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

Byline: Liu Meng

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

Cross-customs-area returns for cross-border e-commerce retail export goods (customs supervision code: 9610) refer to a regulatory model under which, when goods exported by cross-border e-commerce enterprises for retail sales are returned overseas, the goods are no longer required to be returned to the original exporting customs, but instead the enterprise may flexibly choose any customs port within the country to handle the formalities for re-importation after return.

Previously, the General Administration of Customs, in an announcement issued in 2024 titled “Announcement on Further Promoting the Development of Cross-Border E-Commerce Exports,” specified that the cross-customs-area return regulatory model for cross-border e-commerce retail export goods would be piloted in 20 directly supervised customs, including Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Harbin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Hefei, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Nanchang, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huangpu, Chengdu, and Ürümqi. After more than a year of pilot implementation, the conditions for nationwide rollout are now in place.

According to the requirements of the announcement released this time, cross-customs-area returns apply only to cross-border e-commerce retail export goods, namely the “9610 model.” At the same time, the returned goods from cross-border e-commerce retail exports may be returned across customs areas, and the returned goods are allowed to be returned only to the customs supervision operational sites or premises where the cross-border e-commerce retail export business is conducted.

As a new form of international trade, cross-border e-commerce has seen rapid development in recent years and has become an important engine for boosting China’s foreign trade growth. However, along with the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, the issue of cross-border returns has long been a pain point and hard problem that has troubled the industry.

Song Xiangqing, vice chairman of the China Society of Business Economics, said in an interview with reporters from The Securities Daily that, for businesses, the cross-customs-area return model breaks the restriction of “returning to the original exporting customs area.” Enterprises can independently choose any customs port in the country to handle the re-export and return formalities, significantly reducing reverse logistics costs and shortening the return cycle. It also revitalizes overseas inventory and accelerates capital turnover, addressing the long-standing industry pain points of “returns being difficult, costs being high, and cycles being long,” and can significantly enhance operational efficiency and international competitiveness.

“For consumers, simplifying the after-sales return path shortens the waiting time, which helps improve consumers’ sense of safety and satisfaction with overseas online shopping. Through this policy, the bottleneck in reverse logistics at the ‘last mile’ of cross-border exports is addressed, achieving structural optimization of costs and experiences 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 to reporters from 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 Goods from Cross-Border E-Commerce Export,” clarifying that for cross-border e-commerce export goods (excluding food) that are returned in their original condition within six months for reasons such as slow sales or returns during the period from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027, import duties and value-added tax and consumption tax on the import process are exempted, and the export duties already paid can be refunded.

In combination with the nationwide rollout of the cross-customs-area return measures for cross-border e-commerce retail export goods at customs, the policy produces a synergistic and cumulative effect, jointly helping cross-border e-commerce enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency.

In Chen Jianwei’s view, the combined force formed by multiple policy measures not only directly alleviates enterprises’ financial burdens, but also more deeply reshapes the risk compensation mechanism of cross-border e-commerce. In terms of cost control, the tax preferential policy for export returns can effectively offset the additional taxes and fees generated by returns and exchanges, allowing enterprises to be more willing to seize the market by expanding SKU (stock-keeping unit). In terms of industrial ecosystem, the synergistic policy effects help enterprises build a global after-sales protection system and enhance the credibility of China’s cross-border brands in international competition. With such a return closed-loop design characterized by low cost and high efficiency, the relevant policies are driving cross-border e-commerce to shift from growth in scale to a high-quality, brand-oriented development model.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Cross-border e-commerce