It has been some time since the State Administration of Taxation’s announcement on matters related to the submission of tax-related information by Internet platform companies (State Administration of Taxation Announcement No. 15 of 2025) and the State Administration of Taxation’s announcement on matters related to optimizing corporate income tax prepayment declarations (State Administration of Taxation Announcement No. 17 of 2025) have been implemented.
After the hustle and bustle has begun to settle down, we might as well calm down and talk about the profound impact of this change on cross-border e-commerce.
At first glance, the tightening of policies seems to have put a “curse” on the industry, but a closer look reveals that it is a long-term prescription.
It attempts to solve two persistent problems: the imbalance of tax fairness and the fog of cross-border infringement.
When the sun shines into the hidden corners, the entire industry is expected to get rid of internal friction and move toward true health and sustainability.
Looking back at the development history of domestic cross-border e-commerce companies, most of them are a “grassroots counterattack” script.
Many people start from personal online stores. In order to survive and control costs, they have no time to take into account such words as financial and tax compliance and brand protection at first.
As the scale grows and market competition intensifies, problems arise one after another: product homogeneity becomes serious, and companies are forced to engage in price wars to minimize costs.
Among them, those with extensive management are taking more extreme measures – evading taxes by hiding income and reducing supply chain costs through “paying for exports”.
After this operation, those colleagues who paid taxes and operated honestly were dragged into the quagmire of unfairness.
Overseas consumers are certainly happy to see this, as they can buy what they want at incredibly low prices.
However, this abnormal “low-price carnival” has had a violent impact on domestic industrial upgrading.
What’s even more troublesome is that the existence of large-scale paid exports makes the crackdown on infringement like finding a needle in a haystack—the export port is unclear, the intellectual property rights subject is difficult to trace, and protection is impossible to talk about.
The end of paying for exports means that customs and tax data can be connected. Big data can accurately trace the outline of each export, and infringers will have no way to hide.
By clarifying rights and responsibilities from the source and allowing innovators to receive due respect and rewards, the entire industry chain can usher in a truly healthy cycle.
After the implementation of the new regulations, pain is inevitable.
Those cross-border e-commerce companies that do not have standardized taxes, rely on paying for exports, and lack independent brands will bear the most direct impact.
Supply chain costs are rising, tax burdens are becoming more apparent, living space is suddenly shrinking, and operating difficulties may become the norm.
However, for another type of enterprise – those “long-termists” with tax regulations, emphasis on R&D, and own brands, this is undoubtedly a great benefit.
The balance of competition has begun to return to normal, and bad coins can no longer easily drive out good coins.
Really good products will receive the premium they deserve based on their strength, the moat brought about by innovation will become wider, and the vicious cycle of vicious low-price competition will eventually be broken.
The industry has thus entered an upward channel of sustained and healthy development.
Looking forward to the future, the direction of cross-border e-commerce is already clear—comprehensive sunshine and standardization.
Compliance is no longer optional, but the bottom line for survival.
On top of this, if companies want to build a real competitive advantage, there is only one way to go: improve product quality, hone service capabilities, and create differentiated products and brands.
Only in this way can we sail steadily on our own course in the stormy global market.
Under the sun, there are no secrets, but there is fairness.
When the rules are clear and the track is clear, those cross-border people who are willing to concentrate on making good products and brands will eventually usher in their golden age.
