China's 9610 export code explained (2026): how ecommerce parcels clear Chinese customs, tax exemptions, and tax-free returns
9610 is the Chinese customs code for cross-border ecommerce retail exports: single B2C parcels sent from China to overseas shoppers. This guide explains how a 9610 declaration works, how it differs from 9710, 9810 and general trade, what the VAT exemption and deemed-profit tax rules require, and two 2026 changes: nationwide cross-district returns and tax-free re-import of returned goods until the end of 2027. It ends with how export declaration works when you ship with ShopRest.
What is 9610?
9610 is a Chinese customs supervision code for cross-border ecommerce retail exports: a seller sells to an individual overseas shopper through a marketplace or its own store, and each order leaves China as its own small parcel. Customs added the code in 2014. The main rules today are in General Administration of Customs (GAC) Announcement No. 194 of 2018 on cross-border ecommerce retail imports and exports. This guide reflects the official documents available on 13 November 2026; the latest customs and tax announcements take precedence.
How is 9610 different from 9710, 9810 and general trade?
The difference is who buys and how the goods move. 9610 is B2C retail: one parcel straight to an overseas consumer. 9710 is cross-border ecommerce B2B direct export, sold to an overseas business. 9810 is export to an overseas warehouse: a batch of stock goes to a warehouse abroad and is sold locally later. 1210 is bonded ecommerce, where goods first enter a special customs zone or bonded logistics centre. 0110 is general trade, the traditional bulk export declaration. For a brand selling order by order on Shopify or Amazon, parcels shipped direct from China fit 9610, and bulk stock sent to an overseas warehouse fits 9810 or general trade.
How does a 9610 declaration work?
Under Announcement No. 194, ecommerce and logistics companies taking part in retail exports register their information with their local customs office. Before declaring, the seller or its agent and the logistics company send transaction, payment and logistics data to customs through the China International Trade Single Window or an ecommerce clearance platform, and they are legally responsible for that data being true. At export they file a declaration list and clear under 'release by list, consolidated declaration': parcels are released item by item, and by the 15th of the following month (rolled over if that day is a public holiday) the lists are consolidated into an export declaration. In a cross-border ecommerce comprehensive pilot zone, qualifying exports can use 'release by list, consolidated statistics' instead, with no consolidated declaration. The declaration list has the same legal effect as a customs declaration, so product names, quantities and values must match the real goods.
Why does a 9610 record matter to the seller?
It creates a formal export record. Converting foreign-currency sales revenue into RMB in China, export VAT refunds or exemptions, and corporate income tax usually all need to match export data. With a 9610 record, a seller that holds VAT invoices from its suppliers can, where it qualifies, claim export VAT refunds under the normal rules, and a seller without those invoices can, if it qualifies, use the 'no-invoice' VAT exemption.
What does the no-invoice VAT exemption require?
The basis is Caishui [2018] No. 103 (Ministry of Finance and others) on retail exports from cross-border ecommerce comprehensive pilot zones. A seller in a pilot zone exporting goods without valid purchase invoices is exempt from VAT and consumption tax if three conditions are all met: the company is registered in the pilot zone and records the export date, product name, unit, quantity, unit price and amount on the zone's online service platform; the goods are declared as ecommerce exports through the customs office where the zone is located; and the goods are not on the list of products whose export rebates have been cancelled. It is an exemption, not a refund, so no money comes back. And it starts with registration on the local platform; filing under 9610 alone does not apply it automatically. Registration varies by city: Shenzhen, for example, reportedly launched its 9610 no-invoice exemption registration module in February 2026.
What is the 4% deemed-profit income tax?
State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 36 of 2019 lets qualifying ecommerce exporters in pilot zones pay corporate income tax on a deemed profit rate of 4% of revenue, and small low-profit enterprise relief can still apply. This is separate from the VAT exemption and needs its own application to the local tax office; registering for the no-invoice exemption does not trigger it. Conditions vary by location, so confirm them locally first.
What changed in 2026?
First, cross-district returns went nationwide. Under GAC Announcement No. 24 of 2026, in force from 1 April 2026, retail goods exported under 9610 can be returned through a different customs district from the one they left through, but only to a customs-supervised site that handles cross-border ecommerce retail exports. Operators of these sites need a separate work area and must open their operating data to customs or connect it to customs systems. This applies to 9610 only, not 9710 or 9810.
Second, tax-free re-import of returned ecommerce goods was extended. Under Ministry of Finance, GAC and State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 16 of 2026, goods declared for export under 1210, 9610, 9710 or 9810 between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027 that come back in their original condition within six months of export (for 1210, six months from leaving the special customs zone), because they did not sell or were returned by customers, are exempt from import duty and import VAT and consumption tax, and any export duty paid is refunded. VAT and consumption tax charged at export follow the rules for domestic sales returns. Food is excluded. Goods must be substantially in the form they were exported in and unused (unless the fault could only be found by trying the product). If an export VAT refund was already claimed, it has to be repaid first. The company files the export list or declaration and an explanation: a self-declaration for unsold stock, or platform return or refusal records for customer returns.
What are the common misunderstandings?
One: thinking 9610 covers taxes in the destination country. It only covers the China export side. Whether duty and VAT are due in the US, UK, EU or Australia, and who pays, is set by those countries. The EU's €3 temporary duty on low-value parcels from July 2026 and the €2 handling fee from 1 November apply whatever export code was used in China. Two: thinking a 9610 filing means a refund. Without supplier VAT invoices, the route is an exemption, and only after registration. Three: using 9610 to break bulk shipments into parcels. Bulk sales to an overseas business or stock sent to an overseas warehouse belong under 9710, 9810 or general trade; declaring the wrong scenario can create tax risk.
How does export declaration work when you ship with ShopRest?
China direct (one parcel per order from our Shanghai warehouse to the shopper): the freight price already includes export declaration. If you need the export filed under 9610 in your own company's name, to support a VAT exemption, refund or bringing revenue into China, ask us before you start shipping. Whether that is possible is not a given; it has to be confirmed lane by lane and product by product, before the parcels go rather than after.
Bulk stock to an overseas warehouse (Sydney, Melbourne, US, UK, Germany): we arrange export clearance and documents, quoted per shipment; whether it goes under 9810 or general trade depends on your rebate plans and the goods. For returns, the Sydney warehouse can receive returns locally, inspect them and put them back on the shelf, and the UK warehouse can also receive returns; ask us about returns at the other warehouses. Whether that beats sending goods back to China depends on product value and return volumes. Where goods do need to go back to China, goods exported under 9610 can now return through another customs district, and goods that meet the conditions (original condition, unused, not food, any export VAT refund repaid first) can come back within six months free of import duty and import taxes.
To find out which export route fits your goods, send us the product category, monthly orders, destination countries and whether you have supplier VAT invoices, and we will suggest a setup by lane. For the final tax treatment, follow your accountant and the local tax office.
Sources
GAC Announcement No. 194 of 2018 on cross-border ecommerce retail imports and exports (articles 7, 8 and 10); GAC Announcement No. 24 of 2026 on the nationwide rollout of cross-district returns for cross-border ecommerce retail exports (issued 12 March 2026, in force 1 April 2026); Ministry of Finance, GAC and State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 16 of 2026 on tax treatment of returned cross-border ecommerce exports (6 February 2026); Caishui [2018] No. 103 on tax policy for retail exports from cross-border ecommerce comprehensive pilot zones; State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 36 of 2019 on deemed-profit corporate income tax for retail exporters in pilot zones. This article is not tax or legal advice.