China News Service, Shanghai, April 2 (Reporter Yin Liqin) On April 1, the preferential stamp duty policy for offshore trade was officially launched on a pilot basis in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lingang New Area.
On February 18, 2024, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation officially issued the "Notice on Piloting Stamp Duty Preferential Policies for Offshore Trade in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lingang New Area", clarifying that from April 1, 2024 to On March 31, 2025, stamp duty will be exempted for sales contracts written by enterprises registered in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lingang New Area to conduct offshore transfer business. This is the first tax preferential policy issued and implemented by China for offshore businesses. The pilot trial in Shanghai means that China has taken a substantial first step in the exploration and practice of offshore tax systems.
With the continuous advancement of the construction of Shanghai International Trade Center, offshore trade has developed rapidly. However, compared with major international trade centers such as Hong Kong and Singapore, Shanghai still has a gap in the scale of offshore trade. The introduction of preferential stamp duty policies for offshore trade is an important part of benchmarking international high-standard economic and trade rules and implementing the State Council's "Overall Plan for Comprehensively Aligning with International High-standard Economic and Trade Rules to Promote High-level Institutional Opening of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone."
Offshore trade can also be called offshore transfer trading, and stamp duty is the main tax involved in this business. Industry insiders said that exploring and implementing offshore trade tax support policies can not only effectively reduce the operating costs of enterprises, but also effectively promote the internationalization process of free trade zones. Tian Zhiwei, deputy director of the Institute of Public Policy and Governance of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said: “Exempting offshore trade stamp duties from taxation will be conducive to the development of China’s local offshore trading companies, and will also help attract offshore trading companies from other countries to register and operate in China. business, which has important practical significance.”
According to the relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation, after the policy was promulgated, the Shanghai taxation department promptly formulated the Shanghai Municipal Taxation Administration Announcement and follow-up management plan, and sorted out the overview of offshore trading enterprises in the Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lingang New Area. and transaction scale, find out the difficulties and blockages of enterprise-applicable policies, and smoothen the feedback mechanism for enterprise demands. On the other hand, the Shanghai tax department is working with the municipal finance, municipal foreign exchange administration department, relevant free trade zone management committees and other relevant departments to comprehensively use various forms to carry out policy interpretation, expand policy awareness, and intensify efforts to promote direct access to policies. (over)