免税時代終結:4月8日起海淘代購全面徵税

China will change the tax rules on online retail goods from April 8 to level the playing field for e-commerce platforms and traditional retailers and importers.

4月8日起，我國將更改網絡零售商品税收制度，旨在為電商平台與傳統零售商、進口商營造公平的競爭環境。

Retail goods purchased online will no longer be classified as "parcels," which enjoy a "parcel tax" rate, lower than that on other imported goods. Instead, online purchases from overseas will be charged in the same way as any other imported goods, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on Thursday.

財政部上週四宣佈，"海淘"商品將不再歸為郵遞物品，享受比其他進口商品税率更低的行郵税，而是按照與其他進口商品一樣的方式徵税。

China levies parcel tax on imported goods worth less than 1,000 yuan (150 U.S. dollars), and the rates is mostly 10 percent. Taxes under 50 yuan are waived. As demand for overseas goods grows, online purchasing agents have taken advantage of parcel tax and used new methods such as repackaging and mailing products separately to avoid tax.

中國徵收價值不超過1000元的進口貨物的行郵税，税率是百分之10。50元以下的則減免税。隨着海外商品需求的增長，網上代購商已經利用了包税這一點，用新的方法，如重新包裝和分別郵寄產品來避税。

The new policy only allows a maximum of 2,000 yuan per single cross-border transaction and a maximum of 20,000 yuan per person per year. Goods that exceed these limits will be levied the full tax for general trade, the MOF said.

財政部表示，根據這項新政策，單次交易額在2000元以內，個人年度交易額在兩萬元以內，進口環節增值税、消費税按法定應納税額的70%徵收。

According to a 2015 survey by Amazon China on online imports, most buyers are under 35 and around 90 percent have a college education. More than half earn more than 5,000 yuan per month.

根據亞馬遜中國2015年對在線進口的調查，大多數買家都在35歲以下，大約百分之90的人受過大學教育。其中超過一半的人的收入每月超過5000元。

The new policy will speed up customs clearance so consumers will receive most orders from overseas within two weeks, instead of the current two months.

這項新政策將加快通關速度，消費者將在2周內收到海外訂單，而不是現在的2個月內。