免税时代终结:4月8日起海淘代购全面征税

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，我国将更改网络零售商品税收制度，旨在为电商平台与传统零售商、进口商营造公平的竞争环境。

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.

财政部上周四宣布，"海淘"商品将不再归为邮递物品，享受比其他进口商品税率更低的行邮税，而是按照与其他进口商品一样的方式征税。

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.

中国征收价值不超过1000元的进口货物的行邮税，税率是百分之10。50元以下的则减免税。随着海外商品需求的增长，网上代购商已经利用了包税这一点，用新的方法，如重新包装和分别邮寄产品来避税。

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.

财政部表示，根据这项新政策，单次交易额在2000元以内，个人年度交易额在两万元以内，进口环节增值税、消费税按法定应纳税额的70%征收。

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.

根据亚马逊中国2015年对在线进口的调查，大多数买家都在35岁以下，大约百分之90的人受过大学教育。其中超过一半的人的收入每月超过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.

这项新政策将加快通关速度，消费者将在2周内收到海外订单，而不是现在的2个月内。