In preparation for the peak season, there are new changes in cross-border logistics, platforms and taxation!

In March this year, Temu emerged as the industry's focus with its unique semi-hosting model. This model streamlines the operation process, allowing merchants to focus on overseas delivery, fulfillment and after-sales, effectively reducing the burden and accelerating market response. As of August 2024, Temu's total visits soared to 700 million times, surpassing eBay to become the world's second most visited e-commerce website, second only to Amazon.

Many sellers are still hesitant about the profitability of the Temu platform, mainly because of rumors in the market that the platform has a serious phenomenon of deductions. However, the reality is that most sellers have made actual profits from the Temu platform, although the scale of profits varies from person to person.

For sellers who are interested in joining the Temu platform, it is recommended to give priority to the semi-hosting model and adopt the overseas warehouse + pallet operation model to distribute new products, so that they have more time to study market trends in depth, optimize product portfolios, and improve product competitiveness. Choosing an overseas warehouse with strong fulfillment capabilities as a partner can significantly reduce the risk of fines caused by non-compliance with Temu platform rules, thereby reducing the operational burden.

Tik Tok adjusts POP entry conditions

In June of this year, the GMV of TikTok Shop in the United States exceeded US$4 billion, demonstrating its market potential.

In August, TikTok announced a major policy adjustment for its cross-border US self-operated model (POP). This adjustment is mainly aimed at merchants in mainland China and Hong Kong, China, and sellers with rich operating experience on platforms such as Amazon, Ebay, Walmart, and independent websites are welcome to join.

What is particularly crucial is that the new policy explicitly requires that all sellers must have warehousing and logistics capabilities in the United States. This move aims to ensure that goods can reach consumers directly with unprecedented efficiency and speed, thereby improving user experience and consolidating TikTok Shop's competitiveness in the US market.

In addition, SHEIN launched semi-hosting in May this year. It can be seen that the adjustments of various platforms are pointing to the core competitiveness of cross-border e-commerce in the future - an efficient and localized supply chain system. The strategic layout of overseas warehouses has therefore become particularly critical and an important weight for merchants to cross the red ocean of competition.

New tax refund policy for cross-border export overseas warehouses

With the rapid development of the cross-border e-commerce industry, the State Administration of Taxation has actively responded to the strategic deployment of the State Council and officially released the "Operational Guidelines for Export Tax Refund (Exemption) for Cross-border E-commerce Exports to Overseas Warehouses" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") in August this year.

This move aims to further optimize the cross-border e-commerce export environment, improve the efficiency of policy implementation, and provide authoritative and detailed tax management guidelines for cross-border e-commerce export overseas warehouse companies.

In addition, the latest "Guidelines" clearly distinguish two tax refund methods based on different sales models.

It applies to situations where an enterprise has reached a sales agreement when exporting goods and directly stores the goods in a designated overseas warehouse, which are then sold on an e-commerce platform by an overseas company.

In this situation, since the goods have been sold when they are declared for export, the prerequisite for tax refund has been met. Enterprises can directly declare to the tax authorities and enjoy the tax refund policy in accordance with the current tax regulations.

This is for situations where companies export goods to overseas warehouses for stocking first, and then refund taxes after actual sales occur on overseas e-commerce platforms.

This model allows enterprises to flexibly choose whether to apply for tax refunds to the tax authorities in one go or in batches based on actual sales conditions, thereby effectively improving the capital turnover efficiency of the enterprises.

With the rise of cross-border multi-platforms, the strategic position of overseas warehouses has become increasingly prominent. From the rapid rise of Temu, the entry requirements of TikTok POP, to the new tax refund policy issued by the State Administration of Taxation, all emphasize the importance of an efficient and localized supply chain system for cross-border e-commerce.

Enterprises should keep up with industry trends, flexibly adjust strategies, and make full use of the advantages of overseas warehouses to improve operational efficiency and product competitiveness. Overseas warehouses are not only an accelerator for the development of cross-border e-commerce, but also a solid backing for enterprises to forge ahead in the wave of globalization.

If you need to know more about overseas warehouse information, business needs and resources, please scan the QR code to consult the service consultant, who will provide you with professional, efficient and intelligent overseas warehousing solutions and provide solid support for your global logistics competition.