Source: Legal Daily
Investigation of tax evasion tactics by some individual purchasing agents
E-commerce law will be implemented next year Individual purchasing agents are crazy and anxious
This is a trillion-scale "industry".
As the planes take off and land, the wheels of the suitcase slide rapidly across the ocean and around the world. People carry it on their shoulders, a bag, a watch, a bottle of cream, and a tube of toothpaste, making up this trillion-level market of "no production, only circulation".
It is no exaggeration to say that many people cannot do without purchasing agents. On the one hand, people who have become rich need purchasing agents; on the other hand, those who do purchasing agents have become richer. However, private purchasing has always been gray. Smuggling, tax evasion, counterfeiting...these problems make this business controversial.
Recently, the "E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China" was promulgated. Industry insiders believe that the e-commerce law clarifies the compliance requirements of the purchasing agent industry for the first time, which increases the operating costs and tax costs of the purchasing agent industry. "This part of the cost may be passed on to consumers in the future. But at the same time, it should be noted that when the prices of these small e-commerce or purchasing agents do not have an advantage, consumers will look for larger compliant importers to purchase the goods they need In the future, the "wave of bankruptcy" of individual purchasing agents is inevitable." Lawyer Cheng Jiuyu said.
How should purchasing agents pay taxes?
After five years, the e-commerce law will be officially implemented on January 1, 2019 after three consultations and four reviews. As China's first comprehensive law in the field of e-commerce, this legislation has made clear provisions on e-commerce business qualifications, taxation, penalty standards, etc., and also defined the responsibilities and obligations of e-commerce platform operators.
Some people in the industry believe that this means that the "personal purchasing agent era" is coming to an end, and that in the future purchasing agent market, only business operators will remain.
September 28 this year is regarded as a certain node by many purchasing agents. On that day, there was a large-scale queue of purchasing agents unpacking boxes at Shanghai Pudong Airport, waiting for the inspection of the plane.
Many purchasing agents who were not at the Pudong Airport that day looked at their circle of friends, and they couldn’t help but feel grateful and scared. Tongtong, who is engaged in the purchasing of Japanese beauty products, is one of them.
"It was rumored in the circle of friends that it was a 'dark day' for purchasing agents, and most of the people who were investigated were purchasing agents of "human flesh". "Overseas shopping" and "human flesh" are the two most common ways to buy overseas products. "Haitao" refers to buyers who go to the "Haitao" website to buy without going through a purchasing agent. The risk of "human flesh" purchasing on behalf of the buyer is the greatest.
According to Tongtong, the situation in the past month is not good, and those detained at the customs are quite "disastrous".
With the promulgation of the e-commerce law, individual purchasing agents have obviously realized that many people choose to make a fortune before the "gate" is closed, vowing to use three months to earn money for three years.
As a purchasing agent traveling between China and South Korea, Beijing girl Yang Qiongxuan is one of them. She decided to stop doing purchasing agent for a period of time starting from January 1 next year. "No one knows what will happen after the implementation of the e-commerce law. Let’s wait and see before talking, you can’t defy yourself.”
In Yang Qiongxuan's opinion, now "it's good luck not to be found", but the risk of "human flesh" purchasing agents is indeed increasing. tear down".
During the interview, many people engaged in "human flesh" purchasing agents believed that with the implementation of the e-commerce law, many individual purchasing agents would choose to wait and see, and some individual purchasing agents would choose to stock up on goods during this period, but the pressure on goods The risk is also high.
It is worth noting that, unlike WeChat merchants and Taobao sellers, Daigou itself sells overseas products, so in addition to having a business license, it is also necessary to ensure compliance with import taxes. So, how have individual daigou been taxed in the past?
An individual purchasing agent who has been deeply involved in the agent purchasing industry for many years analyzed the current mainstream agent purchasing merchants and the taxes they would generate during the agent purchasing process based on the difference in purchasing methods:
The first type is purchasing products for overseas merchants Direct mail to the country. The main body of purchasing agents is overseas, usually overseas students. When consumers place an order, overseas purchasing agents purchase locally. There are two modes for sending products back to China: one is to directly mail products from overseas to consumersThe second is to send the product to the domestic warehouse first, and then forward it to the consumer. Either way, if the product enters the country through postal channels, if it is inspected, it will be taxed according to .
The second type is that purchasing agent merchants purchase goods abroad and bring them to China, and sell them through e-commerce platforms and social channels. The main body of purchasing agent merchants is in China, and they are usually active in WeChat Moments. This type of purchasing agent will collect the needs of users, purchase corresponding products overseas according to the needs of users and bring them back, and then deliver the products to consumers. When bringing purchased products into the country, if they are inspected, they will also be taxed in the form of postal tax.
The third type is that purchasing agents purchase goods directly from distributors. The main body of purchasing agents is in China, and the sales channels cover social platforms and e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and , and the source of goods is domestic and foreign distributors. When a product is purchased from an overseas distributor, the product needs to be mailed from overseas to the country and then sold. Here, the tax is collected in the form of postal tax. When purchasing products from domestic distributors, purchasing agents do not need to bear the import tax directly. Of course, when purchasing goods from domestic distributors, it is even more difficult to check the authenticity of the products.
