E-commerce policy out soon

Two government agencies will release a guideline as early as October 1 about export tax rebates and reductions for e-commerce companies to boost the country's exports amid a sluggish international trade environment, media reported Monday.

The State Administration of Taxation (SAT) has started meeting with e-commerce companies together with the Ministry of Finance (MOF). the Economic Information newspaper reported.

Calls to the SAT and MOF were not answered by press time Monday.

"An official from the local government has already completed a study at our company concerning the issue of export tax rebates and reductions," a staff member at Foshan SKG Electric Co, who declined to be named, told the Global Times Monday.

She noted that if the new policy about tax rebates and reductions was released, "the total costs for our company will see a large reduction."

SKG is a home appliance e-business company, which exports products to around 90 countries and regions across the world.

"The news is within our expectations and very exciting for us," Wang Shutong, the founder and CEO of dhgate.com, an e-commerce website for exports, told the Global Times Monday.

Wang noted that more Chinese exporters will set their sights on the e-business export sector encouraged by the new policy of tax rebates and reductions.

"The new guideline, if approved, will significantly benefit the e-commerce companies that export, especially those with large business scales," Zheng Xinye, a taxation professor of the School of Economics at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times Thursday.

China's cross-border e-commerce transaction volume has seen a dramatic rise with a fast growth rate.

The total transaction volume of e-commerce imports and exports grew by 25 percent from 1.6 trillion yuan ($261.44 billion) in 2011 to 2 trillion yuan in 2012, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

"In 2013, the total transaction volume is expected to see a 30 percent year-on-year growth," Zhang Daming,

deputy-director at China International Electronic Commerce Center, was quoted by the Economic Information newspaper as saying.

Internet research consultancy iResearch predicted in a report on September 4 that the country's cross-border e-commerce transaction volume will account for 18.5 percent of China's total international trade volume, hitting 6.4 trillion yuan in 2016.

Wang of dhgate.com said that e-commerce businesses involved in cross-border trade has become a main driver of the country's foreign trade since this year.

Nine government agencies including MOFCOM will co-release a guideline on October 1 to support the development of cross-border e-commerce businesses, Xinhua News Agency reported on August 29.

A total of seven measures will be in this guideline, including encouraging banks and payment agencies to offer services for e-commerce players, and launching taxation policy for them.