises can independently choose any customs port in the country to handle the re-entry of returned goods, significantly reducing costs for reverse logistics and shortening the return cycle. It helps to activate overseas inventory and accelerate capital turnover, thereby addressing the industry’s long-standing pain points of “returns being difficult, costs being high, and cycles being long,” and can significantly improve operational efficiency and international competitiveness.

“For consumers, simplifying the after-sales return route shortens the waiting period, which helps enhance consumers’ sense of security and satisfaction with overseas online shopping. This policy, by removing the bottleneck in reverse logistics at the ‘last mile’ of cross-border exports, achieves structural optimization of costs and experience on both the supply and demand sides.” Chen Jianwei, a professor at the Institute of National Opening-up Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, said in an interview with The Securities Daily.

It is worth noting that in February this year, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued the “Announcement on Tax Preferential Policies for Returned Cross-Border E-Commerce Export Goods,” which clarified that for cross-border e-commerce export goods (excluding food) whose goods are returned to their original condition within 6 months due to reasons such as overstock or returns during the period from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027, import duties and value-added tax and consumption tax on import will be exempted, and any export duties already paid may be refunded.

In combination with the nationwide promotion measures for the cross-customs-area return of cross-border e-commerce retail export goods, the policy coordination and additive effects will form, jointly helping cross-border e-commerce enterprises reduce costs and improve efficiency.

In Chen Jianwei’s view, the synergy formed by multiple policies not only directly reduces enterprises’ financial burden, but also more deeply reshapes the risk compensation mechanism for cross-border e-commerce. In terms of cost control, the tax preferential policy for export returns and re-entry can effectively offset additional taxes and fees generated by exchanges and returns, allowing enterprises to dare to expand SKU (stock-keeping unit) to capture market share. In terms of industrial ecosystem development, the policy coordination effects help enterprises build a global after-sales support and assurance system, enhancing the credibility of China’s cross-border brands in international competition. With this low-cost, high-efficiency return closed-loop design, the relevant policies are driving cross-border e-commerce to shift from scale growth to high-quality, branding-oriented development.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Cross-border e-commerce