In international trade,Is.I.Common Causes and Impacts of the Loss of Export Tax Refund DocumentsII.Legal and Contractual Bases for Liability DeterminationIII.Difficulties and Countermeasures in Liability Determination in Practice

IV.Risk Prevention Suggestions

1.Errors in the Agency Link

• :Theagencycompanyfailstotransferdocumentsinatimelymannerorfailstofulfillitscustodyobligation.:Third-PartyLiability
• :Logisticscompanies,customsbrokers,ortaxauthoritieslosedocumentsduringthetransferprocess.:ForceMajeureFactors
• :Naturaldisasters,transportationaccidents,etc.leadtothedamageofdocuments.:ConsequencesofDocumentLoss
• Thetaxrefundapplicationisrejectedbythetaxauthorities,andthedirecteconomiclosscanreach13%-17%ofthetaxrefundamount.:Itaffectstheenterprisesexportcreditratingandincreasestheriskofsubsequentbusinesssupervisionandreview.

2.If document forgery or repeated tax refund is involved,it may trigger administrative penalties or even criminal liability.

• LiabilityDivisionattheLegalLevel
• ProvisionsoftheEntrustmentContractintheCivilCode
• :Asthetrustee,theagencycompanyneedstofulfillthedutyofcarefulcustody.Ifthedocumentsarelostduetointentionalorgrossnegligence,itneedstobeartheliabilityforcompensation.

Typical Scenarios of Document Loss

1.Announcement of the State Taxation Administration on Issues Concerning the Declaration of Export Tax Refund (Exemption)

• :Itisclearthatenterprisesareresponsiblefortheauthenticityandintegrityofthedocuments,buttheycanprovethird-partyliabilitytoreducetheirownobligations.:KeyClausesoftheAgencyServiceContract
• CustodyLiabilityClause:Clearlydefinethedocumenthandovertime,custodymethod,andremedialmeasuresafterloss.

2.Agreement on Exemptible Circumstances

• :Forexample,theagencycanbeexemptedfromliabilityifthelossiscausedbytheclientsdelayinprovidinginformationorforcemajeure.:ClauseontheUpperLimitofCompensation
• :Theagencycompanyusuallyagreesthattheservicefeeistheupperlimitofcompensation,andthepartexceedingitneedstobecoveredbycommercialinsurance.:AllocationofBurdenofProof
• Clauseontheupperlimitofcompensation:Agentcompaniesusuallyagreethattheservicefeeistheupperlimitofcompensation,andtheamountexceedingthisneedstobecoveredbycommercialinsurance.

Internal Management Oversight of Enterprises

1.Allocation of burden of proof

• Enterprisesneedtoprovethatthereisadirectcausalrelationshipbetweenthelossofdocumentsandthefaultoftheagent,suchasprovidingevidencechainslikehandoverrecordsandcommunicationemails.
• TheagencycompanycanproveitsinnocencebysigningtheDocumentHandoverConfirmationandusingadigitalmanagementsystemtoleavetraces.

2.Feasibility of Remedial Measures

• Customsdocumentssuchasthecustomsdeclarationformcanbeappliedforre-issuefromthecustoms,butthecycleisaslongas1-3monthsandahandlingfeeneedstobepaid.
• IfaVATinvoiceislost,itneedstobereportedaslosttothetaxauthoritiesandapublicnoticeshouldbeplacedinthenewspaper,whichmayaffectthetimelinessoftaxrebates.

: Loss occurs due to the lack of a document filing system or non - standard handover procedures.

1.Enterprise - side Prevention and Control Measures

• Establishanelectronicbackupsystemfordocuments(suchasscanningandarchivingtothecloud)toachievedual-trackmanagementofphysicalanddigitaldocuments.
• Inthecontractsignedwiththeagencycompany,clarifytheresponsibilityfordocumentstorage,thehandoverprocess,andthestandardsforbreachofcontractcompensation.
• Insureagainstexportcreditinsuranceorspecialinsurancefordocumentlosstotransferpotentialrisks.

2.Value of Choosing Professional Agency Services

• SystematicManagementAbility:RegularagencycompaniesusetheERPsystemtotrackthetransfernodesofdocumentsandissuereal-timewarningsforabnormalities.
• LegalRiskAvoidance:Theagentcanreducetheprobabilityoflossbypre-examiningthecomplianceofdocumentsandpromptlyfollowinguponthecustomsdeclarationprogress.
• EmergencyHandlingExperience:Aprofessionalteamcanassistenterprisesinquicklyre-applyingfordocumentsorstrivingfortaxrebaterightsthroughadministrativereconsideration.