Compendium · Asia · China (Mainland)
China (Mainland): VAT on digital services
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Not supported by the free-threshold API · Local term: VAT
Last verified: 2026-11-03
Mainland China VAT Law (effective 2026-01-01 per gov.cn materials) keeps overseas units/individuals’ taxable transactions generally collected via domestic withholding agents; modern services often 6% — foreign B2C micropayment self-registration regime not equivalent to AU/SG OVR
The live free-threshold API has not merged the proposed rules for this place yet. Unverified fields are indicative only
Spot a mistake in China (Mainland)’s rules?
Open a public correction issue on Gitea (sign in or create an account). The form is prefilled with this page’s URL and a short template, and asks for the correction label. Accepted corrections become a reviewed diff on the rules dataset — rule fixes belong in botchannels-app, not a silent change on this site.
Threshold and rates (VAT)
- Free threshold?
- No — The live free-threshold API has not merged the proposed rules for this place yet. Unverified fields are indicative only
- Amount / measure
- —
— - Window
- No threshold window (from the first sale)
- Standard rate
- —
— - Who must register
- Domestic taxpayers follow VAT Law + accounting; private individuals may use small-scale / levy methods — complex
- Evidence of location
- Cross-border taxable services consumed in China are generally in scope; foreign suppliers without PE usually do not self-register — Chinese purchaser withholds. No published multi-proxy B2C evidence list for foreign self-assessment found
- Invoicing
- Foreign non-PE sellers generally do not issue Chinese fapiao; domestic withholding agent handles tax — buyer may need special VAT invoice procedures separately
- Filing
- —
- Effective
- Region verify 2026-11-03
- Authority
- 中华人民共和国增值税法 (gov.cn)
What Botchannels returns
- Ruleset version
2026-10-22.v1- Decision summary
- Botchannels does not open free-threshold sales here. Register (or appoint a representative) before selling.
- Product class
- Digital service
- Support status
- Not supported by the free-threshold API — The live free-threshold API has not merged the proposed rules for this place yet. Unverified fields are indicative only
How to register
- Self-register online?
- See detail — See the authority pages linked in the sources
- Resident representative / fiscal agent
- —
- Regime
- —
Steps (in order)
- —
Documents
—- Official processing time
- — (unverified)
- Official fees
- —
- Portal
- https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202412/content_6994557.htm
- Local bank account
- —
- Filing frequency
- —
- Payment currency
- —
- Input VAT recovery
- —
- Portal language
- —
- Penalties
- —
Firms offering this service
No verified provider links for this jurisdiction yet. Prefer the official portal and a locally licensed tax adviser.
Region verify
Facts imported on 2026-11-03. Overall confidence: secondary. A field marked indicative is unverified and is not a decision by itself.
| Field | Summary |
|---|---|
| Evidence of customer location | Cross-border taxable services consumed in China are generally in scope; foreign suppliers without PE usually do not self-register — Chinese purchaser withholds. No published multi-proxy B2C evidence list for foreign self-assessment found (secondary) |
| Non-resident digital tax | Mainland China VAT Law (effective 2026-01-01 per gov.cn materials) keeps overseas units/individuals’ taxable transactions generally collected via domestic withholding agents; modern services often 6% — foreign B2C micropayment self-registration regime not equivalent to AU/SG OVR (secondary) |
| Collect and remit | Domestic purchaser / withholding agent remits VAT for overseas taxable services; payment institutions may be involved in practice (secondary) |
| B2C invoice | Foreign non-PE sellers generally do not issue Chinese fapiao; domestic withholding agent handles tax — buyer may need special VAT invoice procedures separately (secondary) |
| Local payment methods | RMB domestic payment rails are the practical withholding channel (secondary) |
| Seller located in this place | Domestic taxpayers follow VAT Law + accounting; private individuals may use small-scale / levy methods — complex (indicative, unverified) |
Official sources
Last verified: 2026-11-03.
FAQ
- Is this tax advice?
- No. This page summarises region-verify notes for foreign digital sellers. It is not tax or legal advice