On January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect, marking the official launch of a free trade zone with the largest population, largest economic and trade scale, and great development potential in the world. It is worth noting that RCEP brings the two major economies of China and Japan into the same free trade framework for the first time, which will greatly promote the development of trade in goods between the two countries and affect the layout of industries and supply chains.
For cross-border e-commerce going overseas, the official entry into force of RCEP has further opened up the Japanese e-commerce market and pushed it into a new stage of development. However, the Japanese e-commerce market has limitations, and under the background of RCEP, my country's cross-border e-commerce will face a series of challenges such as customs, taxation, and personal information protection. solved problem.
Potential compliance risks of cross-border e-commerce going to Japan
Tax risk
The target markets of cross-border e-commerce companies going overseas include mature markets such as Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, as well as developing markets such as Southeast Asia. The tax systems of different countries are different, and they are constantly being updated and improved, which is different from the clear tax policy in China. Enterprises may lack understanding of the tax policy of the export destination, or there may be deviations in their understanding, which poses tax compliance challenges for cross-border e-commerce enterprises going overseas. In the process of cross-border e-commerce enterprises going overseas, tax compliance optimization is one of the things that cannot be avoided and need to be solved urgently.
From April 2020, the Japanese Customs announced that it will start to implement the reverse calculation method to levy tariffs on goods exported to Japan, which is usually called the "inverse algorithm". , not according to the amount declared by the importer, but the selling price through the seller's sales link, minus the various costs of the platform, and the import declaration price is verified by the Japanese customs. When the judgment is correct, the customer has the right to request the customer to revise the declared amount according to the reverse algorithm to pay tax. The original intention of adopting the inverse algorithm is to repair the existing tax loopholes, and its essence is to adjust the time node and verification method of tax collection.
In order to evade the inverse algorithm, some companies have adopted some illegal means, such as increasing the link price after customs clearance, and using other people's links to ship products on their behalf. However, the Japanese customs has a very high level of inspection of goods. If a false declaration is found by the customs, in addition to the conventional tax payment and delay in customs clearance, it will also increase the storage fee for the backlog of goods at the customs, resulting in longer logistics time for goods transportation. , bringing a burden to logistics costs, which in turn affects sales and reputation. Tax compliance is the general trend. Enterprises should abide by relevant overseas laws and regulations, abide by platform policies, and operate in compliance.
Customs clearance risk
Cross-border e-commerce has the advantages of online marketing, online transactions, and contactless delivery. Transaction information can cross the border through the Internet, but the physical goods that need to be delivered need to be inspected and supervised by the customs during transportation. If the goods are in violation of regulations, they cannot be Passed customs inspection smoothly. The customs clearance risks faced by cross-border e-commerce companies in export trade mainly come from the customs regulations of the buyer's location. On the other hand, it may be out of the seller's luck that they take risks in order to obtain profits, make false reports, and fail to report the information of export commodities truthfully, resulting in a series of complex customs clearance risks.\
Information Protection Risk
The protection of online personal information in the RCEP e-commerce rules mainly relies on the domestic legal framework of the contracting parties. In fact, there are differences in the personal information protection policies of RCEP parties, as well as differences in the handling of personal sensitive information and non-personal sensitive information. Cross-border e-commerce companies may collect excessive information without understanding local regulations or Improper handling of information, thereby causing cross-border e-commerce companies to have the risk of violations when collecting and using data containing personal information. Japan attaches great importance to the protection of personal information. As early as 2003, the Japanese National Assembly passed the "Personal Information Protection Law". Regardless of whether the personal information processor is a domestic company or a foreign company, as long as the personal information is obtained when providing goods or services, it will be Subject to Japan's "Personal Information Protection Law", those who violate the law will face severe penalties.
RCEP has a wide range of content and detailed terms, and at the same time pays great attention to consumer rights, data security and personal information security. In addition, Japan's strict supervision of customs, taxation and personal information poses challenges to the compliant operation of cross-border e-commerce enterprises in my country. my country and Japan are very different in terms of economy, cultural customs, etc., and the compliance risk of overseas enterprises has suddenly increased. It is suggested that cross-border e-commerce enterprises should speed up their transformation, explore localized business models, speed up the layout of overseas warehouses, improve their awareness of risk prevention, and formulate targeted compliance business strategies, so as to seize the opportunities brought by RCEP and promote the health of cross-border e-commerce. developing.