An import e-commerce practitioner believes that the main tax problem in the purchasing agent industry is that purchasing agents take advantage of loopholes in the postal tax inspection rate to import goods for personal use into the country first, and then sell them to consumers.
“If the volume of imported products relying on inspection rate loopholes is particularly large, this is undoubtedly using the channels for personal use as commercial. After the proxy buyers register in accordance with the law, this behavior will be exposed to everyone. Law enforcement officers have the right to let the proxy buyers Those who pay taxes in accordance with the law." said the above-mentioned practitioners.
used "human flesh" to evade tax
Through the introduction, the reporter contacted a Ms. Qi who drove a taxi in Taiwan Kinmen , she told the reporter: "It is convenient here in Kinmen, and it is also convenient for the small three links to and from Jinsha. , many residents who live in Xiamen , Zhangzhou , Quanzhou often come here. They come to buy things in the morning and then go back in the evening, or stay one night before going back. There are especially many people on weekends and statutory holidays in mainland China .There were even many Japanese drugstores in one night.”
"I have carried two customers before, both of whom are girls. They carried four or five boxes, each of which was very heavy and full. I asked them what was in them, and they said they bought them and sold them back. For example Masks, shower gels, and even food. Like 'Golden Cheese Horns', we sell them for 30 Taiwan dollars (about 6 yuan), and when you go back, you can change hands for 30 yuan." Ms. Qi told reporters.
As for the source of profit, Lin Tong (pseudonym), a Beijing student who once studied in Taiwan, told the reporter, “The source of profit is to buy more discounted items. For example, Watsons and Kangshimei often have discounts, especially facial masks. Half price for one piece, and some skin care products are even 20% off for the second one. There will be further discounts when you swipe your credit card at a fixed time, and sometimes you will get back coupons after you buy something, and department stores will also have many anniversary discounts and discounts. We According to the price on the shelves in Taiwan, we sell at the original price and occasionally sell at a higher price. These discounts are a very objective amount, and we earn the difference from it.”
According to Lin Tong, because of the popularity of "human flesh" purchasing agents, some homestay operators in Kinmen have specially launched packages of "TWD 2,500 per night (about 500 RMB) including accommodation and one-day electric car expenses" for "human flesh" purchasing agents. , "This one-stop service provides convenience and economic benefits for many purchasing agents."
Huang Gang (pseudonym), who works as a tour guide in Taiwan, is also engaged in the purchasing agency business. “Masks, medicines, milk powder, cosmetics and even the steamed buns here are the most important purchasing agents. For facial masks, there are up to 6 boxes in a box at a time, and milk powder is 6 cans".
According to Huang Gang, there is also a method for "human flesh" purchasing agents, "For example, the mask can't be carried in a box, you have to take out the mask, then squish the box, put a few more in the bag, so that it is not easy to be checked. I can bring a lot more, and I will repack it when the time comes.”
Facing a reporter’s question about why he didn’t have to pay taxes for carrying such a large amount of cosmetics at one time, Huang Gang’s answer was “Don’t put everything in one bag, it’s too stupid. If you find out, you can say yes I brought it to my family and friends. If the customs really want to detain it, you can return it and get it back when you come next time. You can take it to the store to return it, and then don’t buy the same product again, or you will be detained.” .
"I have friends who work in the drug store here, so it is convenient to get the goods. Usually, customers tell me what they want on WeChat, transfer the money to me, and I will help them buy it, and then I will buy it with a few friends Let’s find someone to bring the goods back together. I’m not doing “human flesh” purchasing agent, but through the goods, I’m just looking for people going to the mainland, and asking them to help bring the goods there, so it’s not easy to be checked.” Huang Gang said, usually he would Bring some individual or group customers, and let these customers help to bring things to the mainland and send them to customers, and then draw some commissions to the customers.
During the interview, some interviewees also reported to the reporter that they met people who came to ask if they could help carry or buy duty-free cigarettes, alcohol, and shiitake mushrooms at the docks on both sides of the strait. The rewards ranged from 50 yuan to 400 yuan.
Chen Qi, who used to work in a shopping e-commerce company, told the reporter: "If you want to avoid tax, some 'human flesh' purchasing agents will mix cheap things with the purchased goods, and then write cheap things to declare tax. But now the inspection is stricter, In the past, one box was opened out of ten boxes, but now seven or eight boxes are opened out of ten boxes, and the logistics company has no choice. Many of them are still transported by "human flesh". If there are more people, everyone will share a little bit, or you can help me carry it, and I will give you a little reward. These are all open secrets. Also, if you have a lot of goods, you can find tax-included logistics company and ask them to help transport the goods back, but they are actually in the name of tax-inclusive, and some of them are actually disguised. Increase the unit price and add tax to it.”
