The Invoice Dilemma in Agency Import Business

The new version of the "Customs Law" will be promulgated in 2025.After the implementation of the "Goods Declaration Management Measures," a certainDue to a misunderstanding of the invoice issuance rules,the importer caused a CT device worth $3.8 million to be detained in the bonded area for 23 days,incurring additional storage costs exceeding 120,000 yuan.This case highlights the professionalism and importance of invoice issuance rules for agency-imported equipment.

Rules for Determining the Responsible Entity for Invoice Issuance

According to the "Model Text for Cross-Border Trade Service Agreement (2025 Revised Edition)," the entity responsible for issuing invoices shall be determined based on the following comprehensive factors:

• Thecontractingpartyofatradecontract:Istheactualpurchaserconsistentwiththecontractingparty?
• Fundpaymentpath:Willthepaymentflowthroughtheagencycompany’saccount?
• Customsdeclarationentity:The"Consignee"fieldinthecustomsdeclarationform.
• Value-addedtax(VAT)deductionchain:Thecorrespondencebetweentaxpaymentcertificatesandinvoices

Invoice Processing Under Different Trade Models

• Self-operatedimportmodel:
  • Theimportingenterprisedirectlyissuesaproformainvoice.
  • PleaseprovidetheforeignexchangepurchaseandpaymentvoucherfiledwiththeStateAdministrationofForeignExchange.
• Proxy Pattern:
  • Theagencyissuesaninvoiceforservicefees.
  • Theequipmentinvoiceshallbeissuedbytheactualuser.
• Bonded zone import model:
  • SuspendtheissuanceofspecialVATinvoices
  • Thetaxinvoicemustbesupplementeduponexitingthezone.

Common operational error warnings

• Mistakenlybelievingthattheagencymustissueaninvoicefortheequipment.
• ConfusingthevalidityofaproformainvoicewiththatofaspecialVATinvoice
• Neglectingtheinvoiceremarkrequirementsforcross-borderservicetrade
• Incorrectuseoftheobsolete2018versioninvoicetemplate

Key points of taxation handling in 2025

According to the Announcement No.1 of the Ministry of Finance in 2025,special attention should be paid to the import of equipment by agents:

• WithholdingandremittingVATrequiresaseparatetaxpaymentsplitcertificatetobeissued.
• Cross-borderRMBsettlementinvoicesmustbemarkedwiththe"CIPS"identificationcode.
• E-invoicesmustbesimultaneouslyuploadedtotheSingleWindowsystem.
• Theequipmentcommissioningfeeshallbeitemizedseparatelyfromtheequipmentcost.

Typical dispute case analysis

Case 1: An automobile manufacturer entrusted an agent to import a production line equipment worth 20 million yuan.Due to the agent’s incorrect issuance of the equipment invoice,the manufacturer was unable to deduct the input tax.The issue was ultimately resolved by re-signing a tripartite agreement.

Case 2: Medical device importers correctly adopted the "dual-header" customs declaration model,with invoices issued directly by the actual end-users,saving 15 working days in tax processing time.

Four-Step Compliance Operation Method

• Signaclear"TripartiteRightsandResponsibilitiesConfirmationAgreement".
• Indicatetheactualenduserinthe"Remarks"columnofthecustomsdeclarationform.
• Adoptthe"onevote,twopoints"systemforissuinginvoices.
• Establishanelectronicinvoicetrackingmanagementsystem

It’s worth noting that the "Intelligent Review System" newly launched by the General Administration of Customs in 2025 has implemented the automatic verification function for invoice information.Enterprises need to ensure that the information of the declaration form,invoice,and contract is completely consistent with each other,with a consistency rate exceeding 98%.Otherwise,it may trigger a manual review process.