I.Who should actually issue the invoice for an export agency,the factory or thecompany?

In the export agency business,the VAT special invoice must be issued by the actual supplier of the goodsAccording to the latest "Management Measures for Value-Added Tax on Export Goods and Services" issued in 2025:

• Whenamanufacturingenterpriseexportsthroughanagent,itneedstoissueaVATinvoicewiththeproductnameastheexportedgoods
• Whenacomprehensiveforeigntradeserviceenterpriseactsasanexportagent,itmustobtainaVATspecialinvoicefromthemanufacturingenterprise
• Theinvoiceremarkscolumnmustbemarkedwiththewords"ExportAgency"andthecustomsdeclarationnumber

Typical case: A certain ceramic enterprise entrusted a foreign trade company to act as an export agent,but the foreign trade company directly issued an invoice to the overseas client,which resulted in being unable to handle the,with a loss of 1.2 million yuan.

II.What invoice documents need to be prepared for export agency?

A complete export agency invoice chain should include:

• Basicinvoices:
  • A13%VATspecialinvoicefromthemanufacturingenterprisetotheagent
  • ACommercialInvoicefromtheagenttotheoverseasclient
• Supporting vouchers:
• A power of attorney for customs declaration (the agency relationship must be specified)
• Foreign ExchangeA slip (must be consistent with the agency agreement)
• Logistics receipt documents (must match the bill of lading information)

III.What invoice clauses must be specified in the agency agreement?

According to the big data analysis of international trade disputes in 2025,it is recommended that the agreement clearly stipulate the following:

• Thetimenodeforissuingtheinvoice(beforeshipment/afterreceivingpayment)
• Themethodforconvertingthecurrencyexchangerate(itisrecommendedtousetheBankofChina’sspotbuyingrate)
• Disputeresolutionclause(especiallyforthedifferencebetweentheproformainvoiceandtheVATinvoiceamount)
• Thedivisionofresponsibilityfortaxfiling(whichpartyisresponsibleforhandlingtheexporttaxrebatefiling)

IV.Does a proforma invoice (PI) have legal effect?

A Proforma Invoice in an export agency mainly serves as aquotation confirmation,and it should be noted that:

• ItcannotreplacethetaxfunctionofaVATinvoice
• Theamountandproductnamemustbeconsistentwiththesubsequentofficialinvoice
• Itisrecommendedtoaddadisclaimerclause"Thisinvoiceisnotapaymentvoucher"

Risk warning: A certain machinery export enterprise,due to the trade term (FOB) in the PI being inconsistent with the official invoice (CIF),had the client refuse to pay the final payment,leading to international arbitration.

5.What are the new changes in export tax rebate agency in the 2025 era?

According to Announcement No.12 of the State Taxation Administration in 2025:

• Anew"exportagencytaxrebatefilingcommitmentsystem"isintroduced,shorteningthefilingperiodto3workingdays
• Ablockchaininvoiceverificationsystemislaunched,requiringtheagenttouploadanelectronicinvoicewithin72hoursofthegoodsleavingthecountry
• Strictinvestigationof"buyingadeclaration"behavior.Forinvoiceswithoutarealflowofgoods,itwillbetracedback5yearsfromthedateofissuance.

Practical advice: It is recommended that enterprises,before signing an agency agreement,check the commodity code through the "Export Tax Rebate Rate Inquiry" module of the e-Tax Bureau to avoid losses caused by adjustments to the tax rebate rate.