Regarding this, the reporter consulted some merchants on some e-commerce platforms that are responsible for express collection and transportation that are marked “tax-included home”. When the reporter inquired about sending a large number of first-line brand cosmetics from Hong Kong to the mainland, these merchants all said that these products are luxury goods, and the unit price is relatively high. .
During the inquiry, some merchants even sent the reporter photos of a whole box of YSL brand lipsticks that had been delivered before, and promised that "we are tax-cleared, like cosmetics, we often leave them in the original packaging without unpacking. As long as the customer provides the cargo information, then I will confirm with the customs declarer how to pack it, and if the unit price of the cargo is high, then it will be divided into multiple small packages.”
Regarding whether there is no need to pay taxes, the other party said, "We also need to pay taxes in this way, but we have preferential policies so that we don't have to pay so much tax."
Put an end to personal purchasing agents
Because of the weather, the plane landed 3 hours late Incheon Airport Huahua (pseudonym), who has been to Korea four times in September, went straight to Lotte, but because of being late, the ordered goods have been taken away by others .
There are not a few full-time purchasing agents like Huahua, who are desperate to earn a million dollars a year: they start queuing up before the duty-free shop closes every day, and keep queuing until the duty-free shop opens the next morning.
On September 19, the well-known domestic e-commerce think tank - E-commerce Research Center released the "2018 (Part 1) China Cross-border E-commerce Market Data Monitoring Report", which shows that in the first half of 2018, the scale of China's cross-border import e-commerce transactions reached 1.03 trillion Yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.4%, is expected to reach 1.9 trillion yuan in 2018. As of the end of June 2018, the number of users who frequently conduct cross-border online shopping in my country has reached 75 million, a substantial increase in the number. The number of users is expected to reach 88 million by the end of 2018.
However, in Huahua's view, "Seeing that he is building a tall building, seeing that his building is about to collapse", the highlight moment of annual income of one million yuan will eventually pass away.
The legal profession generally believes that the newly promulgated e-commerce law has released a clear signal: to raise the entry threshold and put an end to personal purchasing agents.
's savage personal purchasing agents not only violated the rights and interests of consumers, but also caused heavy losses to the country. In addition to evading customs duties when entering the customs, almost no purchasing agent will declare personal income tax after the transaction is completed, thus completing the second tax evasion.
This legislation reaffirms the importance of paying taxes according to the law, but this is not unique to today. For a long time, the customs and tax authorities have been cracking down on tax evasion and tax evasion in purchasing agents.
According to the introduction of Wang Wenhua, vice president of the E-Commerce Law Research Association of the Beijing Law Society, professor of Beijing Foreign Studies University School of Law, the above regulations mean that personal online stores, micro stores and professional purchasing agents, etc., as long as they are engaged in Internet fields, etc. The main body of the business nature of selling goods or providing services on the information network is an e-commerce operator, so it will also be bound by this law.After the implementation of the E-Commerce Law, it is necessary to register as a market entity and pay taxes according to law.
Wang Wenhua once said in an interview with the media: "The introduction of the e-commerce law has gone through twists and turns, because it is not only related to the survival of purchasing agents, but also involves multiple stakeholders, including consumers and e-commerce platform operators."
NPC Finance and Economics Yin Zhongqing, vice chairman of the committee, answered reporters' questions about the adoption of the E-Commerce Law. According to legislation, national laws generally go through three trials, but the E-Commerce Law is subject to four trials. Because the e-commerce law is very complicated compared with other laws, it covers a wide range of areas, is large in scale, and is a new thing, so many things are uncertain. In this case, it is more prudent in the formulation process.
In March 2018, the police in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province cracked a case of producing and selling counterfeit and inferior brand cosmetics, and seized more than 80,000 counterfeit domestic and foreign brand cosmetics, involving more than 10 million yuan. Among them, many counterfeit and inferior products flow into the hands of ordinary consumers by pretending to be overseas "purchasing agents".
Pu Qiuyu, who went to Australia to study in July this year, has been engaged in purchasing agent business for more than two months in his spare time. She has her own worries about the upcoming e-commerce law: "I mainly buy for friends, and the amount is not large. I don't know if this kind of behavior will be brought under supervision."
Pu Qiuyu said that she mainly buys health care for WeChat friends For items of low value such as cosmetics and lipsticks, the total value of each express delivery basically does not exceed 2,000 yuan. For example, if you buy a lipstick for a friend, the price in Australia is 200 yuan, and the shipping fee for sending it back to China is 20 yuan. If you sell it for 250 yuan, you will earn 30 yuan for hard work. "I just want to earn some pocket money through purchasing on behalf of me. I have never paid taxes before, and I don't know the relevant laws. If I am defined as an e-commerce operator, I need to pay strict taxes and possible fines. It is difficult to make money .Now let’s take one step at a time. If the supervision becomes stricter, stop it immediately. Anyway, you don’t make a living by it.”
(Reporter Zhao Li, intern Lin Jingyun, drawing/Li Xiaojun